Editing Inner Hebrides (section)

===British era===
[[File:Clachan Bridge.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Telford|Telford's]] [[Clachan Bridge]] between the mainland and [[Seil]], also known as the "Bridge across the Atlantic", was built in 1792.<ref>Murray (1977) p. 121</ref>]]
With the implementation of the [[Treaty of Union]] in 1707 the Hebrides became part of the new [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], but the clans' loyalties to a distant monarch were not strong. A considerable number of islesmen "came out" in support of the Jacobite [[Earl of Mar]] in the [[Jacobite rising of 1715|"15"]] and again in the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|1745 rising]] including Macleod of [[Dunvegan]] and [[Clan MacLea|MacLea]] of Lismore.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723035627/http://www.castlescotland.net/the-castles/d/dunvegan.html "Dunvegan"] castlescotland.net Retrieved 17 January 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.clanmclea.co.uk/Donald_Livingstone.htm "Incidents of the Jacobite Risings - Donald Livingstone"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716140636/http://www.clanmclea.co.uk/Donald_Livingstone.htm |date=16 July 2011 }} clanmclea.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2011.</ref> The aftermath of the decisive [[Battle of Culloden]], which effectively ended Jacobite hopes of a Stuart restoration, was widely felt.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/union/trails_union_culloden.shtml "The Battle of Culloden"] BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2011.</ref> The British government's strategy was to estrange the clan chiefs from their kinsmen and turn their descendants into English-speaking landlords whose main concern was the revenues their estates brought rather than the welfare of those who lived on them. This may have brought peace to the islands, but in the following century it came at a terrible price.<ref>[http://www.highlandclearances.info/clearances/preclearances_cullodenaftermath.htm "Culloden Aftermath"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002142226/http://www.highlandclearances.info/clearances/preclearances_cullodenaftermath.htm |date=2 October 2011 }} http://www.highlandclearances.info {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809010711/http://highlandclearances.info/ |date=9 August 2018 }}. Retrieved 16 January 2011.</ref>

The early 19th century was a time of improvement and population growth. Roads and quays were built, the [[slate]] industry became a significant employer on Easdale and surrounding islands, and the construction of the [[Crinan Canal|Crinan]] and [[Caledonian Canal|Caledonian]] canals and other engineering works such as [[Thomas Telford|Telford's]] "[[Clachan Bridge|Bridge across the Atlantic]]" improved transport and access.<ref>Duncan, P. J. "The Industries of Argyll: Tradition and Improvement" in Omand (2006) pp. 152-53</ref> However, in the mid-19th century, the inhabitants of many parts of the Hebrides were devastated by the [[Highland Clearances|clearances]], which destroyed communities throughout the [[Highlands and Islands]] as the human populations were evicted and replaced with sheep farms.<ref>Hunter (2000) p. 212</ref> The position was exacerbated by the failure of the islands' [[kelp]] industry that thrived from the 18th century until the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1815<ref>Hunter (2000) pp. 247, 262</ref><ref>Duncan, P. J. "The Industries of Argyll: Tradition and Improvement" in Omand (2006) pp. 157-58</ref> and large scale emigration became endemic. The "[[Camastianavaig|Battle of the Braes]]" involved a demonstration against lack of access to land and the serving of eviction notices. This event was instrumental in the creation of the [[Napier Commission]], which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 [[Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886|Crofters' Act]] and on one occasion 400 [[Marine (military)|marines]] were deployed on Skye to maintain order.<ref>[http://www.highlandclearances.info/clearances/clearances_battleofthebrae.htm "Battle of the Braes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515073942/http://www.highlandclearances.info/clearances/clearances_battleofthebrae.htm |date=15 May 2008 }} highlandclearances.info. Retrieved 29 March 2008.</ref>
[[File:Ellenabeich - geograph.org.uk - 95384.jpg|thumb|left|Sea filled [[slate]] quarries on [[Seil]] (foreground) and [[Easdale]] in the [[Slate Islands, Scotland|Slate Islands]]]]
For those who remained new economic opportunities emerged through the export of cattle, commercial fishing and tourism.<ref>Hunter (2000) p. 292</ref> Nonetheless emigration and military service became the choice of many<ref>Hunter (2000) p. 343</ref> and the archipelago's populations continued to dwindle throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Jura's population fell from 1300 in 1831 to less than 250 by 1961 and Mull's from 10,600 in 1821 to less than 3,000 in 1931.<ref>Duncan, P. J. "The Industries of Argyll: Tradition and Improvement" in Omand (2006) p. 169</ref><ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 47, 87</ref> Lengthy periods of continuous occupation notwithstanding, some of the smaller islands were abandoned – the Treshnish Isles in 1934, [[Handa, Scotland|Handa]] in 1948, and [[Island Macaskin|Eilean Macaskin]] in the 1880s among them.<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 57, 99</ref>

Nonetheless, there were continuing gradual economic improvements, among the most visible of which was the replacement of the traditional thatched [[blackhouse]] with accommodation of a more modern design<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060429142820/http://www.isle-of-lewis.com/history/blackhouses.htm "Blackhouses"]. isle-of-lewis.com Retrieved 17 January 2011.</ref> and in recent years, with the assistance of [[Highlands and Islands Enterprise]] many of the island's populations have begun to increase after decades of decline.<ref name=GRO/>