Scots Abroad

The National Library of Scotland also presented details of their collections at the recent ANZLAG workshop. One useful and interesting resource are the Scots Abroad databases.

The Scots Abroad databases give details of material relating to the lives of Scots and their experiences overseas. Scots went abroad for a variety of reasons: exploration, missionary work, study, travel, emigration, tourism. The National Library of Scotland's collections contain much material relating to the life of Scots both at home and abroad. You can search these databases by keyword and browse by date. In some of them you can also browse by author or by title.

Scots in North America


This database contains published accounts of visits to North America by Scots, ranging from the late 17th to the late 20th centuries. It does not include second-person accounts or texts which do not contain personal observations, e.g. general guidebooks, statistical accounts, histories and descriptions. You can search the database by keyword and browse by date of the period covered by the work (in decades) and by author.

Emigrants' Guides to North America

This database mostly contains works directed at those intending to settle in what is now Canada and the United States, ranging from the early 17th to the late 20th centuries. It includes some travel accounts and descriptive works on countries, states and provinces, but only where these are considered for emigration; it does not include pamphlets or other more general works about the need for emigration schemes. You can search the database by keyword and browse by date of publication (in decades) and by title.

Scots in Australasia

This database contains published accounts of visits to Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea or Oceania) by Scots, ranging from the 18th to the 20th century. It does not include personal accounts or texts which do not contain personal observations, e.g. general guidebooks, statistical accounts, histories and descriptions. The database is searchable by keyword and browsable by date of the period covered by the work (in decades) and by author.

Emigrants' Guides to Australia and New Zealand

This database mostly contains works directed at those intending to settle in what is now Australia and New Zealand, ranging from the early 19th to the late 20th centuries. It includes some travel accounts and descriptive works on countries, states and provinces, but only where these are considered for emigration; it does not include pamphlets or other more general works about the need for emigration schemes. You can search the database by keyword and browse by date of publication (in decades) and by title.

Emigration from Scotland: Emigrants' Correspondence

This database is based on letters and papers from our manuscripts collections, dating from 1685 but mostly of the 19th and 20th centuries. Much of the database consists of summary listings and brief details of content of individual letters of emigrants from Scotland in their host countries written to friends or relatives at 'home'. If existing, letters from friends or relations in Scotland are also noted, as are some manuscripts, correspondence or papers relating more generally to the subject of emigration. You can search the database by keyword (including personal and place names) and browse in chronological order

With a reader's ticket you can consult the material in the NLS reading rooms. For more information about these databases, e-mail Dr Kevin Halliwell at k.halliwell@nls.uk