Kings in the West Beyond the Sea: An Informal History of the Clan MacDougall

Kings in the West Beyond the Sea is an informal history of Clan MacDougall of Argyll, Scotland from the time of the great Norse-Gael warrior, Somerled, the king of a dual Hebrides and Argyll kingdom. His numerous Highland and Island clan descendants dominated western Scotland for over three centuries. These clans include Clan MacDougall, and Clan Donald (the MacDonalds) – a clan with a dozen or more offspring clans the first of which were the swashbuckling MacRuaris, and Clan Alastair (McAlister). The Kings in the West Beyond the Sea focuses mainly on the MacDougalls and their longtime ally, the MacDowalls of Galloway. The second part of the book focuses on successes and transition of clansmen. Many emigrated in recent centuries from Scotland to settle new lands in North America and Australia, or to create new lives in countries such as Sweden or Argentina and other South American countries. These are the stories they passed down to their descendants. For those interested in further ancestral research using Y-DNA, the book has an appendix describing two current projects for researching MacDougall and MacDowall ancestry. Kings in the West Beyond the Sea is published by the Clan MacDougall Society of North America, Inc. a non-profit 501(c)3 society in the US with profits from book sales to be used to support Clan MacDougall and Clan MacDowall Heritage projects in Scotland. Information about the Society, and how to support its purposes, attend clan events or to become a member, is available on its web site at www.macdougall.org. The website and this book will be of special interest to members of these two clans and their associated family surnames represented by the Society.

Kings in the West Beyond the Sea was originally published in 2001 by William L. MacDougall. In 2024, this revised and expanded Second Edition, created by editors Robin Burnham, William's nephew, and Scott MacDougald, a Past President of the Clan MacDougall Society of North America, was published by this non-profit Society.