Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†PALATINE, n. Also palantine. A jocular term applied, after their return to this country, to the young men or boys kidnapped in the early 19th c. and shipped to America as slaves.Sc. 1838 Wilson's Tales of the Borders IV. 361:
Palantine — a name given by the Americans and seamen, to kidnapped individuals. or those who went out voluntarily to be indented, for a time agreed upon, with any person in America willing to pay the sum of money required by the captain for their passage out. The famous Williamson, who first invented the penny-post and directories, obtained damages from the magistrates of Aberdeen for suppressing his narrative, in which he exposed them for this traffic.Sc. 1882 J. Grant Old and New Edb. I. 176:
A tavern, kept by the famous Peter Williamson, the returned Palatine (as the boys abducted from Aberdeen were called).
