The Other British Isles

Their names bespeak a rich and varied past, belying their paucity of notice by historians. From the Norse Hjaltland comes the modern Shetland: islands nominally Scottish, steeped in Nordic culture, closer to the Arctic Circle than to London. Important Neolithic sites at Skara Brae and Maes Howe in the Orkneys wallow in anonymity next to Stonehenge. Holy Iona, island center of Celtic Christianity; the Isle of Man, former seat of rule over the Irish Sea; Anglesey and Islay, homes of forgotten Medieval courts at Aberffraw and Loch Finlaggan--these are just a few of the more than 6,000 islands that form the archipelago known as the British Isles. Inhabited for millennia and today home to half a million people, the offshore islands demonstrate that the British Isles comprise far more than just England, Scotland and Wales. This history of Britain's other islands sheds light on a fundamental but neglected aspect of the past. Focusing on the eight islands or chains that have long supported substantial populations, it tells the stories of Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, Anglesey, the Channel Islands, the Scilly Isles, and the Isles of Man and Wight. From their earliest Neolithic settlement, to Roman, Norse and Norman occupation, to the struggle to maintain their unique identities in today's world, the lives of these islands are a fascinating overlooked slice of European history. A chapter is devoted to each, and maps of the islands are included. Appendices provide geographical descriptions, population statistics, political and economic profiles. A select bibliography and index are included.