Coigach, a peninsula in Wester Ross comprising several small townships, found itself under the national gaze during 1852 and 1853 when five attempts were made to remove sub-tenants from their land within the townships.
Through sustained resistance, these attempts were wholly unsuccessful.
At the forefront of this resistance stood the formidable women of Coigach who were described by the Inverness Courier as a ‘band of Amazons’ displaying ‘everything but hospitable intentions in the reception of the unwelcome’ sheriff ’s officer.
Each time he landed, the ‘brawny beauties’ seized the writs and burnt them. Completely defying Victorian narratives of femininity, the women of Coigach fought passionately and ferociously for their homes.
The barony of Coigach in Wester Ross had been the westernmost extremity of the Mackenzies’ Cromartie estate since 1609. In the
