Shetland History
Ancient
Mousa Broch
The best preserved example of a Pictish broch in Europe.
Image courtesy of
Shetland Geotours: www.ShetlandGeology.com
From archaeological remains it is evident that Shetland has been inhabited for over 5000 years. However, there is also indication that there may have been settlers in Shetland as long ago as the Mesolithic period (Mid-stone age) 8500 years ago. (See Val Turner's ‘Ancient Shetland' (1998) published by Historic Scotland). There have been numerous excavations around the islands yielding artefacts which are easily accessible such as at Jarlshof, Scatness, Staneydale, Mousa, Clickimin etc.
Pictish Era
The Picts - descendants of all the peoples who came before them - were highly skilled and had the technology to make metal tools and weapons. They were also adept at stone carving and, fortunately for us, left their mark. The best preserved pictish broch in Europe is to be found on the island of Mousa and should be high on the ‘must see’ list. As an added incentive you can hear the stormy petrel — a small seagoing bird — which nest and breed in the walls of the broch .
Norse Era
The coming of the Viking period around 790 AD spelled the end of the Pictish era, the Norse incomers probably intermarrying and displacing the locals. There are Viking remains throughout Shetland, the largest and most accessible of these is Jarlshof and nearby Scatness, both of which have even older remains as well. The incoming Norse Jarls set up their own laws and these were dispensed at regular meetings at ‘Altings’. One such meeting site is to be found at the North end of Tingwall loch.
About 1379 the islands, which had been in the possession of Norway or Sweden, was restored to the Jarldom of Orkney. There the Jarldom had died out and the Scottish family of Sinclair ruled.
By 1468 the islands were in the possession of Denmark, whose King, Christian the first, had a daughter – Margaret – who wedded James III of Scotland. Shetland was temporarily pledged to Scotland as part of the wedding dowry (Eight thousand florins). This temporary pledge was never redeemed and Shetland (and Orkney) stayed part of Scotland.
The Stewarts
From 1564 Shetland was under the control of Mary Queen of Scots. She granted the isles to her half brother Lord Robert Stewart. Robert did not have much dealings with Shetland but delegated powers to his half brother Laurence Bruce who abused his authority and made himself unpopular in the islands. Earl Patrick Stewart, who succeeded his father Robert in 1591, built Scalloway castle and Jarlshof house. He was also thoroughly oppressive to the local population and was eventually imprisoned in Edinburgh in 1609 and executed in 1615.
After the demise of Earl Patrick the Islands came under the jurisdiction of the Scottish kingdom.
Hard Times
During the 1600’s the fishing industry was well under way with German and Dutch fishing vessels common visitors. German merchants (fish buyers) were eventually forced out by a government tax introduced in 1712 on salt and bounties on fish cured. With the market for cured fish now curtailed and prospects looking bleak, Scottish landowners and Ministers of the Church bought up land properties. Local ‘Lairds’ assumed control of land and money and as a consequence inequality grew. To hold enough land to scrape a living, Shetlanders were obliged to fish and work for their landlords. Many men were forced to go to sea, often to the whaling at Greenland and the Davis straits.
Johnie Notions
Shetlanders of this time also lived under the perennial threat of smallpox, the dreaded "Mortal Pock". In 1720 one-eighth of Lerwick's population died from the disease. One outbreak in Foula left only six men to bury the dead. A hero emerged in John Williamson (nicknamed "Johnie Notions") who in the late 1760s developed a highly successful method of inoculation which was far ahead of the contemporary medical practice. He spent over forty years travelling around Shetland fighting the scourge. His home has recently been converted into a Camping Böd offering simple accomodation for backpackers.
The Pressgang
A different evil began in the 1770s and lasted for an almost continual period of around forty years - the Royal Navy's pressgangs. The pressgangs would cordon off towns and villages and seize every physically fit male between the ages of sixteen and forty-five. These men would be forced to serve in the navy for an indefinate period of three to thirty years. Battle, wounds and disease would take the lives of about half these men. Their families meanwhile were usually left to fend for themselves, sometimes for years without knowing the fate of their loved ones.
The men were needed for the Navy, which was at war with the American colonies in 1776, and soon after with Holland, France and Spain. Not until the end of the Napoleonic wars did this grievious injustice come to an end. The number of Shetlanders in the Navy at the time of the battle of Trafalgar is estimated to have been three thousand, about half the adult male population. Shetland was supposed to have a quota of 100 men to be pressed. This quota was however easily 'fudged', given Shetland's remoteness from the centre of affairs and lack of representation in Parliament. It was though the Shetlander's affinity with the sea which made the islands so attractive to the Royal Navy. Captain Fanshaw of HMS Carysfort, writing from his ship in Lerwick Harbour in 1803 to the Secretary of the Admiralty, says:
“The great advantage (ie of being here) is that every Shetland man and boy understands how to handle an oar and manage a boat.”
Shetlanders certainly distinguished themselves once in the Navy. A Shetlander steered HMS Royal Sovereign during its crucial break through the French lines at the battle of Trafalgar. Three Shetlanders also served on Nelson's HMS Victory during the battle. Four Shetlanders even made it to the rank of admiral at a time when wealth and influence were more important than merit.
The Nineteenth Century
The 19th century was not much kinder to Shetland than the 18th. Crofters and fishermen had a hard life, most of the time existing ‘hand to mouth’. The population grew, crofts were sub-divided so that less and less land was available to support more and more people. By the mid 19th century the lairds started introducing sheep and ‘cleared’ crofters off their land (there was no security of tenure) resulting in a mass exodus from the islands, as indeed it did across Scotland. Many emigrated to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. By 1886, however, a law was passed giving security of tenure - the ‘Crofters’ Act’.
The Twentieth Century
Fishing Boats
Two fishing boats in Burra, Shetland.
For centuries the sea has provided a livelihood for Shetlanders.
The herring fishing was in full swing by the 1870’s which created considerable employment. World War I, however, virtually put a full stop to this fishing so that it never quite recovered.
The Second World War saw Shetland as an important base for the Norwegian resistance forces, with fleeing refugees being secreted from Norway, agents being placed over there and arms and ammunition being smuggled over. This was known as the Shetland Bus.
After the wars the fishing built up once again and the knitwear industry also did well for a time. During the 70’s oil was discovered in the North Sea. A large oil terminal at Sullom Voe was constructed to handle oil coming ashore.
More recently since 1982, we have seen the growth of the aquaculture industry mostly in salmon farming but with some diversification into mussel culture, trout, cod and halibut farming. The white fish industry has shrunk to a fraction of its size because of over-fishing and politics.
2005 and Beyond
Looking to the future, the oil industry on the west side of Shetland continues to develop and will soften the blow of the contraction of the north sea oil industry. Salmon farming has gone through a period of consolidation and appears to be on a better footing than for several years, especially with the ongoing diversification. There is also a focus on the growing tourist industry and music scene.
Although the future is uncertain Shetlanders have always been hardworking and able to adapt. No doubt they will continue to do so in the future.
