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 estimated to have some sort of Scottish descent. There are also many nods to Scotland and the US, including a village in Illinois called Banockburn, the US and Canada even celebrate National Tartan Day on the 6th of April each year. With this date and homage to the 1320 Declaration of our Growth, a crucial important document in Scottish history. In this video, I am going to focus on the reasons by many people of Scottish descent specifically living in America and leave those with Scottish Irish descent for another video. Early Scottish immigration took place in the 1700s, particularly after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 was defeated by the British army at the Battle of Calodon. Simply put, the Jacobites sought to restore the house of Sturt to the British Royal Throne, with Charles Edward Sturt or Bonnie Prince Charlie being an important Jacobite figure. In the aftermath of the Battle of Calodon, 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 prescription was passed by the British government, which banned men and boys from wearing Highland dress, including tartan kites 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 on national destinations. Some Scots also initially ended up in America as prisoners. For example, over 1,000 Jacobite prisoners were sent to Cape Fia 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 Fia, with this settlement eventually being known as the Argyle colony. Other Scots ended up in America as indentured servants, with around 9% 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 fosuably evicted from their lands and their homes, in the name of making room for profitable sheep farming and later for 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 in the Highland way of life, with thousands of 1,000 of Scots setting sail for North America. Importantly, some Scots ended up in America as part of the British Army. As many former clan members known for the ferocity were recruited into the British Army, Taxmen for instance, who were previously powerful Figgles and the Highland clan system, became key Figgles in the British Army, following the Battle of Calodon of 1745. In the run-up to the United States, declaring independence in 1776, however, the British started to worry that these former Highland clan warriors would turn and end up fighting against the British Army, therefore, impart due to this reason, an addition to the alarm and the rate of immigration. The British government surveyed every migrant who officially left Scotland and England for North America between December 1773 and March 1776. The British government even went so far as the ban immigration to North America until the end of the American Revolution in 1783. After the ban ended, many Scots travelled to North America once again, with anti-catholic persecution at home, also fueling this process. Another reason why many Scottish people, life for America, was simply in search of a better life. 106 passengers who travelled to Philadelphia from Stoneway in 1774 said that they had emigrated in order to procure a living abroad, as they were quite destitute or bred at home. The reality was that Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries was not a prosperous place for various people. This was compounded in 1846 when a potato blight hit Scotland, forcing many people to flee. The majority of Scots that reached the US managed to integrate relatively well into American society, facing little persecution, unlike many Irish Catholic migrants. Immigration to the US peaked in the 19th century with more than 1 million Scots arriving in America from around 1909 onwards. Canada became the main destination for Scots emigrating across the water to North America. What are your thoughts on why so many people of Scottish descent live in America? Please let me know in the comments below. 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