This book, originally published in 1988, examines the Highlands and Islands of Scotland over several centuries and charts their cultural transformation from a separate region into one where the processes of anglicisation have largely succeeded. It analyses the many aspects of change including the policies of successive governments, the decline of the Gaelic language, the depressing of much of the population into peasantry and the clearances.

Charles W J Withers

1. Introduction: The Scottish Highlands As Culture Region 2. Civilisation and the Move to Improvement 3. Anglicisation and the Ideology of Transformation 1609-1872 4. Population Growth and the Transformation of Highland Agriculture 1650-1891 5. Industriousness and the Failure of Industry 6. The Gaelic Reaction to Cultural Transformation 7. Conclusion: The Transformation of a Cultural Region