Trade provided the things the Highlands could not produce.
Although there were industries in bigger towns, Highland trade
was primarily based on the products of land and sea. Highland
merchants bartered with tradesmen from around Europe exchanging
their crops, skins and fish for luxuries such as wine, fine
cloth and salt. The products of the land were very important.
Drovers took the small black cattle south to be sold. Coarse
woolen cloth similar to Harris Tweed went too. While oats and
barley were grown to feed the people, in parts of Perthshire
enough was produced to sell it outwith the Highlands. Even wild
animal furs went to Europe. Timber was sold south for boat-
building; it was floated down lochs and rivers to the sea and
taken by boat to its destination. Local trade too was important.
Clansmen sold their produce to merchants in the towns, in order
to buy the things they needed. These could be guns, pistols,
swords and food when it was scarce. Even small settlements had
merchants. Trees were felled for