‘Too much on the Highlands?’ Recasting the Economic History of the Highlands and Islands

First paragraph: In an influential intervention on rural history published in 1994, which argued for a shift in emphasis in the study of the agrarian economy from the Highlands to the Lowlands, Roy Campbell opened by declaring: A fascinating, though perhaps somewhat fruitless task is to speculate on why historians choose to investigate one topic rather than another. Sometimes there may be no special reason. Sometimes their interest may reflect a current vogue, for history has its fashions even when they masquerade as fundamental problems whose solution, it is hoped, will clarify much that has long puzzled the wisdom of many. Neglect of seemingly uninteresting or unfashionable topics does not necessarily have misleading consequences. It may simply limit knowledge or, more seriously, minimise variety and ignore subtle distinctions. Neglect may have more far-reaching consequences, however, if it is the result of allowing extraneous influences and pressures to determine the key problems to be investigated.