Shepherd's Wanted: Wester Ross Pioneers to Patagonia, 1880-1930
type: CreativeWork
description: Erected on the central reservation of a dual carriageway into the southernmost Chilean city of Punta Arenas the bronze sculpture of a shepherd gives testimony to the founding wealth of the region. The shepherd, his horse, two collie dogs and a small flock of sheep represent the importance of the sheep industry to that part of Spanish-speaking southern South America known as Patagonia – encompassing both Chile and Argentina. Most of the shepherds were immigrants and many of them were Scots. Scotland has a long history of emigration for military, mercantile and settlement purposes. Emigration from Scotland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was triggered by a combination of factors including opportunities overseas and reduced opportunities at home. Some Scots did not travel far, moving within Scotland and to other countries within the United Kingdom. The majority chose destinations from the British Colonies and Dominions together with the English-speaking United States of America and it is these destinations which dominate the historiography. Emigration to Patagonia was not a response to regional and community crises such as famine as in earlier decades. However, the communities of Ross-shire, the study area for this research, were under structural stress with increasing rents and poor harvests which, although not leading to mass famine as previously, caused hardships and encouraged an inclination to emigrate. These factors were supplemented by land use reorganisation in the western parishes as estates were turned from sheep walks to deer forests resulting in surplus pastoral workers. This emigration was not a movement en masse in response to external prompts such as government initiatives or formal emigration schemes. It was a complicated balance between opportunities at home and overseas, a calculated and measured step, generally taken by individuals and families after research and reflection. Important amongst the prerequisites for emigration was …
abstract: Erected on the central reservation of a dual carriageway into the southernmost Chilean city of Punta Arenas the bronze sculpture of a shepherd gives testimony to the founding wealth of the region. The shepherd, his horse, two collie dogs and a small flock of sheep represent the importance of the sheep industry to that part of Spanish-speaking southern South America known as Patagonia – encompassing both Chile and Argentina. Most of the shepherds were immigrants and many of them were Scots. Scotland has a long history of emigration for military, mercantile and settlement purposes. Emigration from Scotland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was triggered by a combination of factors including opportunities overseas and reduced opportunities at home. Some Scots did not travel far, moving within Scotland and to other countries within the United Kingdom. The majority chose destinations from the British Colonies and Dominions together with the English-speaking United States of America and it is these destinations which dominate the historiography. Emigration to Patagonia was not a response to regional and community crises such as famine as in earlier decades. However, the communities of Ross-shire, the study area for this research, were under structural stress with increasing rents and poor harvests which, although not leading to mass famine as previously, caused hardships and encouraged an inclination to emigrate. These factors were supplemented by land use reorganisation in the western parishes as estates were turned from sheep walks to deer forests resulting in surplus pastoral workers. This emigration was not a movement en masse in response to external prompts such as government initiatives or formal emigration schemes. It was a complicated balance between opportunities at home and overseas, a calculated and measured step, generally taken by individuals and families after research and reflection. Important amongst the prerequisites for emigration was …
author: Forrest, Liz
language: eng
date published: 2024-4-24
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:12:10Z
provider: University of the Highlands and Islands
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Highlands and Islands