BattlefieldsMacLeod-MacDonald Eigg massacre reprisal 1578
Tudor

MacLeod-MacDonald Eigg massacre reprisal 1578

1578
Inverness-shire, Scotland
Also known as: MacLeod revenge for Eigg massacre 1578
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Inverness-shire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
MacLeods (raiding party)
Forces
MacLeod raiding party
VS
Victor
MacDonalds of Uist
Forces
MacDonald island war band
Outcome
MacLeod reprisal raid defeated; the cycle of inter-island violence continued
The Battle

History & Significance

The MacLeod massacre of the MacDonald inhabitants of Eigg in 1577 — suffocating them in a cave — provoked a series of MacDonald retaliatory raids. A MacLeod force sent to press the advantage was defeated by MacDonalds from North Uist. The cycle of raid and counter-raid between the island clans was one of the most prolonged feuds in Hebridean history and drew repeated government intervention.

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