Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides comprise 35 inhabited islands as well as 44 uninhabited islands with an area greater than. Skye, Mull, and Islay are the three largest, and also have the highest populations. The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Together, the islands have an area of about, and had a population of 18,948 in 2011. The population density is therefore about.
There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. In the historic period the earliest known settlers were Picts to the north and Gaels in the southern kingdom of Dál Riada prior to the islands becoming part of the Suðreyjar kingdom of the Norse, who ruled for over 400 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. Control of the islands was then held by various clan chiefs, principally the MacLeans, MacLeods and MacDonalds. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had a devastating effect on many communities and it is only in recent years that population levels have ceased to decline.
Sea transport is crucial and a variety of ferry services operate to mainland Scotland and between the islands. The Gaelic language remains strong in some areas; the landscapes have inspired a variety of artists; and there is a diversity of wildlife.
File:Tiree, Balephuil Bay.jpg|thumb|Looking west to Balephuil Bay, Tiree across the machair
File:Kinloch Castle.jpg|thumb|Kinloch Castle, Rùm

Geography

The islands form a disparate archipelago. The largest islands are, from south to north, Islay, Jura, Mull, Rùm and Skye. Skye is the largest and most populous of all with an area of and a population of just over 10,000.
The southern group are in Argyll, an area roughly corresponding with the heartlands of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata and incorporated into the modern unitary council area of Argyll and Bute. The northern islands were part of the county of Inverness-shire and are now in the Highland Council area.

Physical

The ten largest islands are as follows.

Island	Gaelic name	Area	Population	Highest point	Height	Gaelic Speakers
Coll	Colla	7685	176	Ben Hogh	104
Colonsay	Colbhasa	4074	117	Carnan Eoin	143	20.2%
Eigg	Eige	3049	95	An Sgurr	393
Islay		61956	3180	Beinn Bheigeir	491	19%
Jura	Diùra	36692	258	Beinn an Òir	785
Lismore	Lios Mor	2351	190	Barr Mòr	127	26.9%
Mull	Muile	87535	3063	Ben More	966
Raasay	Ratharsair	6231	187	Dùn Caan	444	30.4%
Rùm	Rùm	10463	31	Askival	812
Skye	An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a' Cheò	165625	10496	Sgurr Alasdair	993	29.4%
Tiree	Tiriodh	7834	700	Ben Hynish	141	38.3%

The geology and geomorphology of the islands is varied. Some, such as Skye and Mull, are mountainous, whilst others like Tiree are relatively low-lying. The highest mountains are the Cuillins of Skye, although peaks over are common elsewhere. Much of the coastline is machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland. Many of the islands are swept by strong tides, and the Corryvreckan tide race between Scarba and Jura is one of the largest whirlpools in the world.
There are various smaller archipelagoes including the Ascrib Islands, Crowlin Islands, Slate Islands, Small Isles, Summer Isles and Treshnish Islands.
The islands are shown to be important as a region of tidal mixing of coastal water.

Human

The inhabited islands of the Inner Hebrides had a population of 18,257 at the 2001 census, and this grew to 18,948 in 2011. During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.
There are a further 44 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than. Records for the last date of settlement for the smaller islands are incomplete, but most of them were inhabited at some point during the Neolithic, Iron Age, Early Historic or Norse periods. In common with the other main island chains of Scotland, many of the smaller and more remote islands were abandoned during the 19th and 20th centuries, in some cases after continuous habitation since prehistoric times. These islands had been perceived as relatively self-sufficient agricultural economies, but a view developed among both islanders and outsiders that the more remote islands lacked the essential services of a modern industrial economy. However, the populations of the larger islands grew overall by more than 12% from 1981 to 2001.
The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and whisky distilling. Overall, the area is relatively reliant on primary industries and the public sector; there is a dependence on self-employment and micro-business, and most parts are defined by Highlands and Islands Enterprise as economically "Fragile Areas". However, the islands are well placed to exploit renewable energy, particularly onshore and offshore wind; and the Sleat peninsula of Skye is an example of a more economically robust area. Some of the islands have development trusts that support the local economy.

Climate

The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the North Atlantic Current creates a mild oceanic climate. Temperatures are generally cool, averaging 6.5 °C in January and 15.4 °C in July at Duntulm on the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. Snow seldom lies at sea level and frosts are fewer than on the mainland. Winds are a limiting factor for vegetation: a speed of 128 km/h has been recorded; south-westerlies are the most common. Rainfall is generally high at between per annum, and the mountains and hills are wetter still. Tiree is one of the sunniest places in the country and had 300 days of sunshine in 1975. Trotternish typically has 200 hours of bright sunshine in May, the sunniest month.

Prehistory

The Hebrides were originally settled in the Mesolithic era and have a diversity of prehistoric sites. A flint arrowhead found in a field near Bridgend, Islay has been dated to 10,800 BC. This find may indicate the presence of a summer hunting party rather than permanent settlement. Burnt hazelnut shells and microscopic charcoal found at Farm Fields, Kinloch on Rùm indicate a settlement of some kind and this is amongst the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland.
Evidence of large-scale Mesolithic nut processing, radiocarbon dated to circa 7000 BC, has been found in a midden pit at Staosnaig on Colonsay. The dig discovered the remains of hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnut shells and gives an insight into communal activity and forward planning in the period. The nuts were harvested in a single year and pollen analysis suggests that the hazel trees were all cut down at the same time. The scale of the activity, unparalleled elsewhere in Scotland, and the lack of large game on the island, suggests the possibility that Colonsay contained a community with a largely vegetarian diet for the time they spent on the island.
Three stone hearths and traces of red ochre found on Jura and dated to 6000 BC are the earliest stone-built structures found so far in Scotland. However, in general the Neolithic sites in the Inner Hebrides lack the scale and drama of those found in Orkney and the Western Isles. There are numerous Iron Age sites including the remains of Dun Ringill fort on Skye, which are similar in layout to that of both a broch and a complex Atlantic roundhouse.

Etymology

The earliest extant written reference to these islands appears in Pliny the Elder's Natural History, where he states that there are 30 "Hebudes". Ptolemy, writing about 80 years later, around AD 140–150 and drawing on the earlier naval expedition of Agricola, refers to the Ἐβοῦδαι of which he writes that there were only five, thus possibly specifically meaning the Inner Hebrides. Pliny probably took his information from Pytheas of Massilia who visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC. It is possible that Ptolemy did so also, as Agricola's information about the west coast of Scotland was of poor quality.
Watson states that the meaning of Ptolemy's "Eboudai" is unknown and that the root may be pre-Celtic. Other early written references include the flight of the Nemed people from Ireland to "Domon and to Erdomon in the north of Alba", which is mentioned in the 12th century Lebor Gabála Érenn. Domon, meaning the "deep sea isle" refers to the Outer Hebrides and Erdomon, meaning "east of, on or near Domon" is thus the Inner Hebrides.
The individual island and place names in the Outer Hebrides have mixed Gaelic and Norse origins.

History

Dál Riata

Although Ptolemy's map identifies various tribes such as the Creones that might conceivably have lived in the Inner Hebrides in the Roman era,
the first written records of life begin in the 6th century CE when the founding of the kingdom of Dál Riata is recorded. This encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and County Antrim in Ireland.
In Argyll it consisted initially of three main kindreds: Cenél Loairn in north and mid-Argyll, Cenél nÓengusa based on Islay and Cenél nGabráin based in Kintyre. By the end of the 7th century a fourth kindred, Cenél Comgaill had emerged, based in eastern Argyll.
The figure of Columba looms large in any history of Dál Riata and his founding of a monastery on Iona ensured that Dál Riata would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain. However, Iona was far from unique. Lismore in the territory of the Cenél Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency and many smaller sites, such as on Eigg, Hinba and Tiree, are known from the annals. The kingdom's independent existence ended in the Viking Age, and it eventually merged with the lands of the Picts to form the Kingdom of Alba.
North of Dál Riata the Inner Hebrides were nominally under Pictish control although the historical record is sparse.