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 Balboa was after crossing the isthmus through Darién. The expedition also took sovereignty over 'Crab Isle' (modern day Vieques, Puerto Rico) in 1698, yet sovereignty was short-lived.[1] The attempt at settling the area did not go well; more than 80 per cent of participants died within a year, and the settlement was abandoned twice.[2][3]
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;[4] epidemics of tropical disease; widespread opposition to the scheme from commercial interests in England;[4] 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 blockaded the harbour.[5]
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 their resistance to the 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.
^Hidalgo, Dennis R. (January 2001). "To Get Rich for Our Homeland: The Company of Scotland and the Colonization of the Isthmus of Darien". Clahr: Colonial Latin American Historical Review.
The Darienscheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New...
failed or abandoned Scottish settlements in North America; a colony at Darien on the Isthmus of Panama; and a number of wholly or largely Scottish settlements...
(Spanish: Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (Istmo de Darién), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea...
English East India Company, while others were drawn to William Paterson's Darienscheme, which ultimately prevailed.: 111–2 In July 1698 the company launched...
afflicted by malaria, the colony was abandoned two years later. The Darienscheme was a financial disaster for Scotland—a quarter of Scottish capital...
medium and small-sized proprietors. Panama was the site of the ill-fated Darienscheme, which set up a Scottish colony in the region in 1698. This failed for...
prompted the DarienScheme, an ill-fated venture by the Kingdom of Scotland to settle the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s. The DarienScheme aimed to...
to the Darienscheme - an unsuccessful attempt to establish a Scottish colony in the Gulf of Darién. Christopher Smout argues that the scheme was successfully...
overseas colony for Scotland, the Company of Scotland invested in the Darienscheme, an ambitious plan devised by William Paterson to establish a colony...
Scottish landowner who had money to spare is said to have invested in the Darienscheme. After another proposal from the English House of Lords was rejected...
Drummond survived to take part in another famous Scottish disaster, the Darienscheme. On 12 April 1692, the Paris Gazette published a copy of Glenlyon's...
(c. 1650 – c. 1705), Lord Provost who lost a fortune in the Darienscheme and died in Darien House (the asylum). Prof Alexander Christison FRSE (1753–1820)...
Attempts to establish a Scottish colony in Central America as part of the Dariénscheme ended in disaster in the 1690s. After the Union with England in 1707...
The fortunes of this house were probably consumed in the fever of the DarienScheme, in which Alexander Forbes of Tolquhon (like many other good old Scottish...
opposition to William II of Scotland (III of England), commenced the DarienScheme, an attempt to establish a Scottish imperial outlet—the colony of New...
affected by malaria, the colony was abandoned two years later. The Darienscheme was a financial disaster for Scotland: a quarter of Scottish capital...
assert in adulthood that a direct ancestor of his had survived the Darienscheme of 1698, the ill-fated Scottish attempt to colonise the Isthmus of Panama...
people stay together, the happier they'll be." He also referred to the Darienscheme, an effort to establish a Scottish colony in the Isthmus of Panama in...
1690s, a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for the Darienscheme, and a professional navy of three warships was established to protect...
were attempted over the years. One early example of this was ill-fated Darienscheme, launched by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1698 to set up an overland trade...
Scotland suffered further damage when he refused English assistance to the Darienscheme, a Scottish colony (1698–1700) that failed disastrously. Although the...
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