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The 'Outer Hebrides', (officially known by the Gaelic name, '''Na h-Eileanan Siar''') comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland.
They form part of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the stormy stretch of water known as the Minch and the Little Minch. Most communities in the Outer Hebrides use the Scottish Gaelic language.
The name for the UK Parliament constituency covering this area is Na h-Eileanan an Iar, whilst the Scottish Parliament constituency for the area continues to be officially known as Western Isles although it is almost always written as ''Western Isles (Eilean Siar)''. The islands were known as ''Suðreyjar'' ("Southern Islands"; cf. ''Suðrland'') under Norwegian rule for about 200 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland in the Treaty of Perth in 1266, which followed the Battle of Largs three years earlier. Colloquially, they are sometimes referred to collectively as ''An t-Eilean Fada'' or "The Long Island"; ''Na h-Eileanan a-Muigh'' (the Outer Isles) is also heard occasionally in Scottish Gaelic.

Contents

Islands

Populated islands

Unpopulated islands

The Hebrides under Norse control

Local government

Religion

Ferries

See also

References and footnotes

External links

Islands

The main islands form an archipelago. With their smaller surrounding islands, these are sometimes known poetically as the 'Long Isle'. The major islands include Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. Much of the islands' coastline is machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland.^[1]

Populated islands

'Island'	'Population' ''(2001 census)''
Lewis and Harris	19,918
South Uist	1,818
North Uist	1,271
Benbecula	1,219
Barra	1,078
Scalpay	322
Great Bernera	233
Grimsay	201
Berneray, North Uist	136
Eriskay	133
Vatersay	94
Baleshare	49
Grimsay, South East Benbecula	19
Flodaigh	11
TOTAL ''(2001)''	26,502

Unpopulated islands

The unpopulated islands include:

★ Barra Isles, Boreray

★ Calvay, Campay

★ Eilean Chaluim Chille, Eilean Iubhard, Eilean Kearstay, Eileanan Iasgaich, Ensay

★ Fiaray, Floday, Flodday, Floddaybeg, Floddaymore, Fuday, Fuiay

★ Gighay, Gilsay, Groay

★ Hellisay, Hermetray

★ Killegray, Kirkibost

★ Lingay, Little Bernera

★ Mealasta Island, Mingulay

★ Opsay, Oronsay, Orosay

★ Pabbay near Harris, Pabbay Mòr

★ Ronay

★ Seaforth Island, Scaravay, Scarp, Scotasay, Shiant Islands, Shillay, Soay Beag, Soay Mòr, Stockinish Island, Stromay, Stuley, Sursay

★ Tahay, Taransay

★ Vacsay, Vallay, Vuia Beag, Vuia Mòr

★ Wiay
Small islands and island groups pepper the North Atlantic surrounding the main island group:
To the west lie the Monach Islands, Flannan Isles, St Kilda, and Rockall, in increasing order of distance. The status of Rockall as part of the United Kingdom remains a matter of international dispute. About halfway between St Kilda and Rockall is Anton Dohrn Seamount, a large submerged volcano.^[2]
To the north lie North Rona and Sula Sgeir, two small and remote islands. Not often included as part of the Outer Hebrides, they nevertheless come under the administration of the Western Isles district.

The Hebrides under Norse control

Main articles: History of the Outer Hebrides

The Outer and Inner Hebrides came under Norse control and settlement before the 9th century AD. The Norse control of the Hebrides was formalized in 1098 when Edgar of Scotland formally signed the islands over to Magnus III of Norway. The Scottish acceptance of Magnus III as King of the Isles came after the Norwegian king had conquered the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man in a swift campaign earlier the same year, directed against the local Norwegian leaders of the various islands. By capturing the islands Magnus III subdued the Norsemen who had seized the islands centuries earlier and imposed a more direct royal control.
The Norwegian control of both the Inner and Outer Hebrides would see almost constant warfare until being ultimately resolved by the partitioning of the Western Isles in 1156. The Outer Hebrides would remain under the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles while the Inner Hebrides broke out under Somerled, the Norse-Celtic kinsman of both Lulach and the Manx royal house. Although the Inner Hebrides, from 1156 known as the Kingdom of the Hebrides, was still nominally under the sovereignty of Norway, the leaders were Scottish in language and culture rather than Norse.
After his victory of 1156, Somerled went on two years later to seize control over the Isle of Man itself, and become the last King of the Isle of Man and the Isles to rule over all the islands the kingdom had once included. After Somerled's death in 1164 the rulers of Mann would only be in control of the Outer Hebrides.
As a result of the 1266 Treaty of Perth the Outer Hebrides, along with the Isle of Man, were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland.

Local government

Main articles: Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

The Western Isles have been a unitary council area since 1975. In most of the rest of Scotland, however, similar unitary councils were not established until 1996. Since then the islands have formed one of the 32 unitary council areas which now cover the whole of Scotland. The Western Isles council is officially known by its Gaelic name, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and known locally simply as 'the Comhairle' or 'a' Chomhairle', having changed its name under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997. The council has its base in Stornoway on Lewis.
Lewis is in the north of the island group and forms part of the county of Ross-shire. The rest of the group, including Harris, is part of Inverness-shire. Between 1890 and 1975 administration was split, by the Lewis-Harris boundary, between the county councils of Ross and Cromarty (which covered Ross-shire and Cromartyshire) and Inverness-shire.
The Western Isles is a member of the International Island Games Association.

Religion

The Christian religion has deep roots in the Western Isles, but owing mainly to the different allegiances of the clans in the past, the people in the northern islands (Lewis, Harris, North Uist) have historically been predominantly Protestant (Presbyterian), and those of the southern islands (Benbecula, South Uist, Barra) predominantly Roman Catholic. There are also small Episcopalian congregations in Lewis and Harris, though many of their members originate outside the islands.
The northern parts of the Western Isles (particularly Lewis and Harris) have been described as the last bastion of fundamentalist Calvinism in Britain[1] with large numbers of inhabitants belonging to the Free Church of Scotland or the still more conservative Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Services in the Free Church, the Free Presbyterian Church and some congregations of the Church of Scotland do not use instrumental music or any songs other than the metrical Psalms. In 2006 controversy arose over the decision of a local ferry company to sail to Harris on the Sabbath [2].
It has also generally been considered unacceptable for people to appear in church improperly dressed, although this is slowly changing. Violations of this nature might include the failure by women to wear a hat, or trousers being worn instead of a skirt, or the wearing by worshippers of either sex of informal clothing such as jeans. The local council refused in December 2005 to conduct ceremonies for same-sex couples wishing to register under the Civil Partnerships Act 2004. [3]
South of Harris, Sunday observance is less strict.
There is also an established muslim community on the islands, who are of Pakistani descent. [4]

Ferries

Scheduled Ferry services between the Outer Hebrides and the Scottish Mainland and Inner Hebrides operate on the following routes:

★ Oban to Castlebay on Barra and Lochboisdale on South Uist

★ Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris

★ Uig on Skye to Lochmaddy on North Uist

★ Ullapool to Stornoway on Lewis

★ Tiree to Castlebay, Barra (summer only)
Other ferries operate between some of the islands.

See also

★ Kingdom of Mann and the Isles

★ Somerled

★ List of Kings of the Isle of Man and the Isles

★ List of Kings of the Isle of Man

★ History of the Outer Hebrides

★ Hebridean Myths and Legends

★ List of islands of Scotland

References and footnotes

;General references

★ Ross, David (2005) ''Scotland - History of a Nation''. Lomond. ISBN 0947782583

★ General Register Office for Scotland (28 Nov 2003) ''Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands''
;Specific references and notes
1. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 171 & 198
2. WWF North-East Atlantic Programme - Seamounts report Retrieved 121 August 2007.

External links

'Historical footnote:' Many websites of the Outer Hebrides derive content from the Eolas Virtual Hebrides, website. This was once the largest rural website in the world. Eolas went bankrupt in 2000 and the Eolas TV company became MacTV. The web design team became Reefnet and the content has largely found a home on GlobalGuide.Org.
'Sites deriving partly from the original Virtual Hebrides'

★ Hebrides.com Photographic website from ex-Eolas Sam Maynard

★ Global Guide Hebrides Content website from ex-Eolas Scott Hatton

★ www.visithebrides.com Western Isles Tourist Board site from Reefnet

★ Virtual Hebrides.com Content from the VH which went its own way and became Virtual Scotland.

★ hebrides.ca Home of the Quebec-Hebridean Scots who were cleared from Lewis to Quebec 1838-1920's
'Other Outer Hebrides websites'

★ Stornoway Port Authority

★ Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

★ 2001 Census Results for the Outer Hebrides

★ Visitor's guide to Stornoway

★ Hebridean-Life.com - a Guide to Living in the Outer Hebrides