Annotation:Earl of Zetland (The)
X:1 T:Earl of Zetland N:Transcribed from a 1954 field recording of fiddler Peter Scollay (1922-2000), N:Burravoe, Yell, Shetland. M:C L:1/8 R:March D:https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/87312?l=en Z:Andrew Kuntz K: D AG|F2A2{c}d3A|B2d2A3G|(F/G/F)A2D2F2|E6AG| F2A2{c}d3A|B2d2A3G|FAGF EGFE|1D4D2:|2D6|| fg|a3fd3f|edcB A2fg|a3fd2f2|e6 ef| a3f bagf|edcB ABcA|{c}d3A F2E2|D4 D2fg| a3fd3f|edcB A2fg|a2f2 bagf|e6 AG| F2A2{c}d3A|B2d2A3G|FAGF EGFE|D4D2||
EARL OF ZETLAND, THE. Scottish, March (whole time). Scotland, Shetland Isles. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'B. 'Zetland' is an archaic form of 'Shetland.' The earldom of Zetland was created for the Dundas family, powerful descendants of a Scottish family who owed its rise to, above all, Sir Lawrence Dundas of Kerse, first baronet (1712–1781), who started as a wine merchant, became an army contractor and then one of the most powerful and richest of landowners in Britain, owning extensive tracts of land in Scotland, Orkney and Shetland, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire and London, as well as having extensive commercial and financial interests and political influence. He also acquired two slave estates in the West Indies - in Dominica and in Grenada. He notably purchased the right to the earldom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland from James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton.
A descendent also named Lawrence Dundas (1766-1839) succeeded his father as the 2nd Baron Dundas in June 1820, and, in return for providing financial assistance to the Duke & Duchess of Kent (the future Queen Victoria's parents) he was created the 1st Earl of Zetland in 1838. The family holdings were vast, and despite that the family seat was (and remains) at Aske Hall in the North Riding of Yorkshire, he choose Zetland for the name of his title.
