Editing Darien scheme

{{Short description|Unsuccessful attempt by Scotland to colonize Panama}}
{{Use Scottish English|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox Former subdivision
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = New Caledonia
| common_name            = Caledonia
| status_text            = [[Scottish colonization of the Americas|Colony]] of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]]
| nation                 = [[Kingdom of Scotland]]
| era                    = [[Early modern period|Colonial period]]
| p1                     = Viceroyalty of New Granada
| flag_p1                = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg
| s1                     = Viceroyalty of New Granada
| flag_s1                = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg
| year_start             = 1698
| date_start             = 2 November
| event_start            = Landfall
| date_event1            = July 1699
| event1                 = First colony abandoned
| date_event2            = 30 November 1699
| event2                 = Second colony established
| year_end               = 1700
| date_end               = February
| event_end              = Second colony abandoned
| title_leader           = [[List of Scottish monarchs|Monarch]]
| leader1                = [[William III of England|William II]]
| year_leader1           = 1689–1702
| title_deputy           = Council
| deputy1                = 
| year_deputy1           = 1698–1700
| deputy2                = 
| year_deputy2           = 
| image_flag             = Flag of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies.svg
| flag_type              = [[Company of Scotland|Flag]]<ref>Hart, Francis Russell. (1929). The disaster of Darien: the story of the Scots settlement and the causes of its failure, 1699-1701. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin company.</ref>
| image_map              = Darien colony.png
| image_map_caption      = ''New Caledonia'' on a modern map
| capital                = [[#New Edinburgh|New Edinburgh]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|8|50|02.47|N|77|37|54.47|W|dim:10000_scale:100000_region:PA-5_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}}
| today                  = [[Panama]]
| stat_year1             = 1698
| stat_pop1              = 1,200
| stat_year2             = 1700
| stat_pop2              = 2,500
| demonym                = 
| stat_area1             = 1.036
}}
{{Euromericas}}

The '''Darien scheme''' was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], to gain wealth and influence by establishing '''New Caledonia''', a colony in the [[Darién Gap]] on the [[Isthmus of Panama]], in the late 1690s. The plan was for the colony, located on the [[Gulf of Darién]], to establish and manage an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The backers knew that the first sighting of the Pacific Ocean by [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] was after crossing the isthmus through [[Darién Province|Darién]]. The expedition also claimed sovereignty over "Crab Isle" (modern day [[Vieques, Puerto Rico]]) in 1698, yet sovereignty was short-lived.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/277924|title=To Get Rich for Our Homeland: The Company of Scotland and the Colonization of the Isthmus of Darien|journal=Clahr: Colonial Latin American Historical Review|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Dennis R.|date=January 2001 }}</ref> The attempt at settling the area did not go well; more than 80 percent of participants died within a year, and the settlement was abandoned twice.<ref>''The Week'', "How Scottish Independence Vanished&thinsp;..."</ref><ref name=LittleBBC>Little, "The Caribbean colony&thinsp;..."</ref>

There are many explanations for the disaster. Rival claims have been made suggesting that the undertaking was beset by poor planning and provisioning; divided leadership; a lack of trade with local indigenous tribes or neighbouring Dutch and English colonies;<ref name="Ibeji" /> epidemics of tropical disease; widespread opposition to the scheme from commercial interests in England;<ref name="Ibeji">{{cite web |last1=Ibeji |first1=Mike |date=17 February 2011 |title=The Darien Venture |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/scotland_darien_01.shtml |access-date=16 April 2017 |website=BBC British History |publisher=BBC}}</ref> and a failure to anticipate a military response from the [[Spanish Empire]]. It was finally abandoned in March 1700 after a siege by Spanish forces, which also [[blockade]]d the harbour.<ref>Monaghan, ''Renaissance, Reformation&thinsp;...'', p. 56.</ref>

As the [[Company of Scotland]] was backed by approximately 20 per cent of all the money circulating in Scotland, its failure left the entire Scottish Lowlands in financial ruin. This was an important factor in weakening resistance to the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]] (completed in 1707).

The land where the Darien colony was built is located in the modern territory of [[Guna Yala]], an autonomous indigenous territory home to the [[Guna people]].

==Origins==
The late 17th century was a difficult period for Scotland, as it was for much of Europe; the years 1695-97 saw [[Great Famine of 1695–1697|catastrophic famine]] in present-day Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden, plus an estimated two million deaths in France and Northern Italy.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Vries|first1=Jan|title=The Economic Crisis of the 17th Century|journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies|date=2009|volume=40|issue=2|pages=151–194|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/ghcc/event/events/40_2_de-vriesjih2009.pdf|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> The 1690s were Scotland's coldest decade in the past 750 years as documented in [[dendrochronology|tree ring records]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Complexity in crisis: The volcanic cold pulse of the 1690s and the consequences of Scotland's failure to cope |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |date=1 January 2020 |volume=389 |pages=106746 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.106746 |language=en |issn=0377-0273|doi-access=free |last1=d'Arrigo |first1=Rosanne |author-link1=Rosanne D'Arrigo|last2=Klinger |first2=Patrick |last3=Newfield |first3=Timothy |last4=Rydval |first4=Miloš |last5=Wilson |first5=Rob |bibcode=2020JVGR..38906746D |hdl=10023/21075 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sima |first1=Richard |title=How the Cold Climate Shaped Scotland's Political Climate |url=https://eos.org/articles/how-the-cold-climate-shaped-scotlands-political-climate |work=Eos |date=2020-02-04}}</ref>

Scotland's economy was relatively small, its range of exports was limited, and it was in a weak position in relation to England, its powerful neighbour (with which it was in [[Union of the Crowns|personal ]] but not yet  [[political union]]). In an era of economic rivalry in Europe, Scotland was incapable of protecting itself from the effects of English competition and legislation.<ref name="ReferenceA">Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream''.</ref> The kingdom had no reciprocal [[export|export trade]] and its once-thriving industries such as [[shipbuilding]] were in deep decline; goods that were in demand had to be bought from England for [[pound sterling|sterling]]. Moreover, the [[Navigation Acts]] further increased economic dependence on England by limiting Scotland's shipping, and the [[Royal Scots Navy]] was relatively small.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>  Though the unusual cold affected much of the Northern Hemisphere, Scotland suffered disproportionately and lost 10-15% of its entire population, possibly due to its political isolation.<ref name="eos.org">{{cite news |last1=Sima |first1=Richard |title=How the Cold Climate Shaped Scotland's Political Climate |url=https://eos.org/articles/how-the-cold-climate-shaped-scotlands-political-climate |work=Eos}}</ref>  A series of domestic conflicts, including the 1639–51 [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] and unrest related to religious differences between 1670-1690 exhausted the people and diminished their resources. The so-called "[[seven ill years]]" of the 1690s saw widespread crop failures and famine, while Scotland's deteriorating economic position led to calls for a political or customs union with England. However, the stronger feeling among Scots was that the country should become a great mercantile and colonial power like England.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In response, several solutions were enacted by the [[Parliament of Scotland]]: in 1695 the [[Bank of Scotland]] was established; the [[Education Act 1696|Act for the Settling of Schools]] created a parish-based system of [[State school|public education]] throughout Scotland; and the [[Company of Scotland]] was chartered with [[Capital (economics)|capital]] to be raised by [[ Subscription (finance) |public subscription]] to trade with "Africa and the Indies".<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster">Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster''.</ref>
[[File:NMSDarienChest.jpg|alt=|thumb|This chest was used to store money and documents associated with the [[Company of Scotland]], a trading company set up in 1695 with the power to establish colonies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/darien-chest/|title=Darien chest|last1=History|first1=Scottish|last2=read|first2=Archaeology 2 min|website=National Museums Scotland|language=en|access-date=2019-10-15}}</ref>]]
In the face of opposition by English commercial interests, the Company of Scotland raised subscriptions in [[Amsterdam]], Hamburg and London for the scheme.<ref>Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster'', pp. 84–90.</ref> For his part, [[William III of England|King William II of Scotland and III of England]] had given only lukewarm support to the whole Scottish colonial endeavour.{{refn|On signalling his approval for the creation of the Company of Scotland, the King declared before Parliament: "I have been ill-served in Scotland, but I hope some remedies may be found to prevent the inconveniences which may arise from this Act."<ref>Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster'', p. 48.</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} England was at war with France and hence did not want to offend Spain, which claimed the territory as part of [[New Kingdom of Granada|New Granada]].<ref name="Insh,p.x">Insh, ''Papers'', p. x.</ref>

One reason for English opposition to the Scheme was the then prevalent economic theory of [[mercantilism]], a concept as widespread and accepted then as capitalism is today. Modern economics generally assumes a constantly growing market but mercantilism viewed it as static; that meant increasing one's market share required taking it from someone else.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rothbard|first1=Murray|title=Mercantilism as the Economic Side of Absolutism|url=https://mises.org/library/mercantilism-economic-side-absolutism|website=Mises.org|date=23 April 2010|publisher=Good summary of the concept|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> This meant the Darien Scheme was not simply competition but an active threat to English merchants.

England was also under pressure from the London-based [[East India Company]] (EIC), who were keen to maintain their monopoly over English [[international trade|foreign trade]].<ref name="Insh,p.x"/> It therefore forced the English and Dutch investors to withdraw. Next, the EIC threatened legal action on the grounds that the Scots had no authority from the king to raise funds outside the English realm, and obliged the promoters to refund subscriptions to the Hamburg investors. This left no source of finance but Scotland itself.<ref name="Prebble, The Darien Disaster"/> Returning to [[Edinburgh]], the Company of Scotland for Trading to Africa raised £400,000 sterling in a few weeks (equivalent to roughly £{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|400000|1698|r=-6}}}} today),{{Inflation-fn|UK|group=lower-alpha}} with investments from every level of society, and totalling about a fifth of the wealth of Scotland.<ref name="Carroll">Carroll, "The Sorry Story&thinsp;..."</ref><ref>Hidalgo, "To Get Rich For Our Homeland".</ref> It was, for Scotland, a massive amount of capital.<ref name="Prebble, p.90">Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream'', p. 90.</ref>

Scottish-born trader and financier [[William Paterson (banker)|William Paterson]] had long promoted a plan for a colony on the [[Isthmus of Panama]]. Essentially the intention was to tame, occupy and administer the land of the [[Darién Gap]], later known to be virtually untraversable.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Darién Scheme | website=Daniel Crouch Rare Books| url=https://www.crouchrarebooks.com/discover/featured-items/the-darien-scheme | access-date=9 March 2023}}</ref> The colony was to be situated on a gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans permitting trade between them&nbsp;– the same principle which, much later, led to the construction of the [[Panama Railroad]], and then the [[Panama Canal]]. Paterson was instrumental in getting the company off the ground in London. He had failed to interest several European countries in his project but, in the aftermath of the English reaction to the company, he was able to get a hearing for his ideas.<ref name="Prebble, p.90"/> The [[James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton]], a major supporter of the scheme, planned to import slaves "to be worked to death" at local [[Gold mining|gold mines]] in the region after a Scottish colony had been established in Panama.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Stephen|last=Mullen|title=The myth of Scottish slaves|url=https://sceptical.scot/2016/03/the-myth-of-scottish-slaves/|website=Sceptical Scot|date=4 March 2016|access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref>

The Scots' original aim of emulating the East India Company by breaking into the lucrative trading areas of the Indies and Africa was forgotten, and the highly ambitious Darien scheme was adopted by the company. Paterson later fell from grace when a subordinate [[embezzlement|embezzled]] funds from the company, took back Paterson's stock and expelled him from the Court of Directors; he was to have little real influence on events after this point.<ref name="Prebble, p.90"/> Historian Stephen Mullen referred to the scheme as a "mercantilist venture designed to improve personal fortunes and Scotland’s balance of trade through colonisation and exploitation".<ref>{{Cite web|first=Stephen|last=Mullen|title=The myth of Scottish slaves|url=https://sceptical.scot/2016/03/the-myth-of-scottish-slaves/|website=Sceptical Scot|date=4 March 2016|access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref>

==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>

==Re-supply (1699)==
In August 1699, the ''Olive Branch'' and ''Hopeful Beginning'' with 300 settlers arrived in Darien to find ruined huts and 400 overgrown graves. Expecting a bustling town, the ship's captains debated their next move. When the ''Olive Branch'' was destroyed by an accidental fire, the survivors fled to Jamaica in the ''Hopeful Beginning'', and landed in Port Royal harbour. The Scots were not allowed ashore, and illness struck the crowded ship.

On 20 September, Thomas E. Drummond set sail from New York in the sloop ''Ann of Caledonia'', (formerly the ''Anne''), picking up another fully supplied vessel (the ''Society'') on the way. They arrived in Darien to find the burnt timbers of the ''Olive Branch'' rotting on the shore.<ref>Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster'', p. 237.</ref>

==Second expedition (1699)==
[[File:New Caledonia in Darien.jpg|thumb|245x245px|The Bay of Caledonia, west of the [[Gulf of Darién]]. New Edinburgh is on the isthmus on the right.]]

Word of the first expedition did not reach Scotland in time to prevent a second voyage of more than 1000 people.

After the perilous route round the north of Scotland taken by the previous ships, William Paterson wrote to the Directors; "For God's sake, .. be sure to send the next fleet from the Clyde, for the passage north about is worse than the whole voyage to the Indies." A new company flagship, ''The Rising Sun'', boasting 38 cannon, was supported by ''The Duke of Hamilton'', the ''Hope of Bo'ness'', and a smaller vessel, the ''Hope''.{{sfn|Prebble|2000|pp=123, 224}}

The expedition had the blessing of the Church of Scotland who had appointed [[Alexander Shields]] as the senior of the four ministers (including Archibald Stobo and Francis Borland).

The second expedition arrived in Caledonia Bay on 30 November 1699 and found Thomas Drummond's New York sloops already there. Some men were sent ashore to rebuild the huts, which caused others to complain that they had come to join a settlement, not build one.<ref name="ReferenceB">Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream''</ref>

Morale was low and little progress was made. Drummond insisted there could be no discussion, and the fort must be rebuilt as a Spanish attack would surely come soon.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Drummond clashed with the merchant James Byres, who maintained that the Counsellors of the first expedition had now lost that status and had Drummond arrested. Initially bellicose, Byres began to send away all those he suspected of being offensively minded&nbsp;– or of being allegiant to Drummond. He outraged a [[kirk]] minister by claiming it would be unlawful to resist the Spanish by force of arms, as all war was unchristian. Byres then deserted the colony in a sloop.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

The colonists sank into apathy until the arrival of Alexander Campbell of Fonab, sent by the company to organise a defence. He provided the resolute leadership which had been lacking and took the initiative by driving the Spanish from their [[stockade]] at Toubacanti in January 1700. However, Fonab was wounded in the daring frontal attack and then became incapacitated with a fever.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

The Spanish force&nbsp;– who were also suffering serious losses from fever&nbsp;– closed in on Fort St Andrew and besieged it for a month. Disease was still the main cause of death at this time. The Spanish commander Juan Pimienta called for the Scots to surrender and avoid a final assault, warning that if they did not, [[no quarter]] would be given.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

After negotiations, the Scots were allowed to leave with their guns, and the colony was abandoned for the last time. Only a handful of those from the second expedition returned to Scotland.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Of the total 2500 settlers that set off, just a few hundred survived.<ref>''The Week'', "How Scottish Independence Vanished&thinsp;..."</ref><ref name=LittleBBC>Little, "The Caribbean colony&thinsp;..."</ref>

==Reactions to the disaster==
The failure of the colonisation project provoked tremendous discontent throughout Lowland Scotland, where almost every family had been affected. Some held the English responsible, and others believed that they could and should assist in yet another effort at making the scheme work. The company petitioned the king to affirm their right to the colony. However, he declined, saying that although he was sorry the company had incurred such huge losses, reclaiming Darien would mean war with Spain. The continuing futile debate on the issue served to further increase bitter feelings.  An estimated 15-40% of all the actual capital in Scotland was invested in this project.<ref name="eos.org"/>

Hoping to recoup some of its capital by a more conventional venture, the company sent two ships from the Clyde, the ''Speedy Return'' and the ''Continent'', to the [[Guinea]] coast laden with trade goods. Sea captain Robert Drummond was the master of the ''Speedy Return''; his brother Thomas, who had played such a large part in the second expedition, was [[supercargo]] on the vessel. Instead of trying to sell for gold as the company's directors intended, however, the Drummond brothers had exchanged the goods for slaves, whom they sold in [[Madagascar]]. Carousing with the [[buccaneer]]s for whom the island was a refuge, the Drummonds fell in with pirate [[John Bowen (pirate)|John Bowen]], who offered them loot if they would lend him their ships for a raid on homeward bound [[East Indiaman|Indiamen]].

Drummond backed out of the agreement, only to have Bowen appropriate the ships while Drummond was ashore.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} Bowen burnt the ''Continent'' on the [[Malabar Coast|Malabar coast]] when he decided she was of no use to him, and he later scuttled the ''Speedy Return'' after transferring her crew to a merchant ship that he had taken. The Drummonds apparently decided against returning to Scotland, where they would have had to explain the loss of the ships they had been entrusted with, and no more was ever heard of them.

The company sent out another ship, but she was lost at sea. Unable to afford the cost of fitting out yet another vessel, the company hired the ''Annandale'' in London to trade in the Spice Islands. However, the East India Company had the ship seized on the grounds that it was in contravention of their charter. That provoked an uproar in Scotland, greatly aided by the inflammatory rhetoric of the company's secretary, Roderick MacKenzie, a relentless enemy of the English. Fury at the country's impotence led to the scapegoating and hanging of three innocent English sailors.<ref name="Prebble,pp.1">Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream'', pp. 1–9 & 308–315.</ref>

In July 1704, [[Thomas Green (captain)|Thomas Green]], the 25-year-old [[sea captain|master]] of the ''Worcester'', an English merchant ship, arrived at [[Leith]]. Mackenzie convinced himself that the ship was an East India Company ship that should be seized in reprisal for the ''Annandale''. He succeeded in getting legal authority and Green, who had been given the command at 21, watched as his ship's cargo was impounded and the sails, guns and rudder were removed over the next three months.

In December, the crew was arrested for piracy. Although many in Scotland were delighted, it soon became clear to the directors of the Darien company that Mackenzie's charges were not supported by any proof, and it seemed the men would be released. However, Mackenzie suddenly claimed to have ascertained from the crew of the ''Worcester'' that Green had drunkenly boasted of taking the ''Speedy Return'', killing the Drummonds and burning the ship. Green and two of his crew, John Madden and James Simpson, were sent for trial in Edinburgh. Mackenzie produced several witnesses including members of Green's crew; their statements contradicted one another and none of them could accurately describe the dates, locations, or descriptions of the supposed victims of the ''Worcester''. The prosecution case, which was made in medieval Latin and legal [[Scots language|Doric]], was unintelligible to jury and accused alike.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The defence advocates' objections were dismissed by court officials and they fled after the trial. Some jurors resisted bringing in a verdict of guilty, but the men were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

[[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|The Queen]] advised her 30 privy councillors in Edinburgh that the men should be pardoned, but the common people demanded for the sentence to be carried out. Nineteen councillors made excuses to stay away from the deliberations on a reprieve, fearing the wrath of a huge mob that had arrived in Edinburgh to demand the sailors be put to death. Even though they had affidavits from London by two of the crew of the ''Speedy Return'', who testified that Green and his crew had no knowledge or involvement in the fate of the ship, the remaining councillors refused to pardon them.

Green, Madden and Simpson were subjected to derision and insults by the mob before they were hanged. Green had complete faith that as an innocent man, he would be reprieved, and he was still looking to the Edinburgh road for a messenger as the hangman placed the hood over his head.<ref name="Prebble,pp.1"/> The remainder of Green's crew were quietly pardoned and released.

==Consequences of failure==
The failure of the Darien colonisation project has been cited as one of the motivations for the 1707 [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]].<ref>Brocklehurst, "The Banker who Led Scotland to Disaster".</ref> According to this argument, the Scottish establishment (landed aristocracy and mercantile elites) considered that their best chance of being part of a major power would be to share the benefits of England's international trade and the growth of the [[English overseas possessions]] and so its future would have to lie in unity with England. Furthermore, Scotland's nobles were almost bankrupted by the Darien fiasco.

Some Scottish nobility petitioned Westminster to wipe out the Scottish national debt and stabilise the currency. Although the first request was not met, the second was, and the [[Pound Scots|Scottish shilling]] was given the fixed value of an English penny. Personal Scottish financial interests were also involved. Scottish commissioners had invested heavily in the Darien project and believed that they would receive compensation for their losses. The 1707 Acts of Union,<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/heritage/articlesofunion.pdf 1707 Acts of Union]</ref> Article 15, granted £398,085 10s sterling to Scotland to offset future liability towards the English national debt. That amount equates to about £100 million in 2020 money.<ref>The Bank of England's inflation records only go back to 1750, and imply about £90 million from that date.</ref>  This outcome was and remains controversial: see article 
[[ Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation#Recordings |Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation]].

==In popular culture==
===Novels===
* ''The Rising Sun'' by [[Douglas Galbraith]] (2000). Fictional account of the Darien catastrophe, written in the style of a journal, from the perspective of a cargo-master on the ''Rising Sun''.
*''Siphonophore'' by Jaimie Batchan (2021). Begins as the account of a settler from the Darien scheme who has been left behind when the surviving members of the colony return to Scotland.<ref>{{Cite book|last=BATCHAN, JAIMIE.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1196244963|title=SIPHONOPHORE.|date=2021|publisher=VALLEY PRESS|isbn=978-1-912436-54-5|location=[S.l.]|oclc=1196244963}}</ref>

===Stage plays===
* ''Caledonia'' by [[Alistair Beaton]] (2010). A satire about the [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] and the Scottish colonial ambitions of the late 17th century.
* "Darien, a commonplace book of Murdo Macfarlane" by [[Richard Robb]] (2019). A musical about the Scottish attempt to settle the Darien gap imagined through the eyes of one settler Murdo Macfarlane. Presented by Bell Baxter high school.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

===Music===
* "Dreams of Darien" by [[Paul McKenna Band|The Paul McKenna Band]] (2011). A Scottish folk song describing the events of the Darien Scheme and the reaction in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://folkmama.wordpress.com/category/paul-mckenna-band/|title=Paul McKenna Band {{!}} Folkmama's Blog|website=folkmama.wordpress.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paulmckennaband.com/music/stem-the-tide/dreams-of-darien/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915114332/http://www.paulmckennaband.com/music/stem-the-tide/dreams-of-darien/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-09-15|title=Dreams of Darien {{!}} The Paul McKenna Band|website=www.paulmckennaband.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref>
* The Darien Venture, a [[Math rock|math-pop]] band from Glasgow, Scotland, who were active from 2008-2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thedarienventure.com/ |title=The Darien Venture on Bandcamp|language=en |access-date=2019-07-30}}</ref>
* "Darien" by Stanley Accrington, Manchester-based folk singer/songwriter (1986) included on his CD Semi Final Second Leg.

===Games===
* ''Darien Apocalypse'', a 2018 [[Eurogame|Euro-style]] boardgame from British producer Ragnar Brothers where players cooperatively or competitively strive to develop the Darien trading colony and either help or hinder each other as much as possible against the depredations the original settlers faced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ragnarbrothers.com/darien-apocalypse/ |title=Darien Apocalypse|website=www.ragnarbrothers.com|language=en |access-date=2021-01-28}}</ref>

===Installations===
* ''Astro-Darien'' by [[Kode9]] and [[Lawrence Lek]]. An audiovisual installation that takes inspiration from the Darien Scheme, space races, and simulation games. Displayed at [[Corsica Studios]], London in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kent-Smith |first=Jasmine |date=21 May 2021 |title=Kode9 walks us through his new sci-fi-esque installation Astro-Darien |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kode9-hyperdub-astro-darien-installation/ |access-date=2021-06-03 |website=crackmagazine.net |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Lionel Wafer]]
* [[Gregor MacGregor]]
* the [[Marquis de Rays]]

[[Scottish colonization of the Americas|Other Scottish settlements in the Americas]]:
* [[Darien, Georgia#Colonial period|Darien, Georgia]]
* [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey]]
* [[Nova Scotia]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{cite news |last=Brocklehurst |first=Steven | title=The Banker who Led Scotland to Disaster |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11040353 |publisher=[[BBC News]] | date=20 August 2010}}
* {{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory | author-link =Rory Carroll|title=The Sorry Story of How Scotland Lost its 17th Century Empire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/sep/11/britishidentity.past |access-date=7 February 2008 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 September 2007}}
* {{Citation |last=Hidalgo |first=Dennis R. |year=2001 |title=To Get Rich for Our Homeland: The Company of Scotland and the Colonization of the Darién |journal=Colonial Latin American Historical Review |volume=10 |issue=3 |issn=1063-5769 }}
* {{citation |editor-last=Insh |editor-first=George Pratt |title=Papers Relating to the Ships and Voyages of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, 1696–1707 |year=1924 |publisher=Scottish History Society, [[Edinburgh University Press]] |location=Edinburgh}}
* {{cite news |last=Little |first=Allan | author-link = Allan Little|title=The Caribbean colony that brought down Scotland |publisher=BBC News |date=17 May 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27405350 |access-date=18 May 2014}}
* {{cite book|first=Tom |last=Monaghan |title=Renaissance, Reformation and the Age of Discovery, 1450–1700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dl02psCLQHwC&pg=PT56 |year=2002 |publisher=Heinemann |isbn=978-0-435-32090-4}}
* {{cite book |title=Bulletin of the New York Public Library |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rL8qAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA487 |access-date=13 July 2011 |year=1914 |publisher=[[New York Public Library]] |page=487}}
* {{citation |last=Prebble |first=John | author-link = John Prebble |title=The Darien Disaster |year=1968 |publisher=Secker and Warburg |location=London}}
**republished as {{citation |last=Prebble |first=John |title=Darien: the Scottish Dream of Empire |year=2000 |publisher=Birlinn |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84158-054-6}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Paterson, William |volume= 20 |last= Watt |first= Francis |author-link= Francis Watt (author) | page = 911}}
* {{cite news |title=How Scottish Independence Vanished in the Jungles of Panama |url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/scots-independence/44206/how-scottish-independence-vanished-jungles-panama |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122072247/http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/scots-independence/44206/how-scottish-independence-vanished-jungles-panama |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 January 2012 |access-date=6 March 2013 |newspaper=[[The Week]] |date=30 April 2007}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |last=Devine |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Devine |title=Scotland's Empire 1600–1815 |year=2003 |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |isbn=0-7139-9498-3}}
* {{citation |last=Edwards |first=Nat |title=Caledonia's Last Stand: In Search of the Lost Scots of Darien |year=2007 |publisher=Luath Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-905222-84-1}}
* {{citation |last=Fry |first=Michael |title=The Scottish Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Birlinn |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-86232-185-X}}
* {{citation |last=Galbraith |first=Douglas |title=The Rising Sun |year=2001 |publisher=[[Atlantic Monthly Press]] |location=New York |isbn=0-87113-781-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/risingsunbeing00galb }} <small>(fictionalisation)</small>
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Francis Russell |title=The Disaster of Darien--The Story of the Scots Settlement and the Causes of its Failure 1699-1701 |date=1929 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston |language=en |url=https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20231136}}
* {{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Thomas Bayly |title=A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the Earliest Period to the Year 1783: 1700-08 |date=1816 |publisher=T. C. Hansard for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown |location=London |pages=1199–1326 |edition=Vol.14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRMwAAAAYAAJ |access-date=17 October 2021 |language=en}}
* Orr, Julie (2018), ''Scotland, Darien and the Atlantic World, 1698 - 1700'', Edinburgh University Press, {{isbn|978-1-4744-2754-8}}
* {{cite journal |first=Christopher |last=Storrs |title=Disaster at Darien (1698–1700)? The Persistence of Spanish Imperial Power on the Eve of the Demise of the Spanish Habsburgs |journal=European History Quarterly |year=1999 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=5–38 |doi=10.1177/026569149902900101|s2cid=145705636 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://archive.today/20130706014122/http://www.rogermoorhouse.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=30:dari%C3%A9n-the-scottish-empire The Darien Scheme], an article by [[Roger Moorhouse]]
* [http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/DarienScheme.htm The Darien Scheme&nbsp;– The Fall of Scotland]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030424013726/http://www.rbs.co.uk/group_information/Memory_Bank/Our_Teaching_Resources/The_Teaching_Resources/The_Darien_Adventure/National_Curriculum/illust_hist.htm The Darien Adventure]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140903132403/http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/collections-stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/darien-chest/ The Darien Chest]
* [http://www.rls.org.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-001-451-L Pathfinder Pack on The Darien Scheme]
* [https://archive.org/details/historydarien00borlgoog Account, written in 1700, by a colonist]
* [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a8c715a8-a668-11df-8767-00144feabdc0.html "Pivotal chapter in Scottish history"], ''[[Financial Times]]'' article regarding ''Caledonia'', a play by [[Alistair Beaton]] about the Darien scheme

{{Early Modern Scotland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darien Scheme}}
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