The islands of Scotland are home to a fair mixture of dark-eyed, dark-haired folk and it is popularly supposed that they are descendants of survivors of the Armada debacle, sailors who came ashore in Scotland, either voluntarily seeking sanctuary or unwillingly as victims of storm and shipwreck. We should, however, remember that the native Celts are as likely as not to be dark, although there are red-headed Scots and fair-haired Vikings here in plenty.
Tales of the Armada and Spanish treasure may have been exaggerated by subsequent generations, although there is certainly some evidence of the wreck of a Spanish galleon in Tobermory Bay. Those Spaniards who were unfortunate enough to founder off the coast of Ireland might, had they survived, have told a tale of the wholesale slaughter of those who surrendered, albeit at the hands of government troops rather than the natives, who may have been more disposed to be sympathetic. The fate of those who landed in Scotland was a little different.
It must be borne in mind that the great Spanish expedition followed on from the execution of the Scottish queen by her cousin Elizabeth. If the politics of the time were complicated in England, they were doubly so in Scotland, with something of a divide between Highland and Lowland allegiances. Even that division, like all such history, is far from clear, being open to misinterpretation and prejudice.
Without knowing the personal tales of the survivors who reached these small Scottish islands in comparative safety, we can only guess at the nature of their lives thereafter. Some were returned to Spain and of those, a great number perished on the voyage. A few remained. Their stories seem to be lost in the mists of time and even official records may have been deliberately falsified for the safety of all concerned. The Spaniards were, after all, the enemy.
From Island Tales by the Rev. Bartholomew Scobie (Edinburgh 1900)