Early history

Slope down to Galmisdale. The metalworking site is just beyond the prow, on the left

At Rubh' An Tangaird,^{[note 1]} near the southern coast, there are the remains of an oval house, with thick walls, and an upright stone at each side of the doorway, suggestive of grandeur; comparable structures in Shetland^{[note 2]} suggest a neolithic date.

The island also appears to have been occupied towards the end of the neolithic era, and start of the Bronze Age, as a cache of flints has been found west of Galmisdale, including a thumbnail scraper, and a barbed-and-tanged arrowhead, typical of the Beaker People has been found to the south of Kildonan.^{[note 3]}

Later in the Bronze Age, the location of the Galmisdale cache^{[note 4]} was used for metalworking; moulds for axes and knives typical of the period from 1000 to 800 BC have been discovered there,^{[note 5]} together with significant metalworking debris.^{[note 6]}

Iron Age

The north-eastern coast^{[note 7]}

Early Iron Age hut circles are found throughout the island. One located near the North East coast contains within its bounds a cave to which walls have been artificially added; several hammerstones are located in the cave and surrounding vicinity, some with concretions of crushed shells stuck to them. The cave site is below a dramatic basalt shaft interrupting the general appearance of the cliffs, and is framed by two large boulders, one of which resembles an eagle;^{[note 8]} archaeologists have thus concluded that the site must have been regarded as special, possibly being used for hermitic purposes^{[note 9]} (being too remote and difficult to reach for ordinary domestic use), and have named the site the oracle cave.

Loch nam Ban Mora

Later in the Iron Age, the inhabitants of Eigg chose to fortify the island. Small fortifications restrict access to rocky knolls,^{[note 10]} a promontory,^{[note 11]} and a stack;^{[note 12]} a wall also bars access to the top of An Sgùrr, 1⁄4 mile (400 metres) west of the summit, except for a single narrow entrance.^{[note 13]} More substantial Duns existed at Galmisdale Point,^{[note 14]} at Upper Grulin,^{[note 15]} and at Loch nam Ban Mora; the last of these is located on a natural island (entirely encompassed by the Dun's walls,^{[note 16]}) which local traditions claim was once inhabited by unusually large women.^{[note 17]}

Irish Christianity

The coast at Kildonnan

The Irish missionary activity which brought Columba to Iona also brought Donnán to Eigg, where he attempted to establish a monastery, at Kildonnan.^{[note 18]} According to traditional legends, a Pictish queen took objection to this breach of her sovereignty, and sent agents to Eigg to kill him,^{[note 19]} which they did on the eve of Easter, in 617; traditionally, Donnán had a large number of companions with him,^{[note 20]} whom he requested were killed first.^{[note 21]} Regardless of whether accounts of Donnán's death are pious forgeries or not, the monastic community continued (or was re-populated) after Donnán's death, under the authority of Iona.

By the following century, the monastery was significant enough for the death of its superior,^{[note 22]} Oan, to be mentioned in the Annals of Ulster. The monastery was located within an oval enclosure, surrounded by a ditch, housing a rectangular chapel in the centre, and a handful of smaller buildings either side.^{[note 23][17]} A handful of early inscribed stone slabs were located there,^{[note 24]} of which one bears a Pictish design, comprising a hunting scene;^{[note 25]} the cross on its obverse is in a style which was fashionable in the 9th century.

The Bay of Laig. The square cairns are sited on the far coast, in the centre

On the coast at the opposite side of the island,^{[note 26]} with a good view of Rùm, are 16 square cairns, lined up neatly into groups; they are each between 6 and 12 feet wide, most being bordered by a stone kerb, and some having upright corner stones. This form of cairn is usually associated with the Pictish kingdoms of Ce and Fortriu, a particularly close match being found at Garbeg,^{[note 27]} within the latter; comparable examples date to the early 8th century. The site may have some connection with the contemporary monastery at Kildonnan.^[18]

Viking Age

Viking sword hilt found in a tumulus at Dail Sithean

From 833, Norse settlers established the Kingdom of the Isles throughout the Hebrides. A silver/bronze sword handle from the beginning of this period was found^{[note 28]} buried near Kildonnan,^{[note 29]} together with an iron axehead, leather belt, buckle, wollen cloth, and a whetstone; the body to which these would once have belonged was absent. Wetlands near Laig^{[note 30]} appear to have been used for storing partly finished boat parts, as was common in Viking Scandinavia (moist timber is easier to modify); a few oak posts, 6 feet in length, for the stern of a longship, have been found here, together with a simple bronze brooch.^{[note 31]}

Despite being a dependency of the Norwegian king, a mid-11th century revolt by Somerled left practical authority with his heirs; the strip from Uist to the Rough Bounds, which contained the Small Isles, was ruled by the MacRory branch.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]} In 1266, the Treaty of Perth transferred the Kingdom of the Isles to the Scottish king, while expressly preserving the power of its local rulers; the MacRory lands became the Lordship of Garmoran, a quasi-independent crown dependency, rather than an intrinsic part of Scotland.

Clan Ranald

Early rule

Remains of the High cross at Kildonnan^{[note 32]}

After nearly a century, the sole MacRory heir was Amy of Garmoran, who married John of Islay,^[4] leader of the MacDonalds, the most powerful group among Somerled's heirs. A decade later, they divorced, and John deprived his eldest son, Ranald, of the ability to inherit the MacDonald lands; as compensation, John granted Lordship of the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey, and made Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran, including Eigg.^[24] At around this time, a large cross was built at Kildonnan;^{[note 33]} local traditions report that there were a series of such crosses arranged along the island, now only indicated by placenames.^{[note 34]}

Upon the death of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, his son Donald by Princess Margaret of Scotland, Ranald's half-brother, was named The Macdonald, Donald of Islay, and Lord of the Isles at Kildonan on Eigg in 1387. Ranald agreed to this decision of his father made clear in the Charter of 1373.^[25]

However, when Ranald died, Godfrey seized his lands, leading to violent disputes between his heirs (the Siol Gorrie) and those of Ranald (Clan Ranald). In 1427, fed up with this behaviour, king James I arrested the leaders, and declared the Lordship of Garmoran forfeit.^[26] In 1469, James' grandson (James III) granted Lairdship of the lands to mainland Garmoran John of Ross, leader of the MacDonalds. In turn, John passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat; the grant to Hugh was confirmed by the king in a 1493 charter, but Clan Ranald continued to dispute the transfer.

Central and northern Eigg

Following Hugh of Sleat's death in 1498, his son, John of Sleat, resigned his position, giving his lands to the king.^{[note 35]} John of Ross, though still living, had forfeited his own realm, which at the start of the 16th century led Black Donald to launch a rebellion, seeking to restore them. Unlike other descendants of John of Islay, Ranald Bane, leader of Clan Ranald, had refused to support the rebellion, so in 1505, once the rebellion was defeated, the king rewarded him with lairdship of Eigg (and Arisaig). In 1520, the excessive cruelty^{[note 36]} of Ranald Bane's son, Dougall, lead to his assassination, and leadership of Clan Ranald instead passed to Ranald Bane's brother, Alexander, and then Alexander's son, John Moidartach; in 1532, the king provided a charter confirming John's position as laird of Eigg (and Arisaig).^{[note 37]}

Writing in 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles wrote of "Egge" that it was: "gude mayne land with ane paroch kirk in it, with mony solenne geis; very gude for store, namelie for scheip, with ane heavin for heiland Galayis".^{[note 38]}

Massacre and pillage

The entry to the Cave of Frances (grid reference NM474834)

In 1577, according to Clan Ranald tradition, a group of MacLeods were being hosted on Eigg when they became over-amorous towards local women. As a result, the local men rounded the MacLeods up and cast them adrift in the Minch, until they were rescued by MacLeods from elsewhere. Wanting revenge, a group of MacLeods landed on Eigg, but had been spotted by the islanders, who decided to hide in an obscure cave called the Cave of Frances^{[note 39]} (Scottish Gaelic: Uamh Fhraing) located on the south coast; the entrance to the cave is tiny,^{[note 40]} and was obscured by moss, undergrowth, and a small waterfall.

The entrance from a short distance away

The traditions go on to say that the MacLeods conducted a thorough but fruitless search for the inhabitants, but after 3–5 days, just as the MacLeods were leaving, they saw someone leave the cave, and were able to follow their footprints to the entrance. The MacLeods re-directed the water, piled thatch and roof timbers at the cave entrance, and set fire to it; water dampened the flames, so that the cave was filled with smoke, asphyxiating everyone inside.^{[note 41]} 395 people had been inside;^{[note 42]} only one inhabitant of Eigg survived, an old woman, who had not sought refuge in the cave.

Serious doubts remain about the veracity of the tale; in later times a minister of Eigg stated "the less I enquired into its history ... the more I was likely to feel I knew something about it".^[29][30] Nonetheless, human remains inside Massacre Cave have been reported many times over the centuries;^{[note 43][29][31]} and, even though most of the remains have since been removed from the cave and reburied,^{[note 44][29][31]} natural disturbances in the soil still occasionally expose further sets of human bones.^{[note 45]}

Clan Ranald had aided the rest of Clan Donald in a longstanding feud against the MacLeans of Duart concerning the Rhinns of Islay. In 1588, some of the remains of the Spanish Armada found refuge with the MacLeans; Lachlan, the MacLean Chief, demanded that they supply soldiers in return, which he used to launch an attack against the MacDonalds. After initial failures, Lachlan chose to attack the Small Isles, as a softer, weakly defended target, instead;^[33] Eigg was burnt and pillaged. Lachlan was imprisoned in Edinburgh by the king for this,^{[note 46]} but he escaped, and faced no further punishment.^{[note 47]}

Church and reformation

Kildonnan chapel

Long obliged to perform penance for his part in Dougall's assassination, John Moidartach made a vow to build a number of churches, including Kildonnan Chapel. By the time it was built, the Scottish reformation had occurred, and the Kildonnan Chapel is typical of the post-Reformation style. It was built directly on top of the site of one of the earlier monastic buildings. The fate of the original monastic chapel – which lay south of this – is unclear, but the reformation may have caused it to be abandoned and dismantled; indeed, the Kildonnan Chapel itself doesn't appear to have been finished. The statutes of Iona, in 1610, had introduced a programme of government oversight of the religious behaviour of highlands leaders; the Clan Ranald leader's consent to this had resulted in the king granting him a charter confirming his lairdship of Eigg (and his other possessions).

In 1623, however, the Catholic Church in Ireland church sent Fr. Cornelius Ward,^{[note 48]} a Franciscan friar, to North Western Scotland, in order to proselytise the population. On arriving at Castle Tioram, the Captain of Clan Ranald, John MacDonald, granted him protection throughout Clan Ranald lands. In 1625, Cornelius arrived on Eigg, and reported that Kildonnan Chapel was a roofless ruin; he makes no reference to events of massacre cave, and reports the island as having 200 inhabitants, all of whom he claims to have converted to Roman Catholicism. Apparently there had been a Protestant minister on the island, but John MacDonald persuaded him to turn a blind eye, in return for the island's tithes.

The carved human depiction

Cornelius refused to reconsecrate the Chapel in its roofless state, and it came to only be used for burials. One grave had a carved cover with a roughly worked depiction of an occupant, sleeping; the portion below the waist and wrists is now missing, leading to the 17th/18th century grave slab^[35] being popularly re-interpreted as a medieval sheela na gig.^{[note 49]} The chapel also contains a Clan Ranald burial recess, dated to 1641;^{[note 50]} traditionally this is the burial place of Ranald MacDonald of Morar, a famed piper who farmed Sandavore near the end of his life,^{[note 51]} but he was not even born until 1662.

Jacobite risings

The entrance to Cathedral Cave, with An Sgùrr

As committed Roman Catholics, Clan Ranald took part in the first Jacobite rebellion, in 1689. According to Clan Ranald tradition, in May of the following year Edward Pottinger, a Royal Navy captain from Ulster, decided to take revenge for this, by inducing his men to carry out large scale rape and murder on Eigg;^[36] the ship's log for Pottinger's ship, however, does not mention these events.^{[note 52]} To evade the religious persecution the Whig-controlled government subsequently imposed upon the Catholic Church in Scotland, the remaining Catholics of Eigg secretly attended Mass at a Mass stone inside a large high-roofed cave, which is known as the "cave of worship" (Scottish Gaelic: Uamh a' Chrabhaidh) (or in English Cathedral Cave).

The men of Eigg also rose and fought in both the Jacobite risings of 1715 and of 1745; the Tacksman of the Eigg branch of Clan Ranald – MacDonald of Laig – also commanded the warrior-tenants from Canna (another Clan Ranald property). Whether or not the events of 1690 were simply blood libel rather than gunboat diplomacy, there was certainly retribution after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. All 38 surviving islanders who had taken part in the uprising were arrested by the Royal Navy and imprisoned in the Tower of London; though many died from natural causes, the remaining 16 were eventually sent to Barbados, to work as slave labor on sugar cane plantations.

On 22 April 1751, the poet Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair met at Leith with Bishop Robert Forbes of the Non-Juring Scottish Episcopal Church and provided the latter with a detailed account of the atrocities committed by Hanoverian redcoats on both Canna and Eigg.^[37]

For all its brutality, however, the post-Culloden history of Eigg is also important to the simultaneous golden age of Scottish Gaelic literature. After the death of his father, Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnuill (c.1715 - c.1805), the eldest son of legendary Gaelic poet Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, moved from Arisaig to become Clanranald tacksman of Laig. While serving as Tacksman, Raonuill Dubh collected and published the poetry anthology Comh-chruinneachidh Orannaigh Gaidhealach, which is also called "The Eigg Collection, at Edinburgh in 1776. Raonuill Dubh is believed to have drawn heavily upon oral poetry collected by his father and also upon a similar poetry collection made by Dr. Hector Maclean of Grulin,^[38] according to Robert Dunbar, between 1738 and 1768. The latter manuscript, which was later gifted to Canadian Gaelic poet Iain mac Ailein by the Doctor's daughter, contains an additional 104 pages of material, including fourteen of Iain mac Ailein's own poems and is now preserved in the Nova Scotia Archives.^[39]

The tack of Laig remained in the family until Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnuill's grandson, Angus R. McDonald (1832-1879), emigrated with his mother and brother Allen to the United States. After first settling in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, McDonald served as a 1st Lieutenant, and eventual Captain, in the 11th Wisconsin Regiment during the American Civil War, after which he was widely known as "The Hero of Fort Blakeley.^[40][41][42]

Crops

The Mill

The 18th century introduction of the potato to Eigg, as a food crop, lead to increased health and fecundity on the island; by the end of the century, the population had expanded to over 500 people, farming oats and cattle, in addition to potatoes. The Chief of Clan Ranald built a mill to grind the oats, and charged the islanders to use it. Since they had their own hand-querns, he instructed the Tacksman and his agents to break them, so that the islanders had no choice but to use the mill.

The outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars created a potential new route to wealth, by limiting foreign supplies of valuable minerals: kelp could be harvested to produce minerals like soda ash. Kelp rapidly increased in price, so in 1817, the estate factors reduced the size of each tenancy (for example, Cleadale was re-arranged into 28 plots), to stop their tenants from becoming self-sufficient and forcing them to also harvest kelp in order to break even. However, soon after the creation of these smaller tenancies (crofts), foreign mineral supplies were re-introduced, as the Napoleonic Wars had ended. The kelp price crashed and the crofters struggled to avoid destitution.

In 1821, several families voluntarily emigrated to Nova Scotia to escape both rising rents and crushing poverty;^{[note 53]} they settled on a high plateau near the coast of the Northumberland Strait, which they named Eigg Mountain. Meanwhile, like many other Anglo-Scottish landlords during the Highland Clearances, Ranald George Macdonald, 19th Chief of Clanranald issued orders to evict the whole village of Cleadale, and use the land for sheep; both to cover his debts and to continue funding his extremely extravagant spending.

According to a 1964 oral history interview with Eigg seanchaidh Donald Archie MacDonald, Aonghas Lathair MacDhòmhnaill (Angus MacDonald, 2nd of Laig), the grandson of iconic poet Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, then held the tack of Eigg and gained local infamy by beginning the eviction from Cleadale; while intending to assign the land afterwards to his brother-in-law as a rented sheep farm. When severe hardships fell upon Aonghas Lathair and his family, which resulted in the tacksman committing suicide, the old people of Eigg blamed the family's misfortune on the curse that was said to have been put on them by the women whom he had evicted from Cleadale.^[43]

However, in 1827 the Ranald George Macdonald found someone willing to purchase Eigg, and cancelled further evictions. After 800 years, Clan Ranald rule of Eigg was at an end.

Later lairds

The Cruise of the Betsey (1858)

The purchaser and new owner of Eigg was one Dr. Hugh MacPherson,^{[note 54]} and for a while island society carried on normally. The Scottish geologist and writer Hugh Miller visited the island in the 1840s and wrote a long and detailed account of his explorations in his book The Cruise of the Betsey (published in 1858). Miller was a self-taught geologist; so the book contains detailed observations of the geology of the island, including the Sgùrr and the singing sands. He described the islanders of Eigg as "an active, middle-sized race, with well-developed heads, acute intellects, and singularly warm feelings". He described seeing the bones of adults and children in family groups with the charred remains of their straw mattresses and small household objects still in Massacre Cave; after reading this description, Sir Walter Scott was so appalled that he started a fund for Christian burial, which resulted in the bodies' removal.

The remains of Lower Grulin

In 1847, ongoing rackrenting and the resulting financial woes of the islanders were compounded by the Highland Potato Famine. Furthermore, Dr. MacPherson decided to evict his tenants en masse and replace them with herds of sheep, as the price of wool had recently undergone substantial increases.

Sandavore kirk

In 1853, the whole village of Gruilin – fourteen families – were evicted and forced by Dr. MacPherson to leave Eigg. The whole village of Brae was similarly cleared in 1858. In 1862, Dr. MacPherson built Sandavore church to serve Eigg's remaining Church of Scotland residents.^{[note 55]}

The isle of Eigg has a much wider importance for its influence on the rest of the Catholic Church in Scotland. From Donald MacLeod, a Catholic seanchaidh from Eigg resident in Oban, the poet Fr. Allan MacDonald collected multiple Catholic hymns and works of oral poetry in Scottish Gaelic. Fr. MacDonald supplemented these with several of his own compositions and translations and anonymously published a Gaelic hymnal in 1893.^[44]

At the end of the century, in 1893, Dr. MacPherson sold Eigg to Lawrence Thompson, who built a church for the Roman Catholics of the island (St. Donnan's church in Cleadale).^{[note 56]}

After being sold by Thompson in 1917, the island passed through various hands, including a cabinet minister,^{[note 57]} until being purchased by Keith Schellenberg.^{[note 58]} Unlike his predecessors, who had sought to use the resources of the island for their own power, profit, or leisure, Schellenberg had conservationist motives; he wished to restore its listed buildings, and preserve the natural environment.^[45]

Community buy-out

In the early 1990s, a fire at Schellenberg's home on the island destroyed a 1920s Rolls-Royce; Police suspected the fire was due to arson.^[45] Some locals claimed that since the late 1980s, he had neglected homes, closed the community hall, and restricted leases.^[45] While admitting that he had closed the community hall (but only in the evenings), and had refused to continue one particular lease, he told the press that "drunken hippies and drop-outs" were unfairly branding him a despot.^[45] In 1994, now in his 60s, Schellenberg concluded that trying to conserve the island was not worth facing violent intimidation for,^[45] and in the following year sold it to Gotthilf Christian Eckhard Österle from Germany who styled himself "Professor Marlin Eckhard-Maruma" or simply "Maruma" and who claimed to an artist;^[46] Schellenberg retained ownership of the 18th century Manse.

Modernist sculpture commemorating the trust's purchase of the island

Nevertheless, by then a community trust had been formed by the Highland Council, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and a number of residents – particularly those newly moved to the island – with a view to buying Eigg from the laird. In 1997, this Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust persuaded Eckhard to sell, and bought it from him.^[47] The ceremony to mark the handover took place a few weeks after the 1997 General Election and was attended by the Scottish Office Minister, Brian Wilson, a long-standing advocate of land reform; he used the occasion to announce the formation of a Community Land Unit within Highlands and Islands Enterprise to support further land buy-outs in the region.

Cleadale from the northern end of the island

Between then and the 2011 census, the ordinarily resident population expanded from 65 to 83; this increase of 24 percent (six times greater than for the Scottish islands as a whole^{[note 59]})^[48] was principally formed by young people who moved to Eigg to set up in business, as well as a handful of former residents returning to the island. However, by 2003, the residents' representatives on the trust's board were entirely people who had moved to the island since the trust took over.^[49]

A few longstanding residents complained that the trust focused on the new residents, while ignoring the concerns of the families who had lived on the island for generations; for example, they complained that new mains power connections, and housing provision, was given to the families of trust members, not indigenous islanders.^[49] One islander from an old Eigg family declared that the trust "is not a democracy ... it is the mafia".^[49] More recently, more positive articles have been published, showing a different picture of the island.^[50]

Eigg was featured on the American television program 60 Minutes in November 2017^[51] and an extended feature on its companion web site 60 Minutes Overtime in July 2018.^[52]

In its 2019 coverage of the island, National Geographic provided this summary of the ownership and current situation:^[9]

"after years of neglect by the previous laird, or estate owner, the people gained ownership themselves in 1997. Now, visitors to the nicknamed “People’s Republic of Eigg” contend with nothing more dangerous than negotiating walking territory with sheep or engaging in cheeky yet informative banter with Charlie Galli, the sole taxi driver and self-proclaimed 'Eigg Gazette'" ... there is a single main road ... and a single stoplight ... to alert everyone when electricity is running low ... humble attractions like the tiny post-office-turned-museum detailing island history; a wee, closet-size shed boasting handcrafted curiosities for sale by the honor system; herds of distrustful sheep; and pit stops such as “Rest and Be Thankful,” a patio tea garden open only when the sun shines.

Electrification project

The Heritage Trust provisioned a mains electricity grid, powered from near 100% renewable energy sources.^[60] Previously, the island was not served by mains electricity and individual crofthouses had wind, hydro or diesel generators and the aim of the project is to develop an electricity supply that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

Two of Eigg's wind turbines

The new system incorporates a 9.9 kWp PV system, three hydro generation systems (totalling 112 kW) and a 24 kW wind farm supported by stand-by diesel generation, ultra-capacitors,^[61] flywheels and batteries to guarantee continuous availability of power. A load management system has been installed to provide optimal use of the renewables. This combination of solar, wind and hydro power should provide a network that is self-sufficient and powered 98 percent from renewable sources. On 1 February 2008 the system was switched on.^[62]

Eigg Electric generates a finite amount of energy and so Eigg residents agreed from the outset to cap electricity use at 5 kW at any one time for households, and 10 kW for businesses. If renewable resources are low, for example when there is less rain or wind, a "traffic light" system asks residents to keep their usage to a minimum. The traffic light reduces demand by up to 20 percent and ensures that there's always enough energy for everyone.

The Heritage Trust has formed a company, Eigg Electric Ltd, to operate the new £1.6 million network, which has been part funded by the National Lottery and the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company.^[63][64]

Other sustainability projects

Cow on the beach

In September 2008, Eigg began a year-long series of projects as part of their success as one of ten finalists in NESTA's Big Green Challenge. While the challenge finished in September 2009, the work to make the island "green" is continuing with solar water panels, alternative fuels, mass domestic insulation, transport and local food all being tackled.^[65] In May 2009, the island hosted the "Giant's Footstep Family Festival", which included talks, workshops, music, theatre and advice about what individuals and communities can do to tackle climate change.^[66]

In January 2010, Eigg was announced as one of three joint winners in NESTA's Big Green Challenge, winning a prize of £300,000. Eigg also won the prestigious UK Gold Award in July 2010.