Iain MacKinnon

“The increasingly one-dimensional use of land stands in stark contrast to the mixed arable and pastoral economies of the bailtean which, in turn, sustained socially complex communities. These township populations nurtured knowledge production systems that enabled mixed land management strategies. This was underpinned by communal, rule-based approaches to foreshores, grazing, and fuel assets which were taken to be common pool resources. Local resources could then be exploited through a consciously integrated and diverse set of micro-economies.”
― Iain MacKinnon, Plantation Slavery and Land Ownership in the West Highlands and Islands