Scottish History

Summary ~
  • Scottish History 101 ~ from 1500 B.C. to the present, relating to specific historical periods ~ ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Victorian, Edwardian
  • Kings & Queens of Scotland ~ an historical reference guide
  • Famous Scots & Scottish Americans ~ actors, athletes, authors, brand names, businessmen, educators, explorers, inventors, ministers, painters, philanthropists, singers, song writers, statesmen, women
  • US Scots Accomplishments ~ explorers, settlers, Colonials, revolutionarys, fur traders, soldiers, ranchers, cowboys
  • Census Data about Scottish Americans ~ Scottish names rankings in Scotland and the U.S., plus their dispersal across the U.S.
  • An American Wedding Day ~ a humorous listing of Scottish inventions

~~~~~

Scottish History 101

There’s an old saying that you can’t get anywhere until you know where you’ve been. A brief timeline of Scottish history will help you to better understand the Scots as a people ~ then to use the information in your wedding planning.

The Royal Houses of the Kings & Queens of Scotland gives you another reference. This can help you tie specific kings and queens to various periods of history ~ ancient, medieval, renaissance, Victorian, and Edwardian ~ as you select a wedding dress, just the right wedding accessories, and other wedding plans.

There are hundreds of sources, both online and in published form, telling the in-depth history of Scotland. Their past is tumultuous ~ fraught with danger, betrayal, and daring. As a people, they had to be strong, forthright, and often cunning. Otherwise, they never would have survived, nor held off so many enemies for so long.

Why Did the Scots Come To America?

Between all the wars in Scotland, the Proscription Act after the Battle of Culloden in 1747, and the Potato Famine of the 1840’s, Scotland had become a very poor country, with little to offer her men.

Some of the Scots came by choice, some were driven. Some came penniless and died that way. Some came penniless and died wealthy. But very few have ever been on the lists of welfare recipients.

King James VI of Scotland, alias James I of England, issued charters for the English, including Scotsmen, to settle in the New World.

  • In 1607, the London Company founded Jamestown.
  • In 1620, the Plymouth Company landed in Massachusetts.
  • In 1675, the first shipload of Quakers from the British Isles, arrived and settled the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia.

~~~~~

On both sides of the ocean, Scotland has given us inventors, educators, laborers, merchants, statesmen, explorers, and others of that ilk.

Footnote: If you wish to research your Scottish genealogy in more depth, the official government source is http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

Leave Scottish History and Return to Scottish Wedding Dreams Home Page