In the history of America’s birth, the names of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, Honorable William Findley, along with other founding fathers, are shining stars. Nonetheless, few Americans today would recognize the extraordinary influence on those “fathers” by such men as Adam Smith, Thomas Reid (one of the founders of Common Sense Philosophy),Continue reading “Scottish influence in American Culture: Enlightened Education and Democracy”
Category Archives: Old World History Scotland
History of the Scots-Irish or Ulster Scot
Scotland Most Ulster Scots were in Scotland before they migrated to Ireland. MOST but not ALL.. We’ll discuss where else they might have been later. But for now, where were they in Scotland and when did they move to Ireland and why? Most of them were in areas of Scotland adjacent to Ireland. The largestContinue reading “History of the Scots-Irish or Ulster Scot”
BORN FIGHTING
Scots-Irish, were the dominate ethnic group in the Appalachian South. Their fierce pride, clan structure, and distrust of outsiders became our own, but before they defined our region, they were restless immigrants who, for several centuries, seemed as destined to migrate as they were to breathe. The Scots-Irish were a group of Scots who movedContinue reading “BORN FIGHTING”
HOW I CAME TO BE SCOTS-IRISH
As the war went on and they faced the British at Cowpens, Kings Mountain and a generation later in New Orleans, these mountain men with their precision rifles gave fearful account of their fighting prowess. They made up a good part of the Pennsylvania Line on whom Washington could rely more than on any otherContinue reading “HOW I CAME TO BE SCOTS-IRISH”
THE PEOPLE WITH NO NAME: IRELAND’S ULSTER SCOTS, AMERICA’S SCOTS IRISH, AND THE CREATION OF A BRITISH ATLANTIC WORLD, 1689-1764
More than 100,000 Ulster Presbyterians of Scottish origin migrated to the American colonies in the six decades prior to the American Revolution, the largest movement of any group from the British Isles to British North America in the eighteenth century. Drawing on a vast store of archival materials, The People with No Name isContinue reading “THE PEOPLE WITH NO NAME: IRELAND’S ULSTER SCOTS, AMERICA’S SCOTS IRISH, AND THE CREATION OF A BRITISH ATLANTIC WORLD, 1689-1764”
BORDER REIVERS-BUCCLEUCH’S RAID ON CARLISLE CASTLE
Walter Scott was born in 1565. His ancestral home was Branxholme in Teviotdale. Today one of the four original towers of Branxholme still stands, the Nesby tower, about five miles south of Hawick in the Scottish Border country. The-Nesby-Tower-Branxholme-Scottish-Borders In 1590 he was knighted by James V1, king of Scotland, and appointedContinue reading “BORDER REIVERS-BUCCLEUCH’S RAID ON CARLISLE CASTLE”
Border-Reivers-Invade-English-Tynedale
In October 1593 the Border Reiver clans of the Scottish Border valleys answered the call to arms. They were intent on teaching the English a lesson in ‘might is right’. Such a large-scale raid had never been planned before. For once the Scottish clans put their differences behind them, the relentless feud and blood-feud, andContinue reading “Border-Reivers-Invade-English-Tynedale”
Border-Reivers-the-Fray-of-Haltwhistle-and-the-Raid-of-Robert-Carey
‘The first thing they did was the taking of Hartwessel, and carrying away prisoners and all their goods. I sent to seek justice for so great a wrong. The opposite officer sent me word it was not in his power, for that they were all fugitives, and not answerable to king’s laws. I acquainted theContinue reading “Border-Reivers-the-Fray-of-Haltwhistle-and-the-Raid-of-Robert-Carey”
Border-Reivers-The-Scottish-Border-Clans-Bond-against-Liddesdale
In 1569 the clans of Berwick, Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles pledged themselves to repel and disown the clans of Liddesdale. The regent of Scotland, Moray, suggested that they should unite their efforts to subdue the inhabitants of the valley of Liddesdale, especially the Armstrong’s and Elliot’s thereof. Liddesdale, often referred to as the ‘Cockpit ofContinue reading “Border-Reivers-The-Scottish-Border-Clans-Bond-against-Liddesdale”
BORDER REIVERS PACIFICATION
In 1603, James V1 of Scotland became king of England when Elizabeth1 of England died without issue. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots who was the grand-daughter of James 1V of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry V111, king of England. The blood of the English Tudors then ranContinue reading “BORDER REIVERS PACIFICATION”