31 January 2013 GCU historian Dr S. Karly Kehoe Scottish
Highlanders who spent slave trade profits in the 18th and 19th
centuries on philanthropic projects such as writing a Gaelic
dictionary and building hospitals will be the focus of a new
study carried out at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). GCU
historian Dr S. Karly Kehoe has received funding from the Royal
Society of Edinburgh to further investigate the little-known
links between the Highlands and the slave trade, focusing on how
communities benefitted from their involvement. Dr Kehoe said:
“We know the Highlanders were involved in the slave economy in
significant numbers and in many ways. We know they were
motivated by the prospect of financial gain and out of a need to
support their estates at home. What I’m interested in is
understanding more about how the money was reinvested in the
Highlands and how that was perceived particularly when the
region was undergoing extreme social dislocation. “Highlanders
worked as owners, overseers, lawyers, doctor