Originally forming part of the Kingdom of Dal Riata, and later the Lordship of The Isles, the island was a strategic hub and used as a clan gathering site on a number of occasions. The MacDonalds were gathered on Carna by Donald Balloch in 1431 prior to the Battle of Inverlochy where they were on the winning side against the Scottish Crown. Later in 1543 the last remaining claimant to the Lordship of the Isles, Donald Dubh, led his final insurrection from Carna before dying a short time later. With the full decline of the Lordship by 1493 the Island then passed to the Duke of Argyll until it was sold off in the 19th century.