Christopher Columbus was Scottish

[macwilkin]

Information:

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/genera...=9780195340129

Calloway has some very interesting comments about modern-day Highland games in North America, btw, in a similar vein to Celeste Ray's Highland Heritage: Scottish-Americans in the American South.

Regards,

Todd

[TNKiltedWolf]

Very, very, cool book sir!! This will have to go on the must read list. Thanks for the reference!

Information:

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/genera...=9780195340129

Calloway has some very interesting comments about modern-day Highland games in North America, btw, in a similar vein to Celeste Ray's Highland Heritage: Scottish-Americans in the American South.

Regards,

Todd

[macwilkin]

Very, very, cool book sir!! This will have to go on the must read list. Thanks for the reference!

You're most welcome -- I'm always happy to share titles of good books.

Check out Fernec Szasz's Scots in the North American West 1790-1917 (Oklahoma U Press, 2000) for another good read.

T.

[Bugbear]

Well said, sir. A lack of political unity was the very reason that the "First Nations" were not able to resist European colonization & American expansion. Goodness knows some leaders like Tecumseh tried, but the various clans and tribes of North America were a lot like their counterparts in the Highlands of Scotland (see Calloway's White People, Indians and Highlanders), and as you pointed out, many of them were all too happy to fight rival groups and use Europeans and Americans to their advantage.

Only in Hollywood and on television is the Indian the passive victim; in reality he was just as human as his European/American opponent.

Regards,

Todd

Did not some of the tribes also influence the construction or fabric of our own government etc, or is that a myth. One tribe with a written constatution comes to mind...

On a different note, we all have or belong to one subculture or another, and it is interesting to look up that subculture's history in Scotland. Kind of like "my people's" history in Scotland.

[macwilkin]

Did not some of the tribes also influence the construction or fabric of our own government etc, or is that a myth. One tribe with a written constatution comes to mind...

On a different note, we all have or belong to one subculture or another, and it is interesting to look up that subculture's history in Scotland. Kind of like "my people's" history in Scotland.

Ted,

Perhaps you are thinking of the Cherokee Nation, which had its own written constitution, adopted in 1827?

Ironically, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee during the infamous Trail of Tears was John Ross, who was 7/8ths Scottish in heritage. After removal to the IT (modern-day OK), Ross collected funds to be sent to famine victims in Scotland, saying that the Cherokees and Scots had a strong relationship -- the aforementioned Szaz documents this story in Scots in the North American West.

Regards,

Todd

[Bugbear]

Ted,

Perhaps you are thinking of the Cherokee Nation, which had its own written constitution, adopted in 1827?

Ironically, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee during the infamous Trail of Tears was John Ross, who was 7/8ths Scottish in heritage. After removal to the IT (modern-day OK), Ross collected funds to be sent to famine victims in Scotland, saying that the Cherokees and Scots had a strong relationship -- the aforementioned Szaz documents this story in Scots in the North American West.

Regards,

Todd

No, much, much earlier, but that is interesting too.

I think I was thinking about the Iroquois, but I can't recall where I read about it. Someone's signature here on the forum triggered a memory about it the other day.

[Juggalotus]

More than likely Russian nomads found America before everyone else.

Remember, even back then they could see it from their tents.

Interesting information from everywhere, gives me some stuff to look up when I have a chance.

[Bugbear]

Cajunscot, I was thinking of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, and "The Great Binding Law." I did a little bit of a search, and got results saying that this had absoluteley no influence what so ever on governor Hooker on down through the framers of the constitution; that it is a complete myth and rewriting of history. I also got some search results that said it did have some influence, perhaps as a model, on the framers of the constitution etc; not to say that the American confederation then constitution was copied from "The Great Binding Law" or anything like that.

So, I have no idea if it's true or not...

[Nick]

After reading the article I'd still say Christopher Columbus, aka Pedro Scotto, was Italian, just of Scottish descent. His alleged true family surname, Scotto, looks to me as if it means something like 'the Scot' in Italian (guesstimating because I never learnt Italian). It certainly doesn't look like a Scottish name. In many countries (but not Gaelic ones so much), one of the early forms of surnames indicated the town where you were born, or if you were a foreigner, the country. If his parents owned a shop in Genoa, they may have been born in Scotland, or their forebears may have been, but he was probably born in Italy.

Wonder if he had a claim to belonging to a clan? Probably not. As the son of shopkeepers more likely he was of lowland descent, and they would have regarded highlanders and clans as barbaric at that time, LOL!

Scozia is Italian for Scotland, so I think a locative name would be something along the lines of Pedro di Scozia. Scot or scottish is scozzese. Scotto means 'overcooked' in modern Italian. Don't know if that helps.

[macwilkin]

Cajunscot, I was thinking of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, and "The Great Binding Law." I did a little bit of a search, and got results saying that this had absoluteley no influence what so ever on governor Hooker on down through the framers of the constitution; that it is a complete myth and rewriting of history. I also got some search results that said it did have some influence, perhaps as a model, on the framers of the constitution etc; not to say that the American confederation then constitution was copied from "The Great Binding Law" or anything like that.

So, I have no idea if it's true or not...

Interesting, Ted...something to research, if nothing else. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the Six Nations, save the Onedia, sided with the British during the Revolution, so I wouldn't think the Confederation government would feel much sympathy towards them, let alone adopt "their" form of government.

T.