Lord Seaforth - by Finlay McKichan (Paperback)

About the Book

This is the first full-length study of Seaforth. Drawing on an extensive archival research in Scotland, England and Barbados, Finlay McKichan links important themes in Scottish and imperial history to show how far the principles and policies developed for the Highlands could be applied in slave societies.

Book Synopsis

This book is a detailed thematic biography of the Highland landowner Francis Humberston Mackenzie, Lord Seaforth (1754-1815). Despite being profoundly deaf and partially mute from a young age, Lord Seaforth went on to become a proprietor of a large estate who strove to protect his small tenants during the tumultuous era of the Highland Clearances. Financial pressures eventually drove him to become Governor of Barbados and an owner of plantations in Guyana, which were manned by slaves.
This is the first full-length study of Seaforth. Drawing on an extensive archival research in Scotland, England and Barbados, Finlay McKichan links important themes in Scottish and imperial history to show how far the principles and policies developed for the Highlands could be applied in slave societies. This provides a fresh new perspective on Seaforth's fascinating story as he fought for the legal rights of enslaved labourers, while offering valuable insights into the political struggles leading to the end of the British slave trade in the Caribbean.

From the Back Cover

'Finlay McKichan captures the exquisite dilemma of a high-spending quixotic Highland aristocrat in the Age of the Clearances. Full of good intentions, Lord Seaforth squanders his fortune and then makes the heroic and ill-fated effort to rescue his Highland finances in the Caribbean where he owned plantations and tries valiantly to civilise slavery. Here is the inside story of a great Highland estate and its classic tribulations, told with flair and a droll sense of the tragic melodrama which engulfed poor deaf Seaforth.' Eric Richards, Flinders University, Adelaide The story of Lord Seaforth, his estates in Scotland and the Caribbean and his governorship of Barbados on the eve of slave trade abolition This book is a detailed thematic biography of the Highland landowner Francis Humberston Mackenzie, Lord Seaforth (1754-1815). Despite being profoundly deaf and partially mute from a young age, Lord Seaforth went on to become a proprietor of a large estate who strove to protect his small tenants during the tumultuous era of the Highland Clearances. Financial pressures eventually drove him to become Governor of Barbados and an owner of plantations in Guyana, which were manned by slaves. This is the first full-length study of Seaforth. Drawing on an extensive archival research in Scotland, England and Barbados, Finlay McKichan links important themes in Scottish and imperial history to show how far the principles and policies developed for the Highlands could be applied in slave societies. This provides a fresh new perspective on Seaforth's fascinating story as he fought for the legal rights of enslaved labourers, while offering valuable insights into the political struggles leading to the end of the British slave trade in the Caribbean. Finlay McKichan is a retired Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Aberdeen. He is the author of The Highland Clearances (1977) and A Separate Kingdom (1996). Cover image: Lord Seaforth 1797, W. Dyce after T. Lawrence (c) Highlanders' Museum, Fort George Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-3847-6 [PPC] ISBN 978-1-4744-3848-3 [PPC]

Review Quotes

Finlay McKichan captures the exquisite dilemma of a high-spending quixotic Highland aristocrat in the Age of the Clearances. Full of good intentions, Lord Seaforth squanders his fortune and then makes the heroic and ill-fated effort to rescue his Highland finances in the Caribbean where he owned plantations and tries valiantly to civilise slavery. Here is the inside story of a great Highland estate and its classic tribulations, told with flair and a droll sense of the tragic melodrama which engulfed poor deaf Seaforth.--Eric Richards, Flinders University, Adelaide

It is a fascinating story of a man fighting for the rights of his tenants and slaves; of the survival of his clan Chieftanship. It is no lightweight story, no political thriller, but yet has the power to drive the reader on, to find out what happens to this controversial character and how he is able to overcome the obstacles placed before him.--Bill Sadler "Scottish Local History"

This is an important, and incredibly timely, contribution to the scholarship of Scotland and empire... The book sis based on signification archival research and McKichan demonstrates substantial engagement with the historiography of the highland clearances, the Caribbean, and Scotland's involvement with the British Empire, making an important contribution to all three areas.--Nicola Martin, University of the Highlands and Islands "History Scotland"

The obvious empathy that the writer has for his subject shines through in this generous biography. The book will appeal to scholars in a range of specialisms, including historians of the Highlands, the Caribbean, Scotland's links to the Atlantic slave trade, military historians and political historians interested in the machinations of politics prior to electoral reform.--Matthew Lee, University of Aberdeen "Journal of Scottish Historical Studies"

There is much to enjoy in the biography, and one cannot help being drawn into the very personal circumstances of this frequently impressive figure... As depcited by McKichan, Seaforth was a physically and morally courageous man whose flawed character left him unable to break free from the weaknesses inherent in the period's landed elite.--Matthew Dziennik, United States Naval Academy "Eighteenth-Century Scotland"

About the Author

Finlay McKichan is a retired Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Aberdeen. He is the author of The Highland Clearances (1977) and A Separate Kingdom (1996).