In 1994, a group of activists tried to blow up a statue on Ben Bhraggie, overlooking the town of Golspie in Sutherland. In November 2011, some more activists tried to bring it down with chains. Neither attempt was successful, but each represented the deep rooted hurt that highland communities feel due to the brutality of the Highland Clearances. Last week I examined the Clearance story and picked apart the misconceptions, and discovered what the age of Clearance was really about. But this week I delve deeper, discovering how the British Empire and its horrific trade in slaves has connections to the Clearances, how our culture was made illegal by that same Empire, and how those ideologies may still exist today - forcing us perhaps into a new era of Clearance.

Interviews in this episode:

• Dr Nicola Martin, historian from the University of the Highlands and Islands, specialising on British imperialism and highland culture.
• Dr Domhnall Uilleam Stiubhart, senior lecturer at Sabhal Mór Ostaig at the University of the Highland and Islands about Gaelic culture and highland history.
• Dr David Alston, historian and author with a research interest in highland history and Scotland's involvement in the slave trade.
• Dr Iain MacKinnon, historian and researcher for the centre of governance and land reform at Coventry University
• Meg Bishop, National Secretary for Living Rent, Scotland's tenants union
• Andy Whightman, Green MSP for Lothian and land reform activist
• Raoul Curtis-Machin, Operations Manager at Culloden Battlefield

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