The Stewart Mackenzies and their Management of their Wester Ross Estates, 1817–1837

Abstract

Lord Seaforth’s heir as proprietor of his Ross-shire estates was his eldest daughter Mary. In 1817 she married a Wigtonshire landowner J.A. Stewart. Joseph Mitchell of the Highlands Roads and Bridges Commission believed that ‘no two people were more anxious for the welfare of their tenants’, but heard some complain of their ‘folly and unkindness’. In Wester Ross they owned three properties – Kintail, the original homeland of the family, and two purchased in the 1820s, Kernsary and Torridon. Seeking to follow the approach of Eric Richards, this article will assess how far their policies reflected Mitchell’s comments in the period to 1837 (when they left for Ceylon for Stewart to become governor). This will be placed in the context of the economic and financial problems they faced. It will be argued that they adopted differentiated policies for the three properties, the reasons for which and the results will be analysed. It will be shown that differing forms of resistance were aroused. The article concludes that the Stewart Mackenzies were unable to find solutions for the problems they faced and made a muddled response, demonstrating a lack of business competence, but also of the degree of ruthlessness which would have been required to prosper in that environment.