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Five hundred Catholics crammed onto ships not because they wanted adventure — be
1786 Event

June 29

500 Scottish Catholics Emigrate to Canada: The Highland Clearances

Five hundred Catholics crammed onto ships not because they wanted adventure — because they had no choice. The Highland Clearances had pushed Alexander Macdonell's people off land their families had farmed for generations, replaced by sheep that were worth more to landlords than human beings. Macdonell, their priest, refused to scatter them. He kept them together, crossing the Atlantic as a community. They named their new home Glengarry — after the glen they'd lost. Scotland erased them. Canada let them rebuild it.

June 29, 1786

240 years ago

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