Return to ‘the poor man’s country’: Crofting and Empire in Rayne, Aberdeenshire

Abstract

An examination of the available evidence for the parish of Rayne, Aberdeenshire, in the nineteenth century indicates the enduring place of crofting in the agriculture of northeast Scotland. The continuing existence of the crofts emerging from pre-improvement fermtouns is linked to estate policy, which in turn was, in the case of the two major estates in the parish, based on resources drawn from participation in British imperial enterprise. The account complements and extends that provided by Carter, stressing the importance of cultural political economy.