Why Do So Many Scottish People Live in America?

Why Do So Many Scottish People Live in America? - Many people of Scottish descent live in America, but why is this the case? There are obviously various reasons why many Scottish people live in America, with around 20 million Americans (around 8% percent of the population) estimated to have some sort of Scottish descent.

There are also many nods to Scotland in the US, including a village in Illinois called Bannockburn. The US and Canada even celebrate National Tartan Day on the 6th of April each year, with this date an homage to the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, a crucially important document in Scottish history.

In this video, I am going to focus on the reasons why many people of Scottish descent specifically live in America, and leave those with Scotch-Irish descent for another video.

Early Scottish emigration took place in the 1700s, particularly after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 was defeated by the British army at the Battle of Culloden. Simply put, the Jacobites sought to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne, with Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie, being an important Jacobite figure.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, the Highland clan structure and Gaelic culture in general came under repeated attacks, with many Highlanders outright killed during this period. In 1747, the Act of Proscription was passed by the British government, which banned men and boys from wearing Highland dress, including tartan kilts and tartan coats. This resulted in many Scottish people sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to North America looking for a better life. South Carolina and Virginia were popular initial destinations.

Some Scots also initially ended up in America as prisoners. For example, over 1,000 Jacobite prisoners were sent to Cape Fear in North Carolina by the British following the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745. Over the subsequent decades, many more thousands of Scots arrived in Cape Fear, with this settlement eventually being known as the Argyll Colony. Other Scots ended up in America as indentured servants, with around nine percent of Scots in New York at one point being indentured servants.

The Highland Clearances are another major factor why many Scottish people left their homeland. During the Highland clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries, many Highland tenants were forcibly evicted from their lands and homes in the name of making room for profitable sheep farming, and later, deer hunting. Many tenants were burned out of their homes. Whether coincidental or not, the Highland Clearances resulted in the further fracturing of what was left of the clan structure and the Highland way of life, with thousands-upon-thousands of Scots setting sail for North America.

Sources:

Wikipedia - Scottish Diaspora -



#AmericanHistory #History #ScottishHistory

Scottish People America

[celtichistorydecoded]

What are your thoughts on why so many people of Scottish descent live in America? Please let me know below…

[skywatergarage]

My great grand parents are from Glasgow. They emigrated to the USA in the 1930s. They brought with them my grand aunt and grand uncle. Also went back a year later for my 2nd great grandfather. My grand father was born a few years after their arrival to the USA. Now they are all resting in multnomah Oregon where they are burried. My DNA test came back with 54% Scottish for myself. Quite happy with that. Clan HAY.

[SeaBeast]

Lots of Scotish and Irish ancestry in Atlantic Canada. One province even named Nova Scotia, or New Scotland. Love the videos :)

[macleoddj]

Greetings from a Carolina Scot! You do great videos thank you

[IosuamacaMhadaidh]

My YouTube handle is my first name and "Son of William", Williams being the family line that connects me to the Mackenzie and Stewart clan, as well as Grant and Cathcart clans through marriages. My ancestors went from Scotland to N. Ireland, then fled the uprising and went to Boston and Nova Scotia. My lowland ancestors wound up in Virginia and Maryland. Highland clearances, a taste for adventure and a promise of freedom and owning your own land again brought my family to America, and I'm proud to be a Scottish American. 🇺🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Idellphany]

My Scottish ancestors actually came to America (NY/Northern PA area) in 1830 for the coal mining techniques "D&H Coal Company Invited him in view of his coal mining expertise at Banlockhead, Dumfries" . Thank you for your great video!

[herrickmacmillan]

My family immigrated to Boston from Glasgow around 1920 sometime.

[LostNFoundASMR]

There were many waves of Scottish here. The last wave that came was as late as 1920’s in the number of 350k - most of have lived in the mountains here and have been treated poorly here over the past several hundred years. Research Appalachian Mountains- thank you for being a Scottish man who understand that we are here- because most of the scottish young people are very angry at us for calling ourselves Scottish Americans. We are being told we cannot reconnect and that we are committing cultural appropriation for playing bagpipes and wearing family tartans. This breaks my heart and I wish more people would talk about what is happening. By the way- even if you do not want to accept us - we are very proud to have come from such wonderful people. Much regards!

[doright]

My dads family came from Scotland, the Davidsons. My very first ancestor to come to America was named Colonel William Davidson. I have a painting portrait of him on my phone. They traveled from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, to Georgia, Tennesee, and to Alabama, eventually settling in Mississippi to stay for at least 4 generations now. Love the video. Love learning about my Scottish roots. I even married a Wallace. Interestingly even my husband is from Scottish descent on his fathers side.

[aikidragonpiper]

I’ve got Scottish ancestry and I live here in Arkansas, USA. But my name is Armstrong a name from the Scottish borders. I’ve heard they were mainly part of the Scots/Irish since most American Armstrongs came to America by way of Northern Ireland. But I have plenty of Scottish Highlander names mixed in my family tree like MacEntire, Campbell, MacGregor, Ferguson and Gibson.

[retrosonghits]

I have Scottish, Irish and Welsh ancestry. I am descended from Clan MacKenzie where chief Iian MacKenzie led 500 MacKenzies in the Battle of Bannockburn defeating the English. From what I know, my earliest ancestor came over on the Mayflower in 1620 and one of the original signatories of the Mayflower Compact. His name was Moses Fletcher, a relative of my maternal grandpa, Albert Fletcher. Anytime I hear the sound of the bagpipes, I tear up. It's something in me that wells up. Very proud of my Scottish heritage!

[carnival]

Scottish-American here! My last name is Sutherland, I am descended from the Highland Scots of Sutherland, Caithess and the Orkney Isles. As well as a ton of ancestors from the Hebrides 💪❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇲

[owlspiritreiki]

Thank you for this! Some of this I never knew as an American with Scottish descent!

[rebeccacurry]

On my father's side ( my mother's is majority Irish) have been told that the Curries ( spelling was changed to Curry after coming to the Colonies by an ancestor) were kindred with Clan McDonald and Jacobites and left after the failure of the rebellion. Once in North Carolina a great grandfather left North Carolina for Georgia to marry a great grandmother who's family had left for Georgia ( Jane Stuart Curry who was the youngest daughter of a James Stuart and Flora Mcloud Stuart) that great grandmother had been born in Scotland in 1822 but the family immgrated when she was still a baby. On the other line of my father's were Martins also left after the rebellion and settled eventually in South Carolina and then moved to Georgia when it was still considered the frontier. ( Also clan McDonald) what I've discovered in doing the family history is that the families were very close to each other. A lot of the culture remained in tact. My father has worn kilts over the years so have my uncles. My sister and I wore tartens and participated in traditional dance as girls. It's my opinion that having moved to the more remote places in America early on that they stuck with other Scottish families for whatever socializing that went on and therefore intermarriages occurred between those families. Also there wasn't the assimilation into other cultures as one might find in a large city. Even down to the time of my grandfather ( who was a farmer and stock dealer) he raised sheep along with cattle. While cattle was the more prominent livestock. Very interesting video!

[DanWebster]

My ancester participated in the battle of Culloden. Named Dr Robert Carstarphen. My Uncle told me all about it when I was a child in the 1960s. My great great Grandfather was an Irishman from Dublin who married Saphronia Elizabeth Carstarphen. Her father was Robert. Their account is written in the library of congress. They settled in Alabama in what is called the Grampion Hills. Wilcox County, Alabama. Its no joke that the flag of alabama has a cross in it.Thanks so much for posting the video.

[TheIronDuke]

Hello From Kentucky. I recently discovered your YouTube channel and really like your videos. Although my ancestors (Currens) were traced back to Ireland, I know that Scotland and other European countries as well as Australia has people with my family name as well. My several times great grandfather came to America by way of Frederick Maryland in which our family made their way to Central Kentucky. Thanks again for all of your great videos.

[jamescameron]

I was a Virginia resident .... noo back in Scotland to retire ... glade to be hame like

[jdogm]

I’m a Scottish American. I have some English and Irish as well, but most of my family is Scottish in origin. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸

[nj]

Willie Penn needed some strong arms in his colony, so Presbyterian Scots were encouraged to emigrate to Pennsylvania. Irwin and Hutton are a couple of the surnames.

[Abarvez]

My Ancestors on my moms Father side came here to the US from Scotland in 1645 while my Mothers Mothers family came from Ireland in 1890