Records of the lives of Highlands and Islands crofters and cottars who fought for their rights more than 140 years ago are online for the first time. Around 16,000 entries from the landmark Napier Commission are now available to search on Scotland’s People. The Napier Commission was a public inquiry set up by the government in 1883. It investigated Highlands and Islands crofters’ claims of unfair treatment by landlords. A crofter was – and is today – someone who pays a landlord rent to live in a small farm known as a croft. They often work a small piece of land with a few animals grazing on common land.
Cottars were farm labourers or tenants who occupied a cottage on a croft. They sometimes received accommodation in return for their labour. The Commission asked landowners to fill in forms detailing crofting and farming on their land. These records became a unique rural census, revealing how families lived, worked, and survived. If your ancestor features in the records you may be able to discover details of their landlord, land, rent, livestock, and other occupations. If your ancestor was a landowner, you can see details of crofters and cottars who rented from them.
The voices of ordinary people of Scotland
In 1883 a Commission toured the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Officially named the ‘Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands’, they were tasked with interviewing crofters and cottars to understand and obtain evidence about their way of life and challenges facing them in relation to living conditions, rent and farming. The Commission was one of the first times that the voices of ordinary people of Scotland were captured and heard within the corridors of power. It provides an unparalleled recording of lived experiences from communities in the Highlands and Islands in this period of time.
Around 16,000 crofters and cottars can be searched for a fee at: www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. The records are also free to browse in the site’s Virtual Volumes.
Support the Scottish Banner! To donate to assist with production of our publication and website visit: The Scottish Banner