The forcible dissolution of the Lordship of the Isles by James IV in 1493 had led to troubled times for the western seaboard. He had subdued the organised military might of the Hebrides, but he and his immediate successors lacked the will or ability to provide an alternative form of governance. As a result, the 16th century became known as , the time of raids. Furthermore, the effects of the Reformation were slow to affect the , driving a religious wedge between this area and centres of political control in the Central Belt.