Family, Society and Highland Identity in an Industrial World

• Main Author: Nerbas, Don
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Edinburgh University Press 2023
• Subjects: Breton Island
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474494304.003.0009

During the later nineteenth century, the kin and social networks of the Highland diaspora that had persisted in the rural settlements of Cape Breton Island were transferred to the Sydney coalfield, as Gaels from the island’s countryside such as William McDonald migrated to the fast-expanding coal district. McDonald’s ascent to prominence at Little Glace Bay and the broader experience of the McDonald family were powerfully shaped by these networks. Reconstructing the making of a prominent family from the composite Highland community that developed in Cape Breton’s coal district, this chapter explores the enduring significance of Highland kin and social networks within new industrial contexts. It provides a case study of how industrialism, class formation and colonial nationalism recast Highland identities in the Atlantic world during the long nineteenth century.