The Scottish community in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1630-1750

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: 17 amžius; 18 amžius; Škotai; Bendruomenės; Biografijos; Tautinės mažumos; The Lithuanian XVII-XVIII c. history; Scots; Communities; Biografies; National minority.

ENWho would ever have believed that there was a community of Scots in Lithuania during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? It sounds so improbable. Michael Ayre was intrigued, and began to track down the details of the story in the Lithuanian archives and on the streets of Kėdainiai. What he discovered was a compelling history: Scots navigating through an unfamiliar environment, their successes and challenges, and their survival for more than a century. He found a wealth of archival material to work with from Baltic sources (which up to now had rarely been explored), extensive enough to understand the conditions of their social and economic lives. And rich enough to create biographical profiles of the hundreds of merchants, tradesmen, army officers, educators, and their families who made up the Scottish communities. [Annotation in the book]