Ossian Collection > Thoughts on the origin and descent of the Gael

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the northern maritime nations had infested the
island by frequent invasions. It cannot be sup-
posed that the northern parts of the island were
allowed to remain unmolested by the predatory
spirit of those maritime people : their desire of
establishing the superabundance of their popu-
lation in new settlements, was manifested by the
northern nations for centuries before the weak-
ness of the Roman government had exposed the
various people who had experienced Roman civi-
lization, to the aggressions of numerous bodies
of barbarians, who chose rather to possess them-
selves of the fruits of the industry of others,
than submit to the toils of rendering their native
soils more productive by the pursuits of laborious
industry.
To those maritime rovers the situation and
population of the small islands on the northern
and western coasts of Britain presented an easy
conquest. It appears that the Western Islands,
the Hebrides, had got the name of Innsegaoll be-
fore Fergus the son of Eric had established a
kingly influence over the inhabitants of the
mountainous division of Albinn, from Drumal-
binn to the western or Atlantic Ocean. If this
fact be admitted, the Danes were in possession
of the Western Isles of Scotland called Innsegaoll,
within a short period after the Romans had
quitted the island of Britain, and left the pro-
vincial Britons to be defended by their own exer-
tions against their enemies.