The phrase “Jock Tamson’s bairns” is a Scots expression that means “we’re all the same” or “we’re all God’s children”. It is used to convey a sense of equality, fellowship, or common humanity.
The origin of the phrase is uncertain. The earliest reference quoted in the Dictionary of the Scots Language is from 1847, where it describes the phrase as “an expression of mutual good fellowship very frequently heard in Scotland.”
One possible source is the Reverend John Thomson, minister of Duddingston Kirk, Edinburgh, from 1805 to 1840. He was a popular and respected pastor who called his congregation “ma bairns” (my children). His nickname was Jock Tamson, and people outside his church would say “we’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns” to show their admiration or affiliation.
Another possible source is John Thompson, an innkeeper and smuggler in Montrose, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. He had a large family and many associates who were involved in illegal activities. His daughter would tell the authorities that “there’s nobody here, we’re all Jock Thompson’s bairns” to hide the fugitives in the house. The phrase became a way of identifying smugglers, poachers, and outlaws, and later, by extension, all Scots.
The phrase is still used today in Scotland and elsewhere, sometimes with a humorous or ironic tone, to express solidarity, diversity, or identity.
Scotland’s impact on the world.
Scotland has had a significant impact on the world in many ways. Scottish people have played a vital role in many of the world’s most important scientific and technological innovations, with inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs such as Alexander Graham Bell, James Watt, Andrew Carnegie, and John McAdam extending Scotland’s reach far beyond the small country’s borders. In addition, Scotland has a rich history of trade and migration, with many Scots emigrating to settle elsewhere. One such link is the Scottish diaspora, those Scots who emigrated to eastern Europe. We first find Scots in the region in the medieval period, when strong trade links developed with the Baltic. Scottish merchants would import hemp and iron and export wool and fish in their trade with the Hanseatic League, a confederation of ports and towns stretching from the Netherlands to Estonia. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, Scottish knights and nobles would travel to Latvia and Prussia to join the Teutonic Order on their crusade against the pagan Lithuanians. The comings and goings of merchants and crusaders soon led to permanent Scottish settlements in the region. Poland had a Scottish population by 1380, when Scots settled in a suburb of Gdansk called Alt Schottland, or Old Scotland. Another district and site of Scottish settlement in the city is still known today as Nowe Szkoty, or New Scotland. Warsaw, Poznan, and Lublin also hosted Scottish emigrants. Others settled in Narva in Estonia and Vilnius in Lithuania. Most of these settlers came from eastern Scotland, particularly Aberdeen, Dundee, and Fife.