BattlefieldsFife Adventurers Clash with MacLeod of Lewis 1599
Tudor

Fife Adventurers Clash with MacLeod of Lewis 1599

1599
Ross-shire, Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Ross-shire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Fife Adventurers
Forces
Neil MacLeod later attacked the settlement with a force of about 200 men.
VS
Victor
MacLeod of Lewis
Forces
The Adventurers landed in 1599 with a private army of about 600 men
Outcome
The Fife Adventurers' colonisation attempt was defeated by repeated MacLeod attacks; the settlers were forced to abandon the colony (the last Adventurers sold their rights to the island to Mackenzie of Kintail in 1610).
The Battle

History & Significance

A tudor skirmish fought in 1599 near Ross-shire, Scotland. Recorded strengths: The Adventurers landed in 1599 with a private army of about 600 men; Neil MacLeod later attacked the settlement with a force of about 200 men..

Confirmed battlefield location
Casualties & Losses

Neil MacLeod's assault killed 20 settlers and seized property and livestock; after a failed truce agreement he killed a further 60 settlers on returning to Lewis (roughly 80 settlers killed in total across the documented attacks).

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