Following the Highland Clearances, many of these families\u00a0took advantage of emigration schemes which saw them transported to Canada, the Colonies of America and Australia.<\/p>\n
Young Thomas Douglas, 5th<\/sup> Earl of Selkirk was instrumental in assisting many of these displaced highlanders in obtaining land in Canada. Douglas first became aware of these displaced families when he visited the highlands as a young lad. He later ran into even more of them when he was studying law in Edinburgh. Thomas used his inheritance to assist these former highlanders in emigrating to Canada, initially to Prince Edward Island and later further west to Manitoba where he sold them parcels of land for very nominal costs.<\/p>\n
In 1802, Lord Selkirk approached the Colonial Office for a subsidized settlement grant in Sault-Ste Marie, Upper Canada, with the hopes of establishing a settlement where the displaced Highlanders could once again farm their own land. The Colonial Secretary instead offered a land grant in Prince Edward Island, in the Belfast area, on the southwest shore. Upon receipt of this notice, Selkirk wasted no time in recruiting highland emigrants or in contracting ships and supplies. An advertisement, run in the Glasgow Courier for such ships can be seen here:<\/p>\n
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Selkirk provided assisted passage and a grant of land to those who traveled with him\u00a0 in 1803. A list of the land grants can be found here:<\/p>\n