and their aftermaths as part of a broader, contested, process of state formation. To date, however, the impact of the risings on the Highland landscape has either been assumed or simply ignored. This project will therefore centre the landscape in its consideration of the military campaigns and aftermaths to demonstrate how environmental factors impacted the raising, supplying, manoeuvring, and tactics of both the British and Jacobite armies and to interrogate the nature and impact of the British army’s fire and sword campaigns. In doing so, it builds on recent scholarly interventions demonstrating how the management of the Highland environment, through ‘improvement’ ideology, was a central component of eighteenth-century state formation.

Research questions may include:

• How did environmental conditions affect the operational capacities of the Jacobite and/or British armies?
• What were the environmental legacies of the military campaigns in Scotland?
• How did British soldiers interact with the Scottish environment and how did responses to the environment intersect with cultural understandings of identity?
• Were experiences on the ground shaped by literary, visual, or material representations of the environment?

Methodologically, the project draws together archival records (estate papers, old parish registers, military and government records), literary representations (eighteenth-century travel writing, prints and paintings), cartographic analysis (estate and government surveys, early modern maps, military maps and plans), and environmental and archaeological datasets (settlement and battlefield archaeology, historical weather data). It will provide important perspectives on eighteenth-century warfare, environmental and population resilience, and identity. There is room for the successful candidate to shape the project to their own areas of interest in discussion with the lead supervisor, and the chronological and geographical scope of the project have been left intentionally broad to facilitate this.

Lead supervisor
Dr Nicola Martin, Nicola.Martin@uhi.ac.uk

Start date
January 2027

Full-time/part-time availability
Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years

Entry Requirements
A UK first-class or upper second-class honours Bachelor’s degree, or a UK Master’s degree with Merit (or their equivalent) are required for PhD admissions. Exceptional candidates holding only a Bachelor's degree may be considered on an individual basis. Candidates should be highly motivated with strong academic potential and a background in history, archaeology, heritage studies, or a related field. Previous experience working with archival documents would be an advantage, whilst Gaelic language skills may be necessary depending on the candidate’s preferred geographical focus. This PhD can be undertaken remotely, but sustained research in a range of UK archives and fieldwork visits will be essential.

How to apply
Interested applicants should submit a CV and supporting statement, plus contact details for one referee, to Nicola.Martin@uhi.ac.uk by Friday 11 September. Please include the project title in the subject line. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview before the end of September. Your supporting statement should be a maximum of 500 words and should clearly set out your fit to the project and how you would like to shape it.

and their aftermaths as part of a broader, contested, process of state formation. To date, however, the impact of the risings on the Highland landscape has either been assumed or simply ignored. This project will therefore centre the landscape in its consideration of the military campaigns and aftermaths to demonstrate how environmental factors impacted the raising, supplying, manoeuvring, and tactics of both the British and Jacobite armies and to interrogate the nature and impact of the British army’s fire and sword campaigns. In doing so, it builds on recent scholarly interventions demonstrating how the management of the Highland environment, through ‘improvement’ ideology, was a central component of eighteenth-century state formation.

Research questions may include:

• How did environmental conditions affect the operational capacities of the Jacobite and/or British armies?
• What were the environmental legacies of the military campaigns in Scotland?
• How did British soldiers interact with the Scottish environment and how did responses to the environment intersect with cultural understandings of identity?
• Were experiences on the ground shaped by literary, visual, or material representations of the environment?

Methodologically, the project draws together archival records (estate papers, old parish registers, military and government records), literary representations (eighteenth-century travel writing, prints and paintings), cartographic analysis (estate and government surveys, early modern maps, military maps and plans), and environmental and archaeological datasets (settlement and battlefield archaeology, historical weather data). It will provide important perspectives on eighteenth-century warfare, environmental and population resilience, and identity. There is room for the successful candidate to shape the project to their own areas of interest in discussion with the lead supervisor, and the chronological and geographical scope of the project have been left intentionally broad to facilitate this.

Lead supervisor
Dr Nicola Martin, Nicola.Martin@uhi.ac.uk

Start date
January 2027

Full-time/part-time availability
Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years

Entry Requirements
A UK first-class or upper second-class honours Bachelor’s degree, or a UK Master’s degree with Merit (or their equivalent) are required for PhD admissions. Exceptional candidates holding only a Bachelor's degree may be considered on an individual basis. Candidates should be highly motivated with strong academic potential and a background in history, archaeology, heritage studies, or a related field. Previous experience working with archival documents would be an advantage, whilst Gaelic language skills may be necessary depending on the candidate’s preferred geographical focus. This PhD can be undertaken remotely, but sustained research in a range of UK archives and fieldwork visits will be essential.

How to apply
Interested applicants should submit a CV and supporting statement, plus contact details for one referee, to Nicola.Martin@uhi.ac.uk by Friday 11 September. Please include the project title in the subject line. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview before the end of September. Your supporting statement should be a maximum of 500 words and should clearly set out your fit to the project and how you would like to shape it.