Hebrides
Hebrides names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Hebrides a large group of islands
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a large group of islands, 500 in number, situated of the W. coast of Scotland, of which 100 are inhabited. They comprise, in all, an area of about 3,000 square miles. Among the larger and more notable of these are Skye, Eigg, Mull, Iona, Staffa, Ulva, Lismore, Islay, and Rum, the largest being Skye, of the inner Hebrides, that lie nearer the coast; and Lewis, Harris, Northern and Southern Uist, Barra and Benbecula, of the outer Hebrides, lying farther W., and separated by the strait and channel of Minch and Little Minch from the inner group, the largest being Lewis and Harris, really forming but one island but belonging to two counties. These islands are for the most part rocky and infertile, but well adapted to grazing purposes, the chief industry being the pasturing and rearing of live stock. The islands have been developed and improved by the building of good roads, and the establishment of frequent communication with Glasgow by steamship. The moors and fens abound in winged game, hare, etc., and are visited by sportsmen in great numbers, being largely and profitably rented for sporting purposes. The islands are a resort for summer tourists on account of their picturesque scenery. The fishing industry is considerable. Pop. about 100,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
heb'ri-dez, or the Western Isles, an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are about four hundred islands in all, including uninhabited rocks. The total area, 2,800 square miles; population, 79,159. They are attached politically to four counties of Scotland. The best known of the islands are Lewis and Harris and Skye. Skye is noted for the skye-terrier, a small long-haired dog the size of a poodle. The inhabitants are engaged largely in fisheries. The language of the people is Gaelic. Oats, barley, and potatoes are raised. Cattle, small horses, and small sheep are reared. Butter, fish, and wool are sent to market. A large part of the land is occupied by sheep farms. There are grouse, moose, and deer ranges of considerable extent. Scott celebrates the Hebrides in his Lord of the Isles. The Hebrides were less known than the Fiji Islands until the visit of Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1773. In the summer season the islands are visited not a little by tourists, chiefly from Glasgow. See Johnson ; Dr. Samuel; Boswell
Hebrides NEW, a group of islands in the South Pacific
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
NEW, a group of islands in the South Pacific, discovered by Quiros, in 1506. Captain Cook, who surveyed most of them in 1773, gave them their name, as being the most W. of the islands of the Pacific. They extend over 375 miles. Area, 4,200 square miles. The soil in the valleys is fertile, but the islands are mostly mountainous, and some have active volcanoes. Since 1887 the group is under a mixed French and English commission. Pop. about 75,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's put the Hebrides' population at "about 100,000" in 1921; today roughly 45,000 people live across the whole archipelago, with about 26,000 in the Outer Hebrides, the result of a century of emigration and the long unwinding of crofting communities. Gaelic, which Aiton in 1910 called simply "the language of the people," is now a minority tongue even in the islands, sustained by Gaelic-medium schooling and the broadcaster BBC Alba; the Skye ferry that both accounts assumed was replaced by the Skye Bridge in 1995, and tolls on it were abolished in 2004. The other Hebrides on this page changed even more completely: the New Hebrides, held from 1887 under the odd Anglo-French condominium Collier's describes, became the independent republic of Vanuatu in 1980. Aiton's "moose" ranges are a slip — the islands' large game is red deer.
Written for this edition, 2026.