Rob Roy MacGregor Explains the Difference Between Highland Life and English Urban Society

Rob Roy MacGregor

It wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota that I came to a more vivid understanding of my ancestral history as a descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor, the legendary hero/outlaw--a hero to the people, but a thorn in the side of the corrupt British overlords.

Growing up in Central New Jersey, I saw little evidence of the native peoples who originally populated that land. The Raritan River rolled through our area, but I never realized at the time that the Raritan took its name from the Native tribe that once occupied this region 300 years earlier.

When I came to Minnesota in the 1970s, however, the past felt remarkably close. The Battle of the Little Big Horn—where Custer’s ambition met its end—had taken place barely a century earlier. Reservations and Native communities were (and are) still all around us here, carrying forward traditions, stories, and practices handed down through their ancestors.

Over time, I began to see unexpected parallels between these tribal cultures and the old Scottish clan system. Both were kin-based, place-rooted societies that organized life through relationships, obligations, and shared identity—quite unlike the world shaped by lawyers, title deeds, and bureaucratic red tape. Early Scotland, in many respects, resembled the American West before what we now call “civilization” arrived.

Statue of Rob Roy 

During the era of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and the Ghost Dancers, the two cultures collided with tragic consequences—misunderstandings, broken promises, and violence. (Of course this collision began centuries earlier in the East, but here in Minnesota the memories and effects felt more recent and tangible.) What struck me was how similar patterns had unfolded in Scotland during the time of the Highland MacGregors, who were so reviled by the authorities that, for nearly a century, it was legal to shoot a MacGregor on sight.

Sir Walter Scott captured this clash of worlds in his 1827 novel Rob Roy, contrasting the refined, urban English society with the wild, clan-governed Highlands. The tension between these two cultures—each with its own values, loyalties, and ways of life—shapes the novel’s characters and illuminates the broader historical struggles of both Scotland and the American frontier.

This past summer I decided to rent a time machine to go back in time to ask Rob Roy himself about the difference between English urban society and life amongst the Highland clans. Here was Rob Roy's reply.

"Ah'll tell ye, th' rugged Highland landscape is a stark shift awa' frae th' English urban scene. Th' Highlands are wild, untamed, an' marked wi' th' independent clan system. Th' Highland clans hae their ain complex social structures, an' loyalty tae yin's clan chief is o' utmost importance. We Highlanders cherish notions like honor, loyalty, an' rugged individualism. Oor way o' life is closely bound tae th' land, an' oor traditions are deeply rooted in a strong link tae oor environment."

"On th' ither haun, English urban society is bound tae commercial an' financial pursuits, social hierarchy, an' a mair centralized form o' governance. Th' English value stability, convention, an' a sense o' propriety. It's aw aboot a sense o' order, decorum, an' adherin' tae social norms." 

"As ye can ken, me heart bides in th' Highlands." 

The Collision of Cultures during the Times of Rob Roy MacGregor

Statue of Rob Roy 

It wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota that I came to understand my ancestral history as a descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor, the legendary hero/outlaw--a hero to the people, but a thorn in the side of the corrupt British overlords.

Growing up in Central New Jersey, I saw little evidence of the native peoples who originally populated that land. The Raritan River rolled through our area, but I never grasped that the Raritan took its name from the Native American tribe that once occupied this region 300 years earlier.

In coming to Minnesota in the 1970s, the past was quite near at hand. The Battle of the Little Big Horn, that ended Custer’s ambitious and wreckless life, took place only 100 years earlier. Reservations and Native peoples are still all around us here, with tribal communities that continue to carry on many of the practices of their forebears. 

What I eventually came to understand was that the Scottish clan system was very similar to the tribes that lived on the land and organized their lives in a manner utterly different, with lawyers and title deeds to property and all the associated red tape. Scotland in earlier times was much like the West before the intrusion of “civilization.” 

 

During the era of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and the Ghost Dancers there was a collision of cultures, with much misunderstanding and many unfortunate outcomes. I learned these things here in Minnesota, and recognized that this is what had happened in Scotland during the time of the Highland MacGregors. For nearly a century it was legal to shoot a MacGregor on sight.

In 1827 Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel titled Rob Roy, which showcased the stark contrasts between English urban society and the rugged Highland landscape. This contrast served as a central theme that highlighted the cultural, social, and value differences between these two worlds. These differences played a significant role in shaping the characters' perspectives, motivations, and decisions throughout the novel.

Engraving of Rob Roy

Last night I decided to go back in time and ask Rob Roy himself about the difference between English urban society and life amongst the Highland clans. Here was Rob Roy's reply.

"Ah'll tell ye, th' rugged Highland landscape is a stark shift awa' frae th' English urban scene. Th' Highlands are wild, untamed, an' marked wi' th' independent clan system. Th' Highland clans hae their ain complex social structures, an' loyalty tae yin's clan chief is o' utmost importance. We Highlanders cherish notions like honor, loyalty, an' rugged individualism. Oor way o' life is closely bound tae th' land, an' oor traditions are deeply rooted in a strong link tae oor environment."

"On th' ither haun, English urban society is bound tae commercial an' financial pursuits, social hierarchy, an' a mair centralized form o' governance. Th' English value stability, convention, an' a sense o' propriety. It's aw aboot a sense o' order, decorum, an' adherin' tae social norms." 

"As ye can ken, me heart bides in th' Highlands." 

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee Helps Put "Manifest Destiny" In Perspective

I first read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee 45 years ago as part of a Native American anthropology class during my senior year at Ohio University. At the time I was unaware of how recently it had been published. Now, it is nearly a half century since Dee Brown wrote this remarkable book documenting a tragic history of the relations between the European settlers and the indigenous peoples who once lived free, in harmony with the land.

Having grown up in suburban Cleveland and New Jersey, I had little to no awareness that these lands had once been wide open and homelands for another race of peoples. There is little to no visible evidence in the Eastern regions of our country. The high school I attended in New Jersey was Bridgewater-Raritan and I was oblivious to the fact that the Raritans were the native peoples in that region at one time.

Since the late Seventies I have lived primarily in Minnesota where there is a much more visible Native culture. For those desirous to learn more it's a rewarding and revealing experience. In addition, the history here is much nearer than when I grew up in Washington Valley in Bridgewater. Within our lifetimes we would have been able to talk with the children of people who had seen Custer's assault on the Sioux at Little Big Horn.

I'm guessing that most Americans are oblivious to the history presented in Dee Brown's narrative. For myself it reads like Foxe's Book of Martyrs, except instead of Protestants being burned alive and suffering all manner of abuse, it is the Native tribal peoples being repeatedly pushed around, starved and slaughtered. It is unbelievable how many treaties were signed only to be broken by our government. It's equally unbelievable how much suffering the "civilized" descendants of of Europeans inflicted on the "uncivilized native peoples.

Here are some reviews of the book that resonated with me.

“Shattering, appalling, compelling...One wonders, reading this searing, heartbreaking book, who, indeed, were the savages.” ―William McPherson, The Washington Post

“Extraordinarily powerful.” ―Nat Hentoff

“Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking . . . Impossible to put down.” ―The New York Times

Dee Brown's meticulous research comes across as a fair and reliable presentation of what actually happened. I personally disliked the movie Dances With Wolves because the Hollywood version of this story had no good white people (except Kevin Kostner) and no bad Native peoples. Brown presents a true history where there were officers sympathetic to the tribal peoples, and occasionally young Native peoples who lacked discipline (after being starved) and in anger did things they ought not to have done, with absurdly harsh suffering inflicted in return.

Sometimes bounties were given for gathering Native's scalps. Naturally, this inspires the wrong type of people to get into the "Indian hunting" business. It's hard to to live free when there's a price on your head, just for being born. It makes my stomach churn, and all readers with a conscience will feel a measure of pain.

Here are a few reviews from readers at Amazon:

R. Lee: A tough read not because it's not excellent, but because it is painful. The clearest picture it paints is that the most ever enduring and quintessential American values are greed and consumption at the expense of the less powerful... My heart hurts for the injustices meted out by the American government.

Craig Wood: Each of the chapters -- covering different tribes and historical events -- is thoroughly researched. Dee Brown clearly spent years researching his subject, and his diligence is evident throughout the text. It's a weighty topic, and the author pays due respect to it through his thoughtful and meticulous work.

Robert Maley: Good to look back on our history, so we keep things in perspective. What whites did to the Native Americans is shameful and should never be forgotten. Hard to believe that our society was so capable of such cruelty.

* * * *

FWIW, I am listening to the audiobook, narrated by Grover Gardner.

The history of suffering is the history of our human race. The Cold War Killing Fields reveals the untold suffering inflicted by American on civilians from WW2 to end of the Cold War. Sadly, when you consider slavery, and our treatment of the proud, indigenous peoples who were this continent's first caretakers and conservationists, it's incomprehensible that these things were done by people who went to church on Sunday.

I'm reminded of the Barry Maguire line, "Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace." It's all too sad.

Related Links
The Power of Imagery in Steve Premo’s “Free the Slave — Slay the Free” 
The Cold War's Killing Fields, a Review