I just found out that outside of the English speaking world, Argentina has the largest number of people of Scottish descent, which I thought was pretty interesting. The Argentine-Scot population currently stands at an estimated 100,000, and has existed, at varying levels, for over 180 years.
Over the years there have been some very notable Scottish-Argentinians. These include
- Cecilia Grierson – Cecilia was the first Argentine woman to earn a Doctor in Medicine degree, and had Scottish ancestry.
- Alexander Watson Hutton – a Glasgow schoolteacher, Hutton emigrated to Argentina in his late twenties. He taught for a few years in Buenos Aries, before going on to found the Argentine Association Football League, now known as the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, in 1893. It was the first football league outwith the the UK. He is known as the ‘father of Argentinian football’.
- Duncan Antonio Stewart Agell – Born in Buenos Aries in 1833 to a Scottish father and Uruguayan mother, Duncan Stewart was for a very brief time the President of Uruguay.
We love Scotland! You, scottish people, are a big part of our country. Best wishes from Argentina!
Dear Scotland people.All the Argentines Scotish descents are proud from where our famalies came.Beautiful Scotland for ever keep your identity high.
Colin Bain Calder (16 april, 1860 Dingwall, Scotland) was the first president of the argentinian football club “Rosario Central”
Thats if you consider Canada to be fully part of the “English-speaking” world. Canada has as many people of Scottish ancestry as the United States does, and Canada has a population of slightly more than 1 / 9th of the US. Canada has more Scottish people than Scotland. There are numerous books and research papers on how “the Scots” built Canada, meaning both people from Scotland and Scottish-ancestry Canadians. Canada is the most Scottish country of all. There’s even a Canadian dialect of Gaelic.
Absolutely interesting article! We Argentines feel a great affection for the Scots, for which we are proud that they are part of our culture and our history! My cordial greeting to Bonnie Scotland from Argentina 🏴🇦🇷💙
A Highland regiment was sent from the West Indies to Argentina when silver was discovered. They went native, marrying senoritas and took up ranching. A French spy reported that they did not deserve to be soldiers. When the Brits invaded they were beaten by a barefoot army, many throwing the contents of chamber pots from windows in Buenos Aires.
There is a MacLean pipe band there today. I have a brilliant piper friend who first came over to Glasgow for Pipe Band Championships. He had several long trips here and is now married locally with a job and visa and has just finished his degree at GlasgowUniversity.