The Tacksmen

The “tacksmen” collected rents from Scottish tenants and delivered the funds to the lairds. The rise in rents caused tenants and tacksmen to emigrate. Lairds were not grived because they rented the land without paying a commission to the tacksmen. As a result, tacksmen who did not emigrate were lowered in socia status, while the new tenants were recipients of longer leases, were raised in status. The “tacksmen” proceeded to handle the migration process and voyages sometimes paid all transportation costs to America. The result was that the tacksmen were issued many land grants in North Carolina. The high rents in Scotland and discriminary politics continued to drive people out of the country up until the American Revolutionary War.

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