Americas
Argentina & Scotland
Did you know the man considered ‘the father of Argentine football’ was a Glaswegian? Alexander Watson Hutton, from the Gorbals, taught football at the St. Andrews Scots School in Buenos Aires in the 1880s. He also established the Argentine Association Football League, the first football league outside the British Isles.
There are around 26,000 Argentines living in the UK. Scottish migrants have been in Argentina since the 1820s. Today, 100,000 Argentines have ancestry from Scotland, and Argentina is home to the largest Scottish diaspora outside English-speaking countries.
Canada & Scotland
The first trace of Scots on Canadian land dates back to 1010 when the Vikings enslaved some and likely used them as human shields during an expedition. Later, around the 18th century, many Scots fled to Canada to escape religious persecution, famine, and poverty. Their legacy lives in modern-day Gaelic-speaking communities in Nova Scotia. A Gaelic college in Cape Breton teaches the language and traditional arts such as storytelling or bagpiping.
There are about 7000 Canadians living in Scotland. Most of them have moved here to work, study, or reconnect with the homeland of their ancestors.
El Salvador & Scotland
Many Salvadorans based in Scotland moved here to escape violence and political instability after the civil war. Most of them came here between 2015 and 2022 and settled in Glasgow. The community is quite new, but there are already signs of their presence in the city. You can buy Salvadoran products from a store on High Street and order pupusa from Dennistoun. There is also a traditional dance group set up by Salvadoran women. In Edinburgh, Romero Place is named after a Salvadoran archbishop killed in March 1980 which marked the beginning of the civil war.
USA & Scotland
If you road trip around the United States, you may find yourself driving through Glasgow, Dumfries, Kilmarnock or Midlothian. These are just some of the many towns scattered around the USA named after Scottish places by Scots who migrated there. Today, there are an estimated 25 million Americans of Scottish descent, and more than 23,000 Americans now call Scotland home. On April the 6th, Americans celebrate the National Tartan Day, emphasising historical links between the two countries.