Editing Orkney (section)

===Absorption by Scotland===
[[File:James III and Margaret of Denmark.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|alt=A picture on a page in an old book. A man at left wears tights and a tunic with a lion rampant design and holds a sword and sceptre. A woman at right wears a dress with an heraldic design bordered with ermine and carries a thistle in one hand and a sceptre in the other. They stand on a green surface over a legend in Scots that begins "James the Thrid of Nobil Memorie..." (sic) and notes that he "marrit the King of Denmark's dochter."|[[James III of Scotland|James III]] and [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret]], whose betrothal led to Orkney passing from Norway to Scotland.]]

In 1468 Orkney and [[Shetland]] was [[pledge (law)|pledged]] by [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian I]], in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the [[dowry]] of his daughter [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret]], betrothed to [[James III of Scotland]]. However, the money was never paid, and Orkney was absorbed by the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] in 1472.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=281}}{{#tag:ref|Apparently without the knowledge of the Norwegian [[Rigsraadet]]{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} (Council of the Realm), Christian pawned Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish [[guilder]]s. On 28 May the next year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders.<ref>[http://www.ub.uib.no/avdeling/spes/diplom/1509.htm "Diplom fra Shetland datert 24.november 1509"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505033602/http://www.ub.uib.no/avdeling/spes/diplom/1509.htm |date=5 May 2011 }} University Library, University in Bergen. (Norwegian). Retrieved 13 September 2009.</ref> He secured a clause in the contract that gave future kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210&nbsp;kg of gold or 2,310&nbsp;kg of silver.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} Several attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem the islands, without success.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}<ref>[http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm "Norsken som døde"] Universitas, Norsken som døde (Norwegian) Retrieved 13 September 2009. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185409/http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm |date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>|group="Notes"}}

The history of Orkney prior to this time is largely the history of the ruling aristocracy. From then on ordinary people emerge with greater clarity. An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves ''comunitas Orcadie'' and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords.<ref>Thompson (2008) p. 183.</ref><ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) pp. 78–79.</ref>

From at least the 16th century, boats from mainland Scotland and the Netherlands dominated the local [[herring]] fishery. There is little evidence of an Orcadian fleet until the 19th century, but it grew rapidly, and 700 boats were involved by the 1840s with Stronsay and later [[Stromness]] becoming leading centres of development. [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|White fish]] never became as dominant as in other Scottish ports.<ref name=Coull/>

[[File:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - ORCADVM ET SCHETLANDIÆ - Orkney and Shetland.jpg|thumb|right|alt=An old map of two island groups with the {{lang|la|Orcades}} at left and {{lang|la|Schetlandia}} at right. A coat of arms at top left shows a red lion rampant on a yellow shield flanked by two white unicorns. A second heraldic device is shown at the bottom right below the {{lang|la|Oceanus Germanicus}}. This has two [[mermaid]]s surrounding a tabula containing very small writing, topped by a yellow and blue shield.|[[Willem Blaeu|Blaeu's]] 1654 map of Orkney and Shetland. Mapmakers at this time continued to use the original Latin name {{lang|la|Orcades}}.]]

Agricultural improvements beginning in the 17th century resulted in the enclosure of the commons and ultimately in the Victorian era the emergence of large and well-managed farms using a five-shift rotation system and producing high-quality beef cattle.<ref>Thomson, William P.L. "Agricultural Improvement" in Omand (2003) pp. 93, 99.</ref>

In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] in Canada. The harsh winter weather of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north.<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 371–72.</ref> During this period, burning [[kelp]] briefly became a mainstay of the islands' economy. For example, on Shapinsay over {{convert|3000|LT|tonnes|0|lk=on}} of burned seaweed were produced per annum to make [[soda ash]], bringing in £20,000 to the local economy.<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 364–65.</ref> The industry collapsed suddenly in 1830 after the removal of tariffs on imported [[alkali]].<ref>Thomson, William P.L. "Agricultural Improvement" in Omand (2003) p. 98.</ref>

During the 18th century [[Jacobite risings]], Orkney was largely Jacobite in its sympathies. At the end of the 1715 rebellion, a large number of Jacobites who had fled north from mainland Scotland sought refuge in Orkney and were helped on to safety in Sweden.<ref>Baynes (1970) p. 182</ref> In 1745, the Jacobite lairds on the islands ensured that Orkney remained pro-Jacobite in outlook and was a safe place to land supplies from Spain to aid their cause. Orkney was the last place in the British Isles that held out for the Jacobites and was not retaken by the [[Broad Bottom Ministry|British Government]] until 24 May 1746, over a month after the defeat of the main Jacobite army at [[Battle of Culloden|Culloden]].<ref>Duffy (2003) pp. 464–465, 528, 533–534, 550</ref>