How should the Scots who migrated to the Ulster plantations be characterized?
Ans. 1: They were essentially the dregs of society, being the poorest of the poor and from the Lowland area of Scotland, involving none of the more respectable Highlanders. Ans. 2: At the time they migrated to Ulster, 90% of the population of Scotland lived in the Lowlands and it was the most backward nation in Europe. Those migrating to Ulster were typical of the majority of the population of Scotland at the time. The Highlanders, not involved, were even more primitive economically. When they migrated to the American colonies, were they still genetically Scots? Ans. 1: Yes. While others had migrated to the Ulster plantations, e.g., from the London area, they did not thrive and eventually returned to England. There was great animosity between the Protestant Scots and the Catholic Irish, and intermarriage was highly unlikely, even dangerous. Ans. 2: No. There was a significant amount of intermarriage between the Protestant Scots with Catholic Irish and Catholic Scots in Ulster before th
