Historical Context

The Highland Clearances

At the heart of The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil is the history of the Highland Clearances (late 18th to mid-19th century).
This period saw the mass displacement of rural Highland families by landowners who changed the use of land from smallholdings to large-scale sheep farms.
This brought about significant cultural, societal, and economic changes to the region, causing famines, mass emigration and ultimately, the end of traditional Highland way of life.

The Industrial Revolution also forms the backdrop to the play, with its focus on the changing landscape of work and ownership.
The shift from rural to industrial livelihoods and the impact this had on Scottish society is a key theme explored within the play.
The exploitation of resources for industry, symbolised by the stag, the cheviot and the oil, illuminated the fallout of industrialisation, particularly on the common man.

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil was written during the North Sea oil boom in the 1970s.
Just as the Highland Clearances had displaced communities in favour of sheep, and industrialisation had exploited resources for the gain of the few, the oil boom again saw outside corporations profiting from Scotland’s resources.
This context adds contemporary relevance to the play’s exploration of historical exploitation, creating a cycle of hardship captured in the timeless quality of the play.

The time of writing (1973) was marked by social upheaval, including the emergent Scottish nationalism, labour strikes, and political unrest.
The influence of these societal issues can be seen in the play’s critique of exploitation and its call for Scottish agency over its resources.
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil encapsulates the complex historical context of exploitation in the Scottish Highlands, drawing clear links between the past and its impact on the present.