4. There were many reasons
emigrant Scots
succeeded:
• Nationality
• Language
• Education
• Reputation
• Skills
• Setting up businesses
• Other Scots
Success of emigrant Scots
5. Scottish people being
part of Britain gave
them a huge advantage
when they looked to
build new lives overseas.
The British government
needed to build its
empire so often
recruited workers
directly from different
parts of Britain.
Success of emigrant Scots
6. Britain’s government
gave help to Scots who
wanted to move
elsewhere in the Empire.
This included paying for
travel, subsidising the
cost of buying land and
offering training. All of
this made it easier for
Scots to make the
journey.
Success of emigrant Scots
7. There were also jobs running
the British Empire which
were expected to be done by
British people.
This included acting as
governors and in civil service
roles in places such as
Australia and India, all of
which helped Scots to get
work abroad.
Success of emigrant Scots
8. The Scots speaking
English also helped them
succeed abroad.
Many jobs in different
overseas companies were
run by British people and
so the ability to speak
their language made it
easier to get a job, and
also promotion.
Success of emigrant Scots
9. The Scottish education
system also helped
migrant Scots succeed.
Most Scots had a higher
standard of basic
literacy and numeracy
than even people from
elsewhere in Britain.
Again this made the
Scots good employees
when firms recruited.
Success of emigrant Scots
10. Scottish emigrants built
a positive reputation for
themselves. They were
seen as being hard
working and also seen as
careful with money.
All of this made
businesses more likely to
hire Scottish workers,
again making it easier to
succeed.
Success of emigrant Scots
11. Scots who moved abroad
also succeed because
they often had the skills
which were needed to
find work.
Many Scots that sought
to leave the country had
worked as farmers or in
mines, and there were
many jobs available
overseas in this work.
Success of emigrant Scots
12. Other Scots had trained in
professional roles such as
lawyers and doctors. The
need for such workers in the
Empire made it easier for
Scots to succeed.
Other Scots had scientific
knowledge, leading to new
inventions, such as the
telephone.
Success of emigrant Scots
13. Many Scots set up
businesses. This made
them wealthy, and
created jobs for others.
Prominent examples of
this include Andrew
Carnegie’s steel company
in the USA and Robert
McCracken’s brewing
company in Australia.
Success of emigrant Scots
14. The existence of
Scottish communities in
different countries also
helped the Scots
succeed.
This meant that Scots
could emigrate to places
they knew people and
could replicate their
Scottish lives, such as
religious worship.
Success of emigrant Scots
15. However not all emigrant
Scots did find a better
life in their new homes.
Evidence such as diaries
from Scottish settlers
show that many faced
problems such as
poverty, unemployment
and also loneliness due
to often living in isolated
areas.
Success of emigrant Scots
16. Negative views of Scots
Within the Scottish community there were internal divisions,
and there were negative attitudes held towards Highlanders.
The Sydney Morning Herald said that they “would form a most
undesirable population to send out here [to Australia] … it
would be wise to make any effort to keep them out.” The
Highlanders were “a wild disorderly race, little used to steady
industry, and very lax in their notions as to the morality of
sly grog-selling and cattle stealing.” In the 1850s, the
Victorian Immigration Agent with the Highland and Island
Emigration Society – Edward Grimes – wrote that many of the
Highlanders were, upon arrival in Australia, “in a most
deplorable state of ignorance, and quite unacquainted with
the English language,” and he added with distaste that most of
them were imbued with “indolent habits.”
https://thescottishaustralian.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/scot
land-and-the-australian-pastoral-elite/
17. Some of these Scots described
their problems in letters home to
friends and family.
Others even made the long
journey back to Scotland,
although others could not afford
to do so and were stuck in
unhappy lives overseas.
About 1/3 of Scots who left in
the years following WWI
eventually returned
Success of emigrant Scots
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