Editing Darien scheme (section)

==First expedition (1698)==
Many former officers and soldiers, who had little hope of other employment, eagerly joined the Darien project. Many of them were acquainted from serving in the army and several – Thomas Drummond, for example – were notorious for their involvement in the [[Massacre of Glencoe]]. In some eyes they appeared to be a [[clique]], and this was to cause much suspicion among other members of the expedition.<ref>Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream'', p. 103.</ref> The first Council (appointed in July 1698), which was to govern the colony until a parliament was established, consisted of Major James Cunningham of Eickett, Daniel Mackay, James Montgomerie, William Vetch, Robert Jolly, Robert Pinkerton and Captain Robert Pennecuik (commodore of the expedition fleet).

The first expedition of five ships (''Saint Andrew'', ''Caledonia'', ''Unicorn'', ''Dolphin'', and ''Endeavour'') set sail from the east coast port of [[Leith]] to avoid observation by the [[Royal Navy]] in July 1698,{{refn|Sources vary about the exact date of departure, placing it anywhere between 8 July<ref>New York Public Library, ''Bulletin'', p. 487.</ref> and 26 July.<ref>Watt, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', p. 911.</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} with around 1200 people on board. The journey around Scotland for those kept below deck was so traumatic that some colonists thought it comparable to the worst parts of the whole Darien experience. Their orders were "to proceed to the [[Gulf of Darién|Bay of Darien]], and make the Isle called the Golden Island ... some few [[league (unit)|leagues]] to the leeward of the mouth of the great River of Darien&nbsp;... and there make a settlement on the mainland". The fleet called at [[Madeira]] and the [[West Indies]], and took possession of [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Crab Isle]] which would be taken over by the Danish after the failure of the colony. Employing ex-buccaneer [[Robert Allison (pirate)|Robert Allison]] as a pilot, the fleet made landfall off the coast of Darien on 2 November.<ref name="gill-devils mariner">{{cite book |last1=Gill |first1=Anton |title=The Devil's Mariner: A Life of William Dampier, Pirate and Explorer, 1651-1715 |date=1997 |publisher=Michael Joseph |isbn=978-0-7181-4114-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eMRAQAAIAAJ |access-date=23 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

The settlers christened their new home "Caledonia" declaring "we do here settle and in the name of God establish ourselves; and in honour and for the memory of that most ancient and renowned name of our Mother Country, we do, and will from henceforward call this country by the name of Caledonia; and ourselves, successors, and associates, by the name of Caledonians". With Drummond in charge, they dug a [[ditch]] through the neck of land that divided one side of the harbour in Caledonia Bay from the ocean, and constructed Fort St Andrew, which was equipped with fifty [[cannons]], but no source of fresh water.<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster" /><ref name="Carroll" /> This ditch is the only identifiable remnant of Caledonia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/09/140722_panama_independencia_escocia_aw|title=El rincón de Centroamérica donde Escocia perdió su independencia|last1=Mundo|first1=Arturo Wallace BBC|last2=Inabaginya|first2=Puerto |publisher=BBC News Mundo|date=14 September 2014|language=es|access-date=2019-06-18}}</ref> A [[watchtower|watchhouse]] on a mountain completed the fortifications. Although the harbour appeared to be a natural one, it later proved to have tides that could easily wreck a vessel trying to leave.<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster"/> The colony was a potential threat to the Spanish Empire by being located near routes used for silver shipments. The feasibility of the scheme, especially for a country of Scotland's limited resources, has often been considered doubtful, although some modern authorities consider that it might have possessed good prospects of success if it had been given the support of England.<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster"/><ref name="Carroll"/>

The chosen site was only 80 km by beeline from the Pacific Ocean, although until today the terrain was unsuitable for transportation.

===New Edinburgh===
[[File:New Caledonia in Darien2.jpg|thumb|450px|"A New Map of the [[Isthmus of Darien]] in America, The [[Bay of Panama]], The Gulph of Vallona or St. Michael, with its Islands and Countries Adjacent". In ''A letter giving a description of the Isthmus of Darian'', Edinburgh: 1699. The Scottish settlement of New Edinburgh can be seen on the coast above right.]]

Close to the fort, the settlers began erecting the huts of the main settlement, New Edinburgh (until 2011 known as Puerto Escocés (''Scottish Harbour''), now Puerto Inabaginya, in [[Guna Yala]] Province, Panama), and clearing land to plant [[yam (vegetable)|yams]] and maize. Letters sent home by the expedition created a misleading impression that everything was going according to plan. This seems to have been by agreement, as certain optimistic phrases kept recurring. However, it meant the Scottish public would be completely unprepared for the coming disaster.<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster"/>

Agriculture proved difficult and the natives, though hostile to Spain, were unwilling to trade for the combs and other trinkets offered by the colonists. Most serious was the near-total failure to sell any goods to the few passing traders who put into the bay. With the onset of summer the following year, malaria and fever led to many deaths. Eventually, the [[mortality rate]] rose to ten settlers a day.<ref name="Carroll"/> Natives brought gifts of fruit and [[Plantain (cooking)|plantains]], but these were appropriated by the leaders and sailors, who mostly remained on board ships. The only luck the settlers had was in [[Staurotypus|giant turtle]] hunting, but fewer and fewer men were fit enough for such strenuous work. The situation was exacerbated by the lack of food, mainly due to a high rate of spoilage caused by improper stowing. At the same time, King William instructed the Dutch and English colonies in America not to supply the Scots' settlement, so as not to incur the wrath of the [[Spanish Empire]].<ref name="Carroll"/> The only reward the council had to give was alcohol, and drunkenness became common, even though it sped the deaths of men already weakened by [[dysentery]], fever and the rotting, worm-infested food.

After just eight months, the colony was abandoned in July 1699, except for six men who were too weak to move. The deaths continued on the ships, and only 300 of the 1200 settlers survived. A desperate ship from the colony had called in at the Jamaican city of [[Port Royal]], but it was refused assistance on the orders of the English government, who feared antagonising the Spanish. Those on the single ship that returned home found themselves regarded as a disgrace to their country, and were even disowned by their families.<ref name="Carroll"/> The ''Caledonia'', with 250 survivors, including William Paterson and the Drummond brothers, made a desperate passage to New York, then just a small town of 5000, landing on 10 August. Four days later, ''Unicorn'' (commanded by [[John Anderson (New Jersey politician)|Captain John Anderson]]) limped into New York harbour. In a letter to Hugh Montgomerie, a Glasgow merchant, Robert Drummond reported that sickness and mortality continued to afflict the remnant of the colonists.<ref>Betteridge, R. & McLean, R. (2019), ''Northern Lights: The Scottish Enlightenment'', National Library of Scotland, p.6</ref> When the Scots were told that two ships, the ''Olive Branch'' and ''Hopeful Beginning'', had already sailed to re-supply the now deserted colony, Thomas Drummond commissioned two [[sloops]] to aid their efforts in Darien.<ref name="referenceH">Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster'', pp. 206–207 & 220.</ref>