What is a “Hillbilly”?
The term “Hillbilly” often refers to people residing in a rural or mountainous or remote region. Here at Hillbilly Bento, “Hillbilly” implies the rejection of or resistance to a dominant culture. The word “Hill-Billies” was first found in a 17th century document from Ireland. In a 1690 invasion, Catholic King James II (with his English army) was defeated by the Protestant King William III with the aid of many Protestant loyalists from the Ulster region. The southern Irish Catholic supporters of James II referred to those northern Protestant supporters of King William III as “Hill-Billies” or “Billy Boys”—Billy, being the abbreviation of William. Historians believe that the term “Hillbilly” in the US was conferred during the early 18th century by the occupying British soldiers as a carry over from the Irish term, in referring to the resistance fighters dwelling in the frontier areas of the Appalachian Mountains. Although “Hillbilly” is sometimes pejorative or offensive, we mean no such
