 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 in the US, including a village in Illinois called Bannockburn. The US and Canada even celebrate National Tartan Day on the 6th of April each year, with this date an homage to the 1320 declaration of our growth, a crucially important document in Scottish history. In this video, I am going to focus on the reasons why many people of Scottish descent specifically live in America, and leave those with Scotch Irish descent for another video. Early Scottish emigration took place in the 1700s, particularly after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 was defeated by the British army at the Battle of Culloden. Simply put, the Jacobites sought to restore the House of Stuart to the British royal throne, with Charles Edward Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charlie being an important Jacobite figure. In the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, the Highland clan's 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 kilts 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 initial destinations. Some Scots also initially ended up in America as prisoners. For example, over 1,000 Jacobite prisoners were sent to Cape Fear 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 Fear, 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 forcibly 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's structure in the Highland way of life, with thousands upon thousands 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 their ferocity were recruited into the British Army. Taxmen, for instance, who were previously powerful figures in the Highland clan system, became key figures in the British Army following the Battle of Culloden 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, in part due to this reason, in addition to the alarm at 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 to 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 fuelling this process. Another reason why many Scottish people left for America was simply in search of a better life. 106 passengers who travelled to Philadelphia from Stornoway in 1774 said that they had emigrated in order to procure a living abroad as they were quite destitute of bread 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 one 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. Thanks for watching. Please support this work through buymeacoffee.com and Patreon. All the links are in the description below. Through buymeacoffee.com you can make small or large one-off donations that help support this work, with there also being an option to make recurring donations every month. Through Patreon you will gain exclusive access to participate in my buy monthly Q&A, the ability to vote in exclusive polls, and your name will be included in a special thank you message in each of my videos. All for as little as £1 per month. The link to the Patreon page of Celtic History Decoded is in the description below. Please also remember to subscribe to this channel and hit the bell so that you're notified every time I post a video. 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