Forest Scots

The Forest Scots (Scots Gaelic: Albannaich na Coille), also known as the Nova Scotians in Chubut, were Canadian settlers of Scottish descent from Nova Scotia who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Chubut, Ramon Clairac, to settle lands left vacant by the Esquel campaign (1786) of the Expulsion Wars.

History
Four thousand Scottish Canadians from Nova Scotia (roughly 1000 families), largely farmers and fishermen, arrived from 1788 to 1796 to take up the offer. The farmers settled mainly on the rich farmland of the Esquel Valley and in the southern parts of Seeland. Most of the fishermen went to the western Andean Fjords of Chubut, where they got the same amount of land as the farmers. Many fishermen wanted to move there, especially since they were already fishing in the Fjords.

The Forest Scots were among the first major groups of English-speaking immigrants in Patagonia who did not come directly from Great Britain, others including the Chilotan New Englanders and the American Loyalists of Osorno. Most of the Forest Scots were Presbyterian Protestants, in contrast to the largely-Catholic Puritan "Plain English" of Araucany.

The Forest Scots in the Esquel Valley used dykes, the technique having been tried by the Acadians and New England Planters in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in Canada, and later expanded it with ambitious projects like the MacMurray Dyke. The Forest Scots were soon joined by Ulster-Scots, Cornish and Mancunian emigrants from Britain and United Empire Loyalists who left New York and the New England colonies after the American War of Independence in 1783 and later emigrated to Chubut from the state of Neuquen after serving in the Expulsion Wars.

Present status
Forest Scots still have descendants, most of which live in western Chubut. The Forest Scots continue to have multiple cultural continuities with the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, from where they originated. Forest Scots continue to practice Presbyterianism, although some others are Evangelical Protestants or Baptists. A small minority of Forest Scots practice Celtic druidism.