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Why did Robert Burns consider emigrating from Scotland in 1786?

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Engraved portrait of Robert Burns, shown from the waist up wearing a dark jacket and cravat, facing slightly to the left. — Robert Burns Robert Burns, engraving from *A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen*, 1870.

In 1786, Robert Burns considered emigrating from Scotland primarily because he was facing a series of overwhelming personal and financial hardships.1

At that time, the farm he was working was not prospering, leaving him harassed by what he described as insoluble problems. His personal life was also in turmoil: he had gained a reputation as a rebel against orthodox religion, and his relationship with Jean Armour had collapsed after her father refused to allow their marriage, despite the fact that she was pregnant with his child.1

Caught in these difficult circumstances, Burns contemplated leaving the country, though he ultimately decided to delay those plans to demonstrate his poetic abilities by publishing his work. He proceeded to release his collection, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, in July 1786. The immediate and overwhelming success of this volume changed his trajectory, leading him to travel to Edinburgh later that year rather than emigrating.1