Editing Islands of the Clyde (section)

== History ==

=== Prehistory ===
[[File:MachrieMoorStones.jpg|thumb|Machrie Moor [[standing stone]]s, [[Isle of Arran|Arran]]]]

[[Mesolithic]] humans arrived in the area of the Firth of Clyde during the 4th millennium BC, probably from [[Ireland]]. This initial arrival was followed by another wave of [[Neolithic]] peoples using the same route. In fact, there is some evidence that the Firth of Clyde was a significant route through which mainland Scotland was colonised during the Neolithic period.<ref>Noble (2006) p. 30</ref> The inhabitants of Argyll, the Clyde estuary, and elsewhere in western Scotland at that time developed a distinctive style of megalithic structure that is known today as the [[Chambered cairn#Clyde-Carlingford court cairns|Clyde cairn]]s. About 100 of these structures have been found. They were used for interment of the dead. They are rectangular or trapezoidal, with a small enclosing chamber into which the person's body was placed. They are faced with large slabs of stone set on end (sometimes subdivided into smaller compartments). They also feature a forecourt area, which may have been used for displays or rituals associated with interment.<ref name=N104>Noble (2006) pp. 104–05</ref> They are mostly found in Arran, Bute, and Kintyre. It is thought likely that the Clyde cairns were the earliest forms of Neolithic monument constructed by incoming settlers. However, only a few of the cairns have been [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]]. A cairn at Monamore on Arran has been dated to 3160 BC, although other evidence suggests that it was almost certainly built earlier than that, possibly around 4000 BC.<ref name=N104/><ref name= Murr113>Murray (1973) pp. 113–131</ref><ref>Morris, John H. [http://www.scottish.antiquities.ukonline.co.uk/ "Sailing through Scottish Antiquities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060411094805/http://www.scottish.antiquities.ukonline.co.uk/ |date=11 April 2006 }} scottish.antiquities.ukonline.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=40086 "Arran, Monamore, Meallach's Grave"] Scotland's Places.Retrieved 4 February 2011.</ref> The area also features numerous [[standing stone]]s dating from prehistoric times, including six [[stone circle]]s on Machrie Moor in Arran, and other examples on Great Cumbrae and Bute.<ref>[http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=40618 "Great Cumbrae Island, Craigengour"] Scotland's Places.Retrieved 4 February 2011.</ref><ref name=Cow27>Cowie, Trevor "The Bronze Age" in Omand (2006) pp. 27–30</ref>

Later, [[Bronze Age]] settlers also constructed megaliths at various sites. Many of them date from the 2nd millennium BC. However, instead of [[chambered cairns]], these peoples constructed burial [[cist]]s, which can be found, for example, on Inchmarnock. Evidence of settlement during this period, especially the early part of it, is scant.<ref name=Cow27/><ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 22</ref> However, one notable artifact has been found on Bute that dates from around 2000 BC. Known today as the “Queen of the Inch necklace,” it is an article of jewellery made of [[Jet (lignite)|lignite]] (commonly called “jet”).

During the early [[Iron Age]], the [[Brython]]ic culture held sway. There is no evidence that the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] occupation of southern Scotland extended into these islands.<ref name= Murr113/><ref>[http://www.butemuseum.org/ "The Queen of the Inch Necklace and Facial reconstruction"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619111013/http://www.butemuseum.org/ |date=19 June 2010 }}. Bute Museum. Retrieved 5 September 2010.</ref>

=== Early Scots rule ===
[[File:Dalriada.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Dál Riata]] at its height, c. 580–600. [[Picts|Pictish]] regions are marked in yellow]]

Beginning in the 2nd century AD, Irish influence was at work in the region, and by the 6th century, [[Gaels]] had established the kingdom of [[Dál Riata]] there. Unlike earlier inhabitants, such as the [[P-Celtic]] speaking Brythons,  these Gaels spoke a form of [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] (a modern version of which is still spoken today in the [[Hebrides]]). During this period, through the efforts of [[Saint Ninian]] and others, Christianity slowly supplanted [[Druid]]ism. The kingdom of Dál Riata flourished from the rule of [[Fergus Mór]] in the late 5th century until the [[Viking]] incursions beginning in the late 8th century.<ref>Murray (1973) pp. 147–155</ref> Islands close to the shores of modern [[Ayrshire]] presumably remained part of the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] during this period, whilst the main islands became part of the emerging [[Kingdom of Alba]] founded by Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín).

=== Viking influence ===
[[File:RothesayCastleS.jpg|thumb|left|The 13th century curtain wall of [[Rothesay Castle]], [[Isle of Bute|Bute]]]]
{{main|Kingdom of the Isles}}

Beginning in the 9th century and into the 13th century, the Islands of the Clyde constituted a border zone between the Norse ''[[Kingdom of the Isles|Suðreyjar]]'' and Scotland, and many of them were under Norse hegemony.

Beginning in the last half of the 12th century, and then into the early 1200s, the islands may well have served as the power base of [[Somhairle mac Giolla Brighde]] and [[Clann Somhairle|his descendants]]. During this time, the islands seem to have come under the sway of the [[Steward of Scotland]]’s authority and to have been taken over by the expanding [[Clan Stewart|Stewart]] lordship.<ref>Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 241–248.</ref>

This western extension of Scottish authority appears to have been one of the factors motivating the Norwegian invasion of the region in 1230, during which the invaders seized [[Rothesay Castle]].<ref>Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 248–253.</ref>

In 1263, Norwegian troops commanded by [[Haakon IV of Norway|Haakon Haakonarson]] repeated the feat, but the ensuing [[Battle of Largs]] between Scots and Norwegian forces, which took place on the shores of the Firth of Clyde, was inconclusive as a military contest.<ref>Coventry (2008) p. 545</ref><ref>Keay (1994) p. 597</ref>

This battle marked an ultimately fatal weakening of Norwegian power in Scotland. Haakon retreated to [[Orkney]], where he died in December 1263, consoled on his death bed by recitations of the old sagas. Following his death, under the 1266 [[Treaty of Perth]], all rights that the Norwegian Crown "had of old therein" in relation to the islands were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland.<ref>Hunter (2000) pp. 106–111</ref><ref>Barrett (2008) p. 411</ref><ref>[http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxsoc/msvol04/v3p210.htm "Agreement between Magnus IV and Alexander III, 1266"] isleofman.com. Manx Society vols IV, VII & IX. Retrieved 11 January 2011.</ref>

=== Modern Scotland ===
[[File:J M Briscoe - Clyde puffer VIC32 moored at Corpach.jpg|thumb|Steam Lighter VIC32, the last seagoing coal fired steam ''[[Clyde Puffer]]'']]

Politically, from the conclusion of the [[Treaty of Perth]] in 1266 to the present day, all of the islands of the Clyde have been part of Scotland.

Ecclesiastically, beginning in the early medieval period all of these isles were part of the [[Bishop of Sodor and Man|Diocese of Sodor and Man]], based at [[Peel, Isle of Man|Peel]], on the [[Isle of Man]]. After 1387, the seat of the [[Diocese of the Isles|Bishopric of the Isles]] was relocated to the north, first to [[Snizort]] on [[Skye]] and then to [[Iona]].<ref>Bridgland, Nick "The Medieval Church in Argyll" in Omand (2006) pp. 86–87</ref> This arrangement continued until the [[Scottish Reformation]] in the 16th century, when Scotland broke with the Catholic Church.

The mid-1700s marked the beginning of a century of significant change. New forms of transport, industry, and agriculture brought an end to ways of life that had endured for centuries. The [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1746 foreshadowed the end of the [[Scottish clan|clan]] system. These changes improved living standards for some, but came at a cost for others.<ref>Duncan, P. J. "The Industries of Argyll: Tradition and Improvement" in Omand (2006) pp. 151, 156</ref>

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, [[Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton|Alexander, the 10th Duke of Hamilton]] (1767–1852), and others implemented a controversial agricultural-reform programme called the [[Highland Clearances]] that had a devastating effect on many of Arran's inhabitants. Whole villages were emptied, and the Gaelic culture of the island was dealt a terminal blow. (A memorial to the tenant farmers evicted from the island by this programme was later erected on the shore at [[Lamlash]], funded by a Canadian descendant of some of those evicted.)<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 12</ref><ref>Mackillop, Dugald [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/clearances/37.htm "The History of the Highland Clearances: Buteshire – Arran"] electricscotland.com. Retrieved 18 July 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3FAD "Lagantuine – Isle of Arran, Ayrshire UK"] waymarking.com. Retrieved 18 July 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.ayrshireroots.com/Towns/Arran/Lamlash/Lamlash.htm "Lamlash"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930094637/http://www.ayrshireroots.com/Towns/Arran/Lamlash/Lamlash.htm |date=30 September 2011 }} Ayrshireroots.com. Retrieved 20 January 2011.</ref>

From the 1850s to the late 20th century, cargo ships known as “[[Clyde Puffer]]s” (made famous by an early-20th-century story collection called the ''[[Vital Spark]]''), were the workhorses of the islands, carrying a great deal of produce and a great variety of products to and from the islands. In May 1889, the [[Caledonian Steam Packet Company]] (CSP) was founded and began operating steamer services to and from Gourock for the [[Caledonian Railway]]. The company soon expanded by taking over rival steamer operators.<ref name="scran">{{cite web| url=http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-592-411-C| title=Caledonian Steam Packet Company| publisher=Scran – part of the [[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland]]| access-date=30 January 2011}}</ref> [[David MacBrayne]] operated the Glasgow-to-[[Ardrishaig]] steamer service, as part of the so-called "Royal Route" to Oban.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://paddlesteamers.awardspace.com/Columba.htm| title=PS Columba| publisher=Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape| access-date=30 January 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707212225/http://paddlesteamers.awardspace.com/Columba.htm| archive-date=7 July 2011| df=dmy-all}}</ref> During the 20th century, many of the islands were developed as tourist resorts along the lines of mainland resorts such as [[Largs]] and [[Troon]], but catering for Glaswegians who preferred to holiday "Doon the Watter".<ref>Keay (1994) p. 236</ref><ref>[http://www.inveraraypier.com/puffer.html "The Puffer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722063748/http://www.inveraraypier.com/puffer.html |date=22 July 2012 }}. Inveraray Maritime Heritage Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2010.</ref>
In 1973, CSP and MacBraynes combined their Clyde and West Highland operations under the new name of [[Caledonian MacBrayne]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.whsc.connectfree.co.uk/CalMac.html| title=History of Caledonian MacBrayne| publisher=West Highland Steamer Club| access-date=30 January 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130145757/http://www.whsc.connectfree.co.uk/CalMac.html| archive-date=30 January 2010| df=dmy-all}}</ref> A [[government-owned corporation]], they serve Great Cumbrae, Arran, and Bute, and also run mainland-to-mainland ferries across the firth.<ref name=CMac1/><ref>[http://www.calmac.co.uk/timetables/calmac-summer-timetables.htm "Summer Timetables"]. [[Caledonian MacBrayne]]. Retrieved 5 February 2011.</ref> Private companies operate services from Arran to Holy Isle,<ref name=HI/> and from McInroy's Point (Gourock) to Hunter's Quay on the Cowal peninsula.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.western-ferries.co.uk/| title=Western Ferries| access-date=6 February 2001}}</ref>

Politically, from 1890 to 1975, most of the islands comprised the traditional [[County of Bute]], and its inhabitants were represented by the county council. Since the 1975 reorganization, however, the islands have been split more or less equally between two modern council authorities: [[Argyll and Bute]], and [[North Ayrshire]]. Only [[Ailsa Craig]] and [[Lady Isle]] in [[South Ayrshire]] are not part of either of these two [[Subdivisions of Scotland|council areas]].