What is the ethnic group known as Ulster Scots?
Q: What is the ethnic group known as Ulster Scots?
A: Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English people who lived on the border between those two countries.
Q: How did they come to occupy Ireland?
A: The Ulster Scots first began to occupy Ireland in large numbers with the Plantation of Ulster, which was ordered by James I of England on land taken from Irish nobility, mostly in the Province of Ulster.
Q: Where did most of them originate from?
A: Most of the Ulster-Scots were descended from colonists from Galloway, Ayrshire, and the Scottish Borders Country, although some descend from people further north in the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands.
Q: Where did many of them emigrate to?
A: Many Ulster-Scots emigrated to all corners of the British Empire - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa - as well as Argentina and Chile in South America.
Q: What is a traditional term for these immigrants who later moved to America?
A: Scotch-Irish is a traditional term for these immigrants who later moved to what is now known as the United States.
Q: Is there a more recent form for this term used in America?
A: Yes, "Scots-Irish" is a more recent form of this American term; however it should not be confused with Irish-Scots which refers to recent Irish immigrants to Scotland.
