under construction
One misconception must be erased away. The ancestors of the the Scotch-Irish had very little to do with clans, tartans, bagpipes, or any of the other things that modern Americans think about when they think of Scotland. The clan system had primarily given way in the lowlands by the twelveth century, giving way to feudalism.
In 1600, about half a million people lived in Scotland, and only the capital, Edinburgh, had a population of at least ten thousand. Almost every town was located in the Lowlands, within ten miles of the sea. In 1600, Scotland had never known orderly government, nor had the country ever, for many years at a time, known peace. Scottish life was insecure. Due not only to the wars with England, but also to the terrible soil and constant cattle raiding. No policemen kept order. Royal towns were little more than filthy mudholes with terrible shanties for the residents to live in.
The best farm land was in the eastern lowlands, but that region was constantly open to British raids. The southwest lowlands had thin soil, stony moors covered with heath, long stretches of bog and moss, and numerous burns and lochs; making farming extremely difficult. Especially for a people whose farming methods were so crude and who had no knowledge of drainage. The countryside then was practically treeless, due to a continued waste of timber. Destruction of the forests had led to the disappearance of the wild animals who had inhabited them. For fuel, lowlanders burned turf and peat. Scotland was noted in the eyes of foreigners as a barren land.