often overtly critical of them. Richards describes three attempts at large-scale resistance before the Crofters' War: the Year of the Sheep, protests against Patrick Sellar's clearance of Strathnaver in 1812–4, and the "Dudgeonite agitation" in Easter Ross in 1819–20, sparked by a local tacksman's organization of an emigration fund. Crofters' Act The Highland Land League eventually achieved land reform in the enactment of the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886, but these could not bring economic viability and came too late, at a time when the land was already suffering from depopulation. However, the Crofters' Act put an end to the Clearances by granting security of tenure to crofters. However, the Crofters' Act did not grant security of tenure to cottars or break up large estates. As a result, the Scottish Highlands continues to have the most unequal distributions of land in Europe, with more than half of Scotland owned by fewer than 500 people. Land struggles occurred after the First and Second World Wars as returning servicemen could not get crofts. Legacy Literature The clearances continue to be debated between historians and others who approach the subject with different analysis of sources and determination of causes. As such, there are significant differences between the understanding of the Highland clearances held by historians and the popular view of these events. Furthermore, the historical analysis is complicated by political views, including an ongoing debate about who should possess and exercise control over land in Scotland. The clearances were condemned by many writers at the time, and in the late 19th century they were invoked in opposition to the enormous power of landlords under Scottish law and calls for land reform related to crofting, notably in Alexander Mackenzie's 1883 History of the Highland Clearances. The effects of the clearances were evoked in fictional works by authors including Neil M. Gunn and Fionn MacColla in the 1930s and 1940s. The subject was largely ignored by academic historians until the publication of a best-selling history book by John Prebble in 1963 attracted worldwide attention to his view that Highlanders had been forced into tragic exile by their former chieftains turned brutal landlords. Though some historians have disputed this work as an over-simplification, other authors went further and stated that it promoted misconceptions that the clearances were equivalent to genocide or ethnic cleansing and/or that British authorities in London played a major, persistent role in carrying