Editing Badenoch (section)

==History==
From 1229 to 1313 [[Clan Comyn]] held the lordship of Badenoch. 

Badenoch is also the traditional homeland of the [[Clan Chattan]] Confederation, particularly Clan MacPherson, whose traditions state that in 1309 [[Robert the Bruce]] offered the lands of Badenoch to them if they destroyed the Bruce's enemies, the Clan Comyn.<ref>Way, George of Plean; Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. Glasgow: HarperCollins (for the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 256–257. ISBN 0-00-470547-5.</ref>

In 1371 King [[Robert II of Scotland|Robert II]] granted Badenoch to his son [[Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan]] (1343–1405), who became known as the "Wolf of Badenoch". Reverting to the crown, the territory came in 1452 to [[Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly]], and still gives the title of "Lord of Badenoch" to the [[Marquess of Huntly]]. However, in 1829, insupportable debts obliged [[George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon]] to advertise his remaining estates in Badenoch for sale, and by 1834 all of the Gordon lands had been sold.<ref name = "Taylor2022">Taylor, David (2022), ''The People Are Not There: The Transformation of Badenoch 1800 - 1863', [[John Donald Publishers|John Donald]], Edinburgh, pp. 38 - 40, 82, 88 - 91, 124 - 125, 145 - 149, 163 - 166, 174 - 186, {{isbn|9781910900987}}</ref> 

Historically, the area was subsistence farmed. In the summer, cattle were grazed on high pastures, with people living in [[shieling]] huts at up to {{convert|2500|ft|m}} above sea level.<ref>Taylor (2016) p. 45</ref> An estimated 4500–5000 cattle were in Badenoch in the 1770s.<ref>Taylor (2016) p. 58</ref>

In the mid-1750s, the first flood banks on the River Spey in Badenoch were built at Pitmain,<ref>Taylor (2016) p. 115, plates 8a&b</ref> just southwest of the modern day edge of Kingussie.

High timber prices during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] led to substantial tree felling in [[Glenmore Forest Park|Glenmore]], [[Rothiemurchus Forest|Rothiemurchus]], [[Invereshie and Inshriach National Nature Reserve|Inshriach]] and [[River Feshie|Glen Feshie]], with many of the logs being floated down the Spey to the coast.<ref name = "Taylor2022"/> 

Famine struck Badenoch in the early 1770s and 1780s, the later was widespread across Scotland and even Europe. This particularly impacted the peasants of the area and increased the polarisation between rich and poor.<ref>Taylor (2016) pp. 178–179</ref>  Farming tenants suffered hardship again in the years 1836-39 when severe weather resulted in crop failures and substantial losses of livestock. While Badenoch was hit hard by the [[Highland Potato Famine|potato famine]] of 1847, it escaped the utter devastation experienced in other parts of the Highlands.<ref name = "Taylor2022"/>

The 1830s and 1840s saw the creation of [[Deer forest|deer forests]] to meet the demand from southern [[Aristocracy|aristocrats]] and industrialists for Highland sporting estates. The requirement that deer forests be free of sheep and cattle brought the hill farming economy of these areas to an end, resulting in more people leaving the land. George Macpherson Grant of [[Ballindalloch]] converted the forest of Gaik into a deer forest for [[Sir Joseph Radcliffe, 2nd Baronet|Sir Joseph Radcliffe]] after purchasing it in 1830. In 1836, [[Clan Macpherson|Ewen Macpherson of Cluny]] converted his lands of Benalder and Gallovie ([[Ardverikie House|Ardverikie]]) into one large deer forest for [[James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn|James Hamilton, Marquis of Abercorn]]. Macpherson Grant converted his sheep range in the Forest of Feshie into a deer forest in 1839. [[Georgiana Russell, Duchess of Bedford|Georgiana Gordon, Duchess of Bedford]] had [[Clan Mackintosh|Alexander Mackintosh of Mackintosh]] convert the east side of Glen Feshie into a deer forest in the late 1840s. Rothiemurchus became a deer forest in 1859.<ref name = "Taylor2022"/>

A significant proportion of the population was dependent on seasonal employment outwith the Highlands, but depopulation as a result of large-scale emigration occurred later in Badenoch than in other areas.  Poor market prices, harvest failures, farm amalgamations, rent rises and the creation of sheep walks and deer forests led to a steady exedus of people from the 1830s onwards, mainly to Canada and Australia.<ref name = "Taylor2022"/>