 British rule came at a price for many ordinary people as well as traders . The Shetlanders ' nautical skills were sought by the Royal Navy : some 3 @,@ 000 served during the Napoleonic Wars from 1800 to 1815 and press gangs were rife . During this period 120 men were taken from Fetlar alone and only 20 of them returned home . By the late 19th century 90 % of all Shetland was owned by just 32 people , and between 1861 and 1881 more than 8 @,@ 000 Shetlanders emigrated . With the passing of the Crofters ' Act in 1886 the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone emancipated crofters from the rule of the landlords . The Act enabled those who had effectively been landowners ' serfs to become owner @-@ occupiers of their own small farms . 
