A Global Clan: Scottish Migrant Networks and Identities Since the Eighteenth Century

"A Global Clan" explores the impact of Scottish migration on New World development. With a new approach linking personal accounts to 'networks' of kin and social groups, this book taps into the expanding academic debate on migration linking imperial history and the European diaspora. Migration from the British 'Celtic fringe' since the eighteenth century has had a significant impact on the politics, economics, demography, sociology and culture of the New World, as forces shaping international politics and even war. The contributors use new material to explore Scottish migrant networks and personal experiences in areas as diverse as India, New Zealand and Australia. Here are assorted migrant voices from Ellis Island and Australia, the tracts of transients in Asia and the Caribbean, and the voluminous correspondence of a specific individual or family in North America. The overarching approach, linking personal accounts to wider networks of kinship and society, promises a significant contribution to the historiography that will make it essential reading for scholars interested in migration and its implications.