The contributors to this collection employ a fresh approach to the subject of Scottish migration through an examination of personal testimony and emigrant correspondence. Use of these sources to establish the changing identities of migrants and the formal and informal networks that Scots constructed and drew on, first to undertake emigration and second to establish themselves in their new countries, is the unifying theme of the book. Organized in chronological order, it does not provide systematic coverage of Scottish migration across three centuries. Instead, the movement of Scots, or case studies of individuals, are examined for selected time periods to specific destinations; India and the Caribbean in the eighteenth century, Australia and New Zealand in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and chapters on North America covering all three centuries.
The first two chapters focus on the identities of, and networks employed by, Scottish sojourners, demonstrating the ways in which examples in both locations differed from wider Scottish migrant experience. Andrew Mackillop argues that eighteenth-century Scots in India demonstrated their ethnicity differently from their Atlantic migrant counterparts. Strong links with other Scots and Scotland were important as that was ultimately the society to which sojourners sought to return, but Scots did not cling solely to their own kind. Multilayered and fluid networks with Scots, Britons, Europeans, and Indians were all developed to further this final goal.
Douglas Hamilton determined that for Scots in the Caribbean in the second half of the eighteenth century, networks with other Scots, particularly between the Caribbean and Scotland, were paramount. Kinship and connections with the local region from which migrants originated were the most important factors in creating networks that Hamilton describes as a form of “clanship” to support fellow Scots both at home and in the Caribbean. Despite this, Scots did not create a separate Scottish identity or portray the sense of Scottishness evident elsewhere in North America, but integrated with a wider British identity.
The following three chapters examine the themes of networks and identities through individual case studies, although these experiences are examined largely in isolation of the wider context of such migration. Douglas Catterall sees Scottish networks and identities within North America in the mid- to late eighteenth century as an extension of practices established by Scots in Europe. The experience of John Rose, who settled in Charleston in the second half of the eighteenth century, is used to demonstrate the extent to which the movement of trade into the Atlantic was supported by traditional networks.
The only chapter that does not focus predominately on male experience is David A. Gerber's valuable contribution discussing the personal experiences of one migrant, Mary Ann Archbald. He explores the way in which she portrayed her sense of Scottish identity and the network that she depended on to retain this after settling in New York State, depicting the individual sense of loss through removal from her homeland of a reluctant middle-aged, female migrant.
Sarah Katherine Gibson describes the way in which an individual, Hugh Brodie, created a network that established a “transplanted” Scottish community in Lower Canada. Ties of locality and connections of kinship were paramount, as the Brodies assisted those from their home parishes whom they knew, or were recommended either by family or through the Church of Scotland.
The role of the Presbyterian Church is also emphasized in the remaining two chapters focusing on nineteenth-century migration. Eric Richards touches on the Highland experience of emigration, emphasizing the role of the Church in both encouraging emigration and in creating a network in which the new settlers could live. The Church supported Gaelic speakers’ attempts to preserve their language and distinct identity, although these ultimately failed in the light of increasing assimilation within the English-speaking community. Tom Brooking, however, argues that Lowland Scots in New Zealand specifically wished to integrate with the dominant English settler group, simultaneously maintaining a distinctly Scottish identity fostered by the Church.
The last two chapters rely predominately on oral testimony rather than written correspondence. Angela McCarthy studied Scots emigrants to the United States, and to a lesser extent Canada, in the 1920s. Networks of friends and family in the United States, rather than general ties of ethnicity, were most important in the initial move and immediately after arrival, since a sponsor was required for all immigrants. Subsequently these networks were not always maintained and child emigrants, abandoning their Scottish identity, assimilated particularly quickly into their new society.
A. James Hammerton determined that the identities of post–World War II emigrants to Australia were complex and tended to shift over time. A strengthening of a particularly Scottish, as opposed to British identity, was evident after initial settlement to distinguish migrants from their English counterparts. Acceptance of Australian cultural and social life swiftly followed, but was accompanied, particularly in later life, by a strong sense of nostalgia for Scotland.
The introduction declares that the function of this book is to place personal experiences of migrants within the literature of Scottish emigration. In this respect not all of the chapters are successful. The editor considers that “the broad sweep of Scottish migration” (2) and demographic investigation have largely been done, and many of the chapters do not include much of this discussion. Non–subject specialists may find this a bit frustrating, as questions of typicality of experience are not always fully addressed. That is not to say that the case studies and analysis of the experiences of key migrant groups are not in themselves exceedingly valuable. The collection though, has an element of unevenness. Despite the title, this is not a global study of Scottish migration, and the focus is primarily on Lowland Scots. Nevertheless, the volume provides an illuminating insight into the experience of emigration and contributes significantly to the wider debate of Scottish migration history.
