BattlefieldsMacLeod suppression in Lewis 1597
Tudor

MacLeod suppression in Lewis 1597

1597
Ross-shire, Scotland
Also known as: Government action against MacLeod of Lewis 1597 · Fife Adventurers intervention Lewis
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Ross-shire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Fife Adventurers
Forces
Lowland settlers and their guards
VS
Victor
MacLeod of Lewis (temporarily)
Forces
MacLeod war band
Outcome
Lowland colonists driven from Lewis by MacLeod clan
The Battle

History & Significance

James VI granted Lewis to a company of Lowland entrepreneurs (the Fife Adventurers) to colonise and civilise it. The MacLeods of Lewis resisted fiercely and expelled three successive colonisation attempts. The MacLeods maintained control of Lewis through guerrilla resistance for fifteen years. The island was eventually acquired by the Mackenzies. This is an early example of internal plantation resistance in Scotland.

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