The Scottish Highlands is a historic region of Scotland, located in the northwest of the country, with the Gaels inhabiting the region. Mountain ranges dominate the sparsely populated region, whose population fled Great Britain as a result of persecution of Presbyterianism and the end of the Scottish clan system, or moved to larger cities during the Industrial Revolution. Until the 21st century, the Highlands was a stronghold of the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats, who were perceived to be the inheritors of the Highland Land League's support of indigenous crofting communities; towns and cities tended to vote Labour, while the civil service, rich landlords, and wealthy Lowland farming communities supported the Conservative Party. The rise of Scottish nationalism led to the realignment of Scottish politics along nationalist and unionist lines, erasing the older political distinctions between the liberal Highlands and the socialist and conservative Lowlands.
Gallery[]
