Cotter (farmer)

A cotter was a type of peasant farmer common in medieval and early modern Europe, particularly in Scotland, Ireland, and England. The term generally refers to a tenant farmer who occupied a cottage (hence the name "cotter") and a small plot of land, usually insufficient to fully support a family.

Cotters typically held their land under a form of tenancy, often involving obligations to provide labor services to the landlord or a larger farmer. This labor might include agricultural work such as plowing, harvesting, and threshing, or other duties such as carrying goods or maintaining fences.

The size of a cotter's holding was significantly smaller than that of a yeoman or a substantial tenant farmer. They often relied on supplementary income from crafts, fishing, or wage labor to make ends meet. Cotters occupied a social and economic position above landless laborers but below independent farmers.

The cotter system was particularly prevalent in areas where land was held under large estates. In Scotland, the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries led to the displacement of many cotters, as landowners consolidated their holdings for sheep farming. In Ireland, the potato famine of the mid-19th century had a devastating impact on cotters, who were heavily reliant on potatoes as their staple food.

The importance of cotters declined with the rise of industrialization and changes in agricultural practices. As farming became more mechanized and consolidated, the demand for small tenant farmers decreased, and many cotters migrated to urban areas in search of work or emigrated to other countries.