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It has been described in two ways -
Some have said the Darien venture was the most ambitious colonial scheme attempted in the 17th Century. It seemed the Scots were the first to realize the strategic importance of the area.
However, others have said the Scots were daft to attempt such a venture, as it was doomed to disaster before it ever got off the ground.
The story begins with a man named William Paterson. Paterson was a Scot, born in Tinwald, Dumfriesshire in 1658. Paterson was instrumental in the founding of the Bank of England and made a fortune in international trade. Paterson had traveled considerably throughout the Americas and the West indies.
After returning from one such trip, Paterson came up with a scheme to help him make his second fortune. he wanted to create a link between the East and West, and thereby have control over the trade of the countries on both oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific.
In 1693, Paterson helped set up the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies in Edinburgh. his plan was to establish a Scottish community on the Isthmus of Darien, which we now know as Panama. The plan was for the company to prosper through this control of foreign trade and it would also provide a place for Scots to settle outwith Scotland.
The Company of Scotland was made up of directors from Scotland and England in equal numbers, with the risk investment capital coming from a shared half by the English and the Dutch, with the other half coming from the Scots. And herein lies the first problem suffered by the Company of Scotland.
The East India Company (who Americans will recognize for their part in the Boston Tea Party) suddenly started worrying they were going to lose their trade monopoly to the Company of Scotland and convinced the English Parliament to withdraw its support at the last minute. The English and Dutch withdrew from the scheme and left the Scots as sole investors.
It would seem Paterson was an excellent salesman, as thousands of common Scots invested money in this expedition. Approximately £500,000, which was estimated to be approximately half of the national capital available, was invested. It is said that nearly every Scot who had £5 to spare invested in the Darien Scheme. Thousands of other Scots volunteered to sail to the Isthmus of Darien on the five ships that had been chartered to carry these pioneers to their new home.
These poor Scots had been led to believe that Darien was a Promised Land, where they would find a colony and a place to establish trading links with the world, whereby they would bring propseprity to themselves and their country.
On 12 July 1698, 1,200 people sailed from Leith harbor, bound for the Isthmus of Darien.
On 30 October 1698, these Scots finally arrived at the tiny parcel of land known as Darien, only to discover the same mosquito-infested conditions that the French and Americans found at the turn of the 20th Century. Many had perished on the sea journey and there was a considerable amount of infighting among the elected councillors. Nevertheless, the remaining pioneers went ashore and renamed the land Caledonia and it's capital New Edinburgh.
The first task of these struggling pioneers was to bury their dead. The situation went from bad to worse as there was a lack of food and several attacks from the hostile Spaniards that had settled near the area. Fortunately, the native Indians took pity on the Scots and brought them gifts of fruit and fish, helping many of them to survive.
Seven months after their arrival, 400 Scots were dead. The survivors were drained and yellow with fever and decided to abandon the Darien Scheme.
Unfortunately, in November 1699, six more ships set sail from Leith, bound for Darien. These ships carried another 1,300 Scottish pioneers that were completely unaware of the failures suffered by the first settlers. A third fleet sailed from Leith shortly after this.
Of the sixteen ships that sailed to Darien, only one returned and it was just a handful that managed to survive the return journey across the Atlantic. Over two thousand Scots lost their lives, as well as the £500,000 investment, which left the Scottish economy nearly bankrupted.
The failure of the Darien Scheme has led many to believe this was what triggered the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament and ultimately led to the 1707 Act of Union with England.
One must wonder if the withdrawal from the scheme by the English was a deliberate attempt to ensure the failure of the Darien Scheme.
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This post has been edited by Mike: 03 May 2009 - 07:43 AM
