Book excerpt: 'This is a very welcome book which makes a contribution both to the burgeoning field of Scots in the Empire and to Atlantic history. Dobson has fresh things to say about the controversial Scottish role in the slave trade, emigration to the Americas and the intriguing role of the east of Scotland in colonial commerce, a sector previously assumed to be the exclusive monopoly of Glasgow and the Clyde ports. A thoroughly researched study based mainly on original sources.' TM Devine, Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography and Director of the Scottish Centre of Diaspora Studies, University of Edinburgh. In the series: Perspectives: Scottish Studies of the long Eighteenth Century Series Editor: Andrew Hook The long eighteenth century in Scotland is increasingly recognized as a period of outstanding cultural achievement. In these years both the Scottish Enlightenment and Scottish Romanticism made lasting contributions to Western intellectual and cultural life. This series is designed to further our understanding of this crucial era in a range of ways: by reprinting less familiar but important works by writers in the period itself; by producing new editions of key out-of-print books by modern scholars; and by publishing new research and criticism by contemporary scholars.