Highland Songs of the Forty-Five - John Lorne Campbell

[Polwarth]

Gaun yersel, AndyJ3!

[Kern]

I have never heard of North Britons before this thread.

Umm.

Still asking the question. What is wrong with the word Scots?

[ANDY-J3]

The word Scots was only adopted by lowlanders because the Highland Gaels were identified as being Irish (Ersch) and I don't think they had any concern about being labelled Irish, so when individuals such as Hugh2 insist that the term Scots can only correctly be applied to Gaelic speakers he's only displaying his own prejudices and skewed understanding of the historical facts. I doubt if your average Gael prior to the eighteenth century had any real conception of belonging to a unified Scotland and would probably have preferred being described as Irish as it recognised he was culturally distinct from lowlanders.