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A Dance Called America: The Scottish Highlands, the United States and Canada
This is an account of what happened to the thousands of people who left the Scottish Highlands to make a new life in the United States and Canada. The book evaluates the impact of people from the Highlands on the New World. It is the story of how soldiers, explorers, fur traders, lumberjacks, guerilla fighters, railway builders, and pioneer settlers from the northern part of Scotland contributed to the United States and Canada.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
James Hunter
159 books40 followersJames Hunter was brought up in North Argyll. He was educated at Duror Primary School, Oban High School and Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities.
He was the first director of the Scottish Crofters Union which he helped to establish as a highly effective pressure group with a substantial membership right across the crofting areas.
A journalist, broadcaster and writer, Hunter has published a number of books about the Highlands and Islands. He has lectured in Britain and North America on Highland history and on Scottish environmental and land use issues, as well as making many radio and television programmes.
He was the first director of the Scottish Crofters Union which he helped to establish as a highly effective pressure group with a substantial membership right across the crofting areas.
A journalist, broadcaster and writer, Hunter has published a number of books about the Highlands and Islands. He has lectured in Britain and North America on Highland history and on Scottish environmental and land use issues, as well as making many radio and television programmes.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 15, 2015
I thought this was excellent. It is worth knowing though that it is episodic in style, with each chapter featuring a different time and location. In that sense it does not try to be a comprehensive account of Highland emigration to North America. Overall though it does provide a representative account of the story of the Highlanders in the New World. The early chapters cover 18th century Highland emigration to what is now the USA, particularly the Cape Fear region of North Carolina, but the bulk of the book is taken up with Highland emigration to Canada, which is of course a country to which Scottish emigrants made a profound contribution. There are chapters covering Cape Breton, Glengarry County, the Red River settlement, the part played by Highland regiments in the conquest of Canada, and the building of the CPR, amongst others. The book also tells the fascinating story of the North West Company, the fur trading company which was run by Highland emigrants and which opened up much of the Canadian west.
The author explains that Highland emigration to North America came in distinct phases. During the 18th century much of it was organised by the "Tacksman" class, "genteel people of considerable property" as they were described at the time in the New York Journal. This class of tenant farmers (a "tack" was an area of land) were only one rung below that of the Clan Chiefs themselves, but were being economically squeezed by increased rents that arose with the rapid incorporation of the Highlands into the wider British economy in the late 18th century, and they viewed North America as a place of economic opportunity. In contrast, many 19th century arrivals to locations like Cape Breton were destitute refugees from an economic and social crisis in the Highlands. Many had been forcibly evicted from their homes or even forcibly deported.
Dr Hunter, who is quite well known in the Scottish Highlands, takes understandable pride in the achievements of the emigrants. However he is unsentimental, and in the early chapters makes it clear that the Highlanders made themselves very unpopular in the U.S. due to their generally strong support for the British Crown during the War of Independence. He also features how the Red River colony brought that group of emigrants into conflict with the Métis, many of whom were part descended from that earlier group of better off Highland emigrants who arrived some 50 years beforehand. The author also reflects on the modern sense of community created by the Highland emigrants. As he points out, some people in Scotland itself misinterpret this as Americans and Canadians playing at being Scots. In reality it is a celebration of their own lives as Americans and Canadians of Highland Scottish ancestry. If you have an interest in the subject, this is both informative and entertaining.
The author explains that Highland emigration to North America came in distinct phases. During the 18th century much of it was organised by the "Tacksman" class, "genteel people of considerable property" as they were described at the time in the New York Journal. This class of tenant farmers (a "tack" was an area of land) were only one rung below that of the Clan Chiefs themselves, but were being economically squeezed by increased rents that arose with the rapid incorporation of the Highlands into the wider British economy in the late 18th century, and they viewed North America as a place of economic opportunity. In contrast, many 19th century arrivals to locations like Cape Breton were destitute refugees from an economic and social crisis in the Highlands. Many had been forcibly evicted from their homes or even forcibly deported.
Dr Hunter, who is quite well known in the Scottish Highlands, takes understandable pride in the achievements of the emigrants. However he is unsentimental, and in the early chapters makes it clear that the Highlanders made themselves very unpopular in the U.S. due to their generally strong support for the British Crown during the War of Independence. He also features how the Red River colony brought that group of emigrants into conflict with the Métis, many of whom were part descended from that earlier group of better off Highland emigrants who arrived some 50 years beforehand. The author also reflects on the modern sense of community created by the Highland emigrants. As he points out, some people in Scotland itself misinterpret this as Americans and Canadians playing at being Scots. In reality it is a celebration of their own lives as Americans and Canadians of Highland Scottish ancestry. If you have an interest in the subject, this is both informative and entertaining.
December 3, 2014
A book which explores the Scottish diaspora partly voluntary but more enforced by the clearances. The depth of the resentment is still vast and it is to be hoped that the Scottish Government's prospective land reform (December 2014) will go to start the repayment of the debt to the Scottish people owed by the landowners.
July 7, 2017
A fascinating read about the influence of Scottish Highlanders on North America.
October 12, 2021
I sought this book out as part of my genealogical research. I have Scottish ancestors that I knew little about before I started researching in earnest, and wanted a broad overview of the timing and causes of Scottish migration. Though it's a bit dated (published in 1994), this book provided a great example of what I was looking for.
The author, James Hunter, provides a continent-wide view of highland Scots immigration through a series of individual stories, loosely and somewhat haphazardly interconnected, and only roughly sequential. It's a very effective way to cover the geography, circumstances, and motivation of the migration of this ancient and proud people, and to illustrate both the breadth and the interconnectedness of their impact on North America.
The names, of course, can be hard to follow. Although Hunter generally uses Anglicized names (versus Gaelic), there are still an awful lot of people with identical surnames to keep track of. The author helps by putting relationship reminders, which I found useful.
I leave the book with a deeper appreciation of both the impact of highlight Scots on North America, and a deeper understanding of the arbitrariness and violence accompanying the post-Culloden restructuring of highlander life (the Highland Clearances, etc). So overall I enjoyed the book, and found it suited my purpose well. It's detailed but readable, and well laid out using clear prose (though of course written with a British - versus American - style and grammatical structure).
I have only two main complaints about the book, that kept me from giving it 5 stars:
1) the lack of maps was noticeable and impactful. The book presumes an awful lot of knowledge of both Scotland and North American geography (or the willingness to make regular excursions into Google Maps while reading). Two maps for each chapter (one on the "coming from" side in Scotland, and one on the "going to" side in the Americas) would help a lot. Those would be much more useful to the reader than the beautiful, but seemingly random, color photos. Honestly, even period photos of the people and places involved would be more interesting and applicable than the modern landscape photos that are included instead.
2) the lack of discussion of on-going migration within the United States. The book describes a lot of initial immigration to both the US and Canadian territories (both before and after the US War of Independence), but all of the on-going migration of Scot settlers focused on Canada ... e.g. the involvement of Scotsmen in the fur trade and exploration of the Canadian west, the trans-Canada railroad, etc. There is not a single page of discussion on the ongoing migration of Scottish settlers in North Carolina - who moved across the entire American South as it opened to European settlement. Surely there are stories there worth telling. But Hunter seems oddly focused only on Scottish migration within the British Empire...i.e. before the American Revolution or within Canada as a Commonwealth country. An interesting and notable omission.
Despite those misgivings, this is a solid book overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it accordingly.
The author, James Hunter, provides a continent-wide view of highland Scots immigration through a series of individual stories, loosely and somewhat haphazardly interconnected, and only roughly sequential. It's a very effective way to cover the geography, circumstances, and motivation of the migration of this ancient and proud people, and to illustrate both the breadth and the interconnectedness of their impact on North America.
The names, of course, can be hard to follow. Although Hunter generally uses Anglicized names (versus Gaelic), there are still an awful lot of people with identical surnames to keep track of. The author helps by putting relationship reminders, which I found useful.
I leave the book with a deeper appreciation of both the impact of highlight Scots on North America, and a deeper understanding of the arbitrariness and violence accompanying the post-Culloden restructuring of highlander life (the Highland Clearances, etc). So overall I enjoyed the book, and found it suited my purpose well. It's detailed but readable, and well laid out using clear prose (though of course written with a British - versus American - style and grammatical structure).
I have only two main complaints about the book, that kept me from giving it 5 stars:
1) the lack of maps was noticeable and impactful. The book presumes an awful lot of knowledge of both Scotland and North American geography (or the willingness to make regular excursions into Google Maps while reading). Two maps for each chapter (one on the "coming from" side in Scotland, and one on the "going to" side in the Americas) would help a lot. Those would be much more useful to the reader than the beautiful, but seemingly random, color photos. Honestly, even period photos of the people and places involved would be more interesting and applicable than the modern landscape photos that are included instead.
2) the lack of discussion of on-going migration within the United States. The book describes a lot of initial immigration to both the US and Canadian territories (both before and after the US War of Independence), but all of the on-going migration of Scot settlers focused on Canada ... e.g. the involvement of Scotsmen in the fur trade and exploration of the Canadian west, the trans-Canada railroad, etc. There is not a single page of discussion on the ongoing migration of Scottish settlers in North Carolina - who moved across the entire American South as it opened to European settlement. Surely there are stories there worth telling. But Hunter seems oddly focused only on Scottish migration within the British Empire...i.e. before the American Revolution or within Canada as a Commonwealth country. An interesting and notable omission.
Despite those misgivings, this is a solid book overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it accordingly.
February 5, 2015
Very interesting account centered around the Highland clearances and also focusing on some of the major areas of North America where Highland Scots ended up. I'm only giving it four stars simply because I thought the focus was a bit narrow. Naturally a medium-length book cannot cover every scenario, but this book seemed to go in great depth on just a handful of settlements and regions. On the one hand, I found the detail very helpful, such that I really understood that particular settlement's makeup and the link "back home". On the other hand, I just felt like it could have been more comprehensive, allowing for a little more breadth even if other areas couldnt' be covered in depth.
But we're nitpicking here; the book really was interesting and enjoyable. Sometimes a bit dry, but that wouldn't be a fair criticism for a history book. You will finish the book with a better understanding and appreciation of what happened to Highland Scots in their home country, why they left, where and why the ended up where they did, and the kind of influence they had. Definitely worth reading, regardless of your heritage.
But we're nitpicking here; the book really was interesting and enjoyable. Sometimes a bit dry, but that wouldn't be a fair criticism for a history book. You will finish the book with a better understanding and appreciation of what happened to Highland Scots in their home country, why they left, where and why the ended up where they did, and the kind of influence they had. Definitely worth reading, regardless of your heritage.
March 15, 2025
Hier wird die Geschichte ausschließlich aus der Sicht der Auswanderer erzählt. Besonders diejenigen, die Schottland zuerst verließen, kamen oft zu mehr Wohlstand, als es ihnen in ihrer alten Heimat möglich gewesen wäre. Aber ihr eigenes schweres Schicksal hat sie oft nichts gelehrt, denn sie verhielten sich den Indianern gegenüber oft genauso wie die englischen Landlords sich ihnen gegenüber verhalten haben: sie übernahmen einfach das Land, ohne an die eigentlichen Bewohner einen Gedanken zu verschwenden.
April 15, 2022
Very knowledgeable and readable.
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April 11, 2010A Dance Called America: The Scottish Highlands, the U. S. and Canada by James Hunter (1996)
July 23, 2011
This book has interesting information but seems to go from one place to another in an erratic manner. I found it difficult to read at times
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews