Rev. James Fraser, 1634-1709: A New Perspective on the Scottish Highlands Before Culloden - Hardcover

by David Worthington (Author)

This book studies the revealing autobiographical sources left by Rev. James Fraser of Kirkhill (1634-1709), a Gaelic-speaking scholar, traveller and minister. It examines Fraser's self-presentation and situates him within his locality, Scotland, the British Isles and Europe, also incorporating recent historiography to provide a more comprehensive presentation of the social, economic and cultural trajectories of the early modern Highlands. David Worthington focuses on the Scottish Highlands' strong engagement with Europe and early entanglement with empire. He challenges the assumption that the north Highlands, in particular, was sealed off from the rest of the world before Culloden and he identifies the agency, vitality and resilience of the people of the Highlands prior to the peripheralisation, depopulation and under-development that then occurred.

Back Jacket

Reveals the Scottish Highlands as a dynamic and intellectual region in the century before Culloden This book studies the revealing autobiographical sources left by Rev. James Fraser of Kirkhill (1634-1709), a Gaelic-speaking scholar, traveller and minister. It examines Fraser's self-presentation and situates him within his locality, Scotland, the British Isles and Europe, also incorporating recent historiography to provide a more comprehensive presentation of the social, economic and cultural trajectories of the early modern Highlands. David Worthington focuses on the Scottish Highlands' strong engagement with Europe and early entanglement with empire. He challenges the assumption that the north Highlands, in particular, was sealed off from the rest of the world before Culloden and he identifies the agency, vitality and resilience of the people of the Highlands prior to the peripheralisation, depopulation and under-development that then occurred. David Worthington is Head of the Centre for History at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Author Biography

David Worthington is Professor of Scottish History and the Head of the Centre for History at UHI, Scotland. He is the author of British and Irish Experiences and Impressions of Central Europe, 1560-1688 (Ashgate: Aldershot, 2012) and Scots in Habsburg Service, 1618-1648 (Brill: Leiden, 2003). He is also editor of The New Coastal History: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives from Scotland and Beyond (Palgrave MacMillan: London, 2017) and British and Irish Emigrants and Exiles in Europe, 1603-1688 (Brill: Leiden, 2009).