- Today marks the anniversary of The “Hector” leaving Loch Broom, near Ullapool, in 1773, carrying around 200 emigrants bound for the New World. The ship was sailing for Pictou, Nova Scotia, and signifies the early depopulation of the Highlands, heralding the start of a wave of Scottish immigration to Canada. The ship had been transporting immigrants for years, including a batch of Scots to Boston in 1770, but this was its maiden voyage to Canada. The settlers were offered a free passage, free provisions for a year and a farm in the new land. The arduous voyage took 11 weeks, the rotting boat was battered by storms and smallpox and dysentry claimed the lives of 18 children. On reaching the destination, the promised rewards of cleared lands and shelter did not materialise, and more hardship awaited the emigrants, as the “Pictou people” moved inland from the coast in search of shelter. Survive they did however, and it is estimated that today there are more than 140,000 descendants of these emigrants living in Canada and the United States.
- 1616 First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy
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