Westland survival oats
By the early sixteenth century, Gaelic was an endangered language which lacked the resilience to survive the impact of the Reformation. Consequentially, Gaelic began to lose its social status while Scots became the language of a literate elite. To reduce the power of the Galwegian kindreds, there was a plantation of Scots speakers in Galloway and Scots became the language of administration and law. Crucially, it led Galloway’s Gaelic kindreds to support the Balliols against the Bruces in their struggles for the Scottish crown which lasted from 1286 to 1356, when David II prevailed over Edward Balliol.
The persistence of this Galwegian identity was an enduring source of conflict with Scottish kings from David I to David II. It is likely that the survival of Gaelic was intimately bound up with the survival of a distinct Galwegian identity. The end of Gaelic in Galloway is as obscure as its beginnings. Gaelic in Galloway: Part Two- Contraction.