Description
A public semiar organised by the Saltire Society and hosted by the Scottish Parliament looking to establish the role of overseas Scots in Scotland's past and presentWho Cared About Scotland? The view from the early modern historical diaspora This paper will raise questions pertinent for the modern Scottish political debate about the Scots overseas ‘cared’ about Scotland in the past. Scotland has long had a diaspora and, in recent years, we are more fully understanding its significance, not only in terms of the impact on new host nations, but also on what impact the members of the diaspora could have on Scotland. By focussing on the early modern period, questions will be asked about the impact back home on Scotland of the diaspora communities and how these manifested themselves. Previously, there has been a notion prevalent in history books that Scots who sought work, opportunity neither thought about returning, nor cared about Scotland once they left. This view is interrogated in this presentation and the findings will show that many of the Scots abroad demonstrably cared about Scotland. The showed this through the repatriation of capital to kith and kin groups, bequests to Scottish institutions, by their physical return and by seeking to foment or prevent outright revolutions (in all their guises). The paper will focus mainly on the period 1560-1690. After my paper I will participate in the public debate over the rights of overseas Scots to participate on the ongoing debates over the retention of the Union.
| Period | 24 Mar 2012 |
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| Held at | Scottish Parliament, United Kingdom |