John Alasdair Macdonald's PhD Research
My PhD thesis, completed at the University of the Highlands and Islands, is now available to read free of charge. It explores what happened to Highland men and women after the defeat at Culloden, and how they survived, adapted and stayed connected across Scotland, Europe and the wider world.
John Alasdair Macdonald PhD Thesis
The full thesis is available to download from either of the links below. Both copies are free, and the Ko-fi version also offers the option of making a small charity donation to Held In Our Hearts.
Full title: Gallanan Buidhe Fodharais (The Yellow-haired Youths of Phoness): The resilience, resourcefulness, and agency of Jacobite Gaels, 1746–1763: a social network analysis approach.
Part of the project involved mapping the family and social connections between Jacobite Gaels as interactive graphs, hosted at Stories of Highlanders.
I came back to learning in my late thirties, signing up for a part-time Scottish History degree at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) – and it turned out to be one of my best life decisions! Fifteen years later, which also included a Masters in British Studies, I completed my PhD studies (see my UHI profile).
During the final year of the Scottish History degree and throughout the British Studies Masters, I became particularly interested in the lives of Jacobite Gaels in the post-Culloden period of Highland history, from 1746 until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763. I was fortunate that the Centre of History at UHI gave me the opportunity to continue my studies into this period through their PhD programme.
Why did you do this?
Learning and researching eighteenth-century Highland history has become my hobby! Everyone has hobbies and this is mine – I genuinely enjoy the whole experience, especially getting lost in the research.
No, seriously... why did you do this at your age?
Honestly, the first answer is the truth!
What did you research?
The social and economic circumstances of men and women from across the Jacobite Highlands, from the embers of the defeat at Culloden in 1746 to the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763.
Why?!!!!
I believed that the resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability of Jacobite Gaels in the post-Culloden decade had been underestimated and downplayed.
How did you do this?
By tracing the family, social and economic connections of Jacobite Gaels across the Highlands and beyond, including their links with Britain, Europe and the wider imperial world.
Eh...?
In plain English: by mapping who was connected to whom, and showing how far those connections stretched, from the local glen to the other side of the world, I could demonstrate just how resilient, resourceful and adaptable Jacobite Gaels could be.
What stood out most from the research?
Two things in particular. First, most Highland history has focused heavily on military and economic events, which meant women's voices had largely been left out of the story. Using a network-based approach brought a much richer set of female perspectives to light, and made clear that women were far from silent bystanders during and after the Rising. Second, the sheer breadth of international connectivity among Jacobite Gaels in the post-Culloden decade, with networks reaching far deeper across the European and imperial worlds than I'd expected.
Does this research find its way into your tours?
Constantly! Whether it's through the sites we visit on tours, the stories behind a clan's history, or simply how Highlanders adapted to life in the decades after Culloden, this research can be a valuable addition to tours.
Interested in seeing the Highlands for yourself? This research shapes the stories I tell on tour. Take a look at my private tours of the Scottish Highlands & Islands.
So, what's next?
You would think that after fifteen years of studying, researching and writing, I would have had enough. Apparently not!
I am currently working on an article for a Scottish history journal exploring the experiences of Jacobite women in exile in France following the 1745 Rising, which is due to be published in 2027.
I am also developing a book proposal about the lives of three Jacobite women whose tenacity and resilience have particularly captivated me. Whether a publisher will be quite so captivated remains to be seen – but at least it is keeping me busy over the winter months!
It seems that the historical rabbit holes are still calling, and I haven't quite learned to resist them!