The Highland Clearances ('Fuadach Nan Gaidheal - Expulsion of the Gael') occurred over a period of more than a hundred years during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Clearances, carried out by hereditary aristocratic landlords, were notorious for their brutality and contravened the traditional clan system values which were based on recipricol obligations between the clan members and the clan chiefs. The Clearances destroyed much of the Gaelic culture.