This is a book about the social in Highland entanglements with Empire – the networks, relationships and identities that made it possible for Highland Scots to access the Empire and its benefits. It explores – from a range of perspectives – the impact that these Scots had, as sojourners and settlers, on the different places they encountered. It is also a book about the present-day legacies of their engagements with Empire, and of the ongoing process of forging social and cultural identities with Highland roots.
The volume presents rigorous and insightful new research from both well-established and early career scholars, accompanied by commentary on the research and the issues it raises from a range of academic and non-academic voices. The book represents a significant contribution our understanding of the role of Highland Scots, influenced significantly by their culture and language, in creating the Empire and its legacies. It advances knowledge of just how diverse the impacts of Highland Scots were on forging landscapes and lifescapes across the Atlantic, and how their exposure to the colonial world influenced and reshaped their Diasporic identities. While the British Empire was a collaboration of diverse interests, this book will shed light on one important interest: the Highland one.