Prof Tom Devine publishes new books

November sees the publication by Prof Tom Devine of a new work on the global Scottish diaspora and, as co-editor, a volume on Scotland's influence within the British Empire.

To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750-2010

To The Ends Of The Earth cover

One of the world's greatest nations of emigrants, for centuries untold numbers of of Scots have sought their fortunes in every conceivable walk of life and region across the world, from finance to industry, philosophy to politics.

To the Ends of the Earth strips away the myth and sentiment of this diaspora to reveal the fascinating truth, paying particular attention to the exceptional Scottish role as traders, missionaries and soldiers.

Taking in the impact of this global world on Scotland itself, and the degree to which the Scottish economy was for many years an imperial economy, the book combines absorbing anecdotal evidence with an acute awareness of the social inequalities that drove this emigration.

Selected by Saltire Society and First Minister

The book has been shortlisted for two Saltire Society awards - History Book of the Year and Research Book of the Year - and has also been selected by the First Minister as his favourite read of 2011.

Scotland and the British Empire

As administrators, settlers, temporary residents, professionals, plantation owners, and as military personnel, the Scots have always played a prominent role in North America, the Caribbean, Australasia, South Africa, India, and colonies in South-East Asia and Africa.

This volume of essays, written by notable scholars in the field, examines the key roles of Scots in central aspects of the Atlantic and imperial economies from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, in East India Company rule in India, migration and the preservation of ethnic identities, the environment, the army, missionary and other religious activities, the dispersal of intellectual endeavours, and in the production of a distinctive literature rooted in colonial experience.

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