Editing St Kilda, Scotland (section)

=== 13th to 18th centuries ===
The first written record of St Kilda may date from 1202 when an Icelandic cleric wrote of taking shelter on "the islands that are called Hirtir".<ref>Fleming (2005) page 27 quoting Taylor, A.B. (1968) "The Norsemen in St Kilda". ''Saga book of the Viking Society''. '''17'''. 116–43.</ref> Early reports mentioned finds of brooches, an iron sword and Danish coins, and the enduring Norse place names indicate a sustained Viking presence on Hirta, but the visible evidence has been lost.<ref>Fleming (2005) page 63.</ref> In the late 14th century [[John of Fordun]] referred to it as "the isle of Irte (''insula de Irte''), which is agreed to be under the [[Classical compass winds|Circius]] and on the margins of the world".<ref>Maclean (1972) page 34 quoting [[John of Fordun]]'s ''Scotichronicon'' of c. 1380.</ref> The islands were historically part of the domain of the [[Clan MacLeod|MacLeods]] of [[Harris, Outer Hebrides|Harris]], whose steward was responsible for the collection of rents in kind and other duties. The first detailed report of a visit to the islands dates from 1549, when [[Donald Monro (Dean)|Donald Munro]] suggested that: "The inhabitants thereof {{not a typo|ar}} simple poor people, scarce {{not a typo|learnit}} in {{not a typo|aney}} religion, but M'Cloyd of Herray, his {{not a typo|stewart}}, or he {{not a typo|quhom}} he {{not a typo|deputs}} in sic office, {{not a typo|sailes anes}} in the {{not a typo|zear ther}} at midsummer, with some chaplaine to baptize {{not a typo|bairnes ther}}."{{refn|Monro (1549) "Hirta" No. 158. English translation from [[Scots language|Lowland Scots]]: "The inhabitants are simple poor people, hardly educated in any religion, but the steward of MacLeod of Harris, or his deputy, sails there once a year at midsummer with a chaplain to baptise the children".|group="note"}}

Coll MacDonald of [[Colonsay]] raided Hirta in 1615, removing 30 sheep and a quantity of barley.<ref>Fleming (2005) page 28.</ref> Thereafter, the islands developed a reputation for abundance. At the time of [[Martin Martin]]'s visit in 1697 the population was 180 and the steward travelled with a "company" of up to 60 persons to which he "elected the most 'meagre' among his friends in the neighbouring islands, to that number and took them periodically to St Kilda to enjoy the nourishing and plentiful, if primitive, fare of the island, and so be restored to their wonted health and strength."<ref name=Martin>Martin, Martin (1703).</ref>

According to Keay and Keay (1994), until the early 19th century the islanders' "close relationship with nature had taken the ritual form of [[Druidism]]", whilst their understanding of [[Christianity]] shaped their relationships with one another: a combination of "natural devoutness and superstitious character".<ref name=Keay/> [[Kenneth Macaulay (minister)|Macauley]] (1764) claimed the existence of a "druidic" circle of stones fixed perpendicularly in the ground near the Stallar House on [[Boreray, St Kilda|Boreray]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Macaulay, Kenneth |title=The history of St. Kilda |date=1764 |pages=53–58 |url=https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-history-of-st-kilda_macaulay-kenneth_1764/mode/2up}}</ref> However, by 1875 all trace of this had gone and according to [[John Sands (journalist)|John Sands]] “the St Kildans seem never to have heard of it”.<ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/3969/st-kilda-boreray-taigh-stallair "St Kilda, Boreray, Taigh Stallair"]. [[Canmore (database)|Canmore]]. Retrieved 24 March 2024.</ref>

[[Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange]] was held on St Kilda from 1734 to 1741.<ref>[https://www.historyscotland.com/history/winter-storm-exposes-the-secrets-of-lady-granges-house-at-st-kilda/ "Winter storm exposes the secrets of Lady Grange's House at St Kilda"]. ''Historyscotland.com''. 14 February 2022.</ref> The church minister of Harris, [[Kenneth Macaulay (minister)|Kenneth Macaulay]], visited St Kilda in 1759 on behalf of the [[Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge]] (SSPCK), and published in 1764 ''The History of St Kilda, containing a Description of this Remarkable Island, the Manners and Customs of its Inhabitants, the Religious and Pagan Antiquities there found, with many other curious and interesting particulars.''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Macaulay |first1=Kenneth |title=The history of St. Kilda |date=1764 |publisher=T. Becket and P. A. DeHondt |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/b30545225}}</ref>

Visiting ships brought [[cholera]] and [[smallpox]] in the 18th century.<ref name=Smith/> In 1727, the loss of life was so high that too few residents remained to man the boats, and new families were brought in from [[Harris, Outer Hebrides|Harris]] to replace them.{{refn|This is the date provided by Quine (2000) for the marooning of the group on Stac an Armin, (see "Buildings on other islands" above), although Steel (1988) states that the outbreak took place in 1724.|group="note"}} By 1758 the population had risen to 88, and it had reached just under 100 by the end of the century. This figure remained fairly constant from the 18th century until 1852, when 36 islanders, with the help of the [[Highland and Island Emigration Society]], emigrated to Australia on board the ''Priscilla''; reducing the population to 70.<ref name="Zanolla">{{cite book|author=Roberto Zanolla|title=LAND OF BIRD-MEN - History of St Kilda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lMxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT90|date=5 August 2017|publisher=Lulu Press, Inc|isbn=978-0-244-62212-1|pages=90–}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Among the emigrants was [[Ewen Gillies]]. The laird of St Kilda, Sir John MacLeod, tried to persuade some of the group to return to the island; when they were unconvinced, he paid for their voyage to Australia.<ref name="Zanolla"/> Eighteen of the 36 St Kildans died of sickness on the ship or in quarantine.<ref name="Zanolla"/><ref name="Richards">{{cite journal|issn= 0036-9241|author= Eric Richards|journal= The Scottish Historical Review|issue= 191/192|pages=129–155|publisher= Edinburgh University Press|title= St Kilda and Australia: Emigrants at Peril, 1852-3|volume=71|year=1992|jstor= 25530537}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Highland and Island Emigration Society, HIES "PRISCILLA" |url=https://www.angelfire.com/ns/bkeddy/HIES/priscilla.html |access-date=5 September 2024}}</ref> The island never fully recovered from the population loss.The emigration was in part a response to the [[laird]]'s closure of the church and [[manse]] for several years during the [[Disruption of 1843|Disruption]] that created the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)|Free Church of Scotland]].<ref>Maclean (1977) page 125.</ref><ref>Fleming (2005) page 32.</ref>