Colonsay was seized from its MacDonald holders as part of the continuing process of Hebridean pacification following the 1608 and 1609 government voyages. The small island — between Jura and Oronsay — had been a traditional MacDonald stronghold. Its seizure was part of the systematic dismantling of MacDonald territorial control that followed the arrest of the chiefs in 1608. Government forces and Campbell allies moved to occupy the island and its MacDonald holders were displaced or subjected to new landlord authority under crown-imposed terms.
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