The practice of Scottish history owes a considerable debt to the Welsh Australian, Professor Eric Richards, who has died aged 78. He was a historian of great distinction who covered an extraordinary range in his many publications. He has been rightly described as one of the truly great Australian historians of the past 50 years, who was preeminent in writings on the highland clearances and a major figure in the highly significant field of British and European migrations.
His books, all of them accessible and beautifully written, included The Leviathan of Wealth: The Sutherland Fortune in the Industrial Revolution (1973); his magisterial A History of the Highland Clearances: Vol. I. Agrarian Transformation and the Evictions, 1745-1886 (1982), and Vol. 2. Emigration, Protest, Reasons (1985); Cromartie: Highland Life 1650- 1914 (1989, with his friend Monica Clough); Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances: Eviction, Homicide and the Price of Progress (1999); and the popular The Highland Clearances: People, Landlords and Rural Turmoil (2000 & numerous editions).