There has been a long tradition of emigration from Scotland, since at least the 19th century. Scots have been mainly ‘economic migrants’ with above-average levels of occupational and educational skills.
The Scottish diaspora is an imagined, cultural community based loosely on notions of ancestry and aspiration.
The Scottish-American diaspora has more to do with the internal politics of hybrid identity in the USA than to direct Scottish ancestry.
In general terms and in that context, how ‘Scotland’ is represented owes far more to Hollywood than to Holyrood.
Scots living in England retain a strong sense of being Scottish while retaining a ‘myth of return’. ‘Scotland’ remains the place they call ‘home’.
