Lochalsh
[2] The main settlement is Kyle of Lochalsh, located at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the adjacent island of Skye.
The earliest known inhabitants were Picts, but in the late 6th century Loch Alsh became part of the Gaelic island kingdom of Dál Riata.
Although nominally subject to the Kingdom of Scotland after 1266 AD, the history of the region until the failed rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 is one of obscure struggles between the local clans and against the central government.
To prevent further feuds and rebellions, in 1746 the government enacted laws designed to break the bond between the clan leaders and their people.
[6] The ancient metamorphic rocks around Loch Alsh have been heavily eroded over the years, most recently by a series of ice ages.
[7] Iron Age brochs, tall stone towers up to ten meters high and more than 2,000 years old, are found near Glenelg to the south.
The fleet of Haakon IV of Norway anchored in Loch Alsh in 1263 during the Scottish–Norwegian War en route to the Battle of Largs.
In the early eighteenth century the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships.
Although defeated and forced to surrender, his authority in the Hebrides and western highlands was such that he remained a leading power in the kingdom.
[15] In the early 17th century Lochalsh was the scene of a violent feud between Clan Mackenzie and Clanranald of Glengarry during which the MacDonalds lost a galley with all hands in the waters of Loch Alsh.
[16] Clan Matheson, led by the McRuari descendants of Somerled, were another power in the area, fighting for Donald of the Isles at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 against an army commanded by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar.
The Privy Council investigated the matter and caused Strome Castle, which Macdonell yielded to Mackenzie as one of the conditions of his release, to be placed under the custody of the Earl of Argyll.
His son Kenneth Mackenzie (c.1569–1611) successfully continued the bloody feud with the Macdonells of Glengarry and secured the entire island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
In 1560, inspired by John Knox, the Scottish Parliament abolished the jurisdiction of the pope in Scotland, condemned all doctrine and practice contrary to the reformed faith, and forbade the celebration of Mass.
On 10 June 1719 at the Battle of Glen Shiel the Jacobites were defeated by an army of English and Scottish soldiers dispatched from Inverness.
[27] Yet another rising, in 1745-6, led by Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) had more success, but collapsed when his Scottish soldiers refused to proceed from Derby to London.
[29] The Jacobite risings resulted in laws that prohibited possession of swords and the wearing of tartans or kilts, ended the feudal bond of military service and removed the virtually sovereign power the chiefs had over their clan.
Chiefs who once had been responsible for the welfare of their people became rich while the land was depopulated, a process that accelerated with the Highland Potato Famine of 1846–52 CE.
[30] After the clearances, the greatly reduced population was employed in sheep raising, fishing, kelp gathering and weaving.
On 26 November 1940 the mine layer HMS Port Napier dragged her anchor during a gale and sank in the Kyle of Loch Alsh.
[32] In modern times, Skye and Lochalsh was one of the former local government districts of the two-tier Highland Region.
[34][35] There are many attractions in the area for tourists, including hiking trails of varying levels of difficulty through magnificent scenery, boat trips, sea fishing, scuba diving and visits to the ruined Pictish brochs and later castles that remain from the region's turbulent past.
