Everything about Dari N Scheme totally explained
The
Darien scheme (colony of New Caledonia), was an unsuccessful attempt by the
Kingdom of Scotland to establish a
colony on the
Isthmus of Panama in the 1690s.
Origins
The late
17th century was a difficult period economically for Scotland. The country's economy was relatively small, its range of exports limited, and furthermore Scotland was in a weak political position in relation to the
great powers of
Europe, including neighbouring
England, and their overseas
empires. In this era of economic uncertainty, rising tariff walls, and trade rivalries in Europe, Scotland was incapable of protecting itself from the effects of these trade wars. The kingdom had a tiny
navy, and its merchants didn't trade in any luxury goods which were in great demand. The 1690s also saw several years of widescale crop-failure, which brought famine and led to this period being christened as the "ill years." This only helped to further exacerbate the deteriorating economic position of Scotland.
Confronted by this alarming situation, a number of remedies for the desperate situation were enacted by the
Parliament of Scotland; In
1695 the
Bank of Scotland was established; the Act for the Settling of Schools established a parish-based system of public education throughout Scotland; and the
Company of Scotland was chartered with capital to be raised by public subscription to trade with "Africa and the Indies."
In attempts to expand, the Scots had earlier sent settlers to the English
colony of New Jersey and had established an abortive colony at Stuart's Town in what is now
South Carolina. The Company of Scotland soon became involved with the Darien scheme, an ambitious plan devised by
William Paterson to establish a colony on the
Isthmus of Panama in the hope of establishing trade with the
Far East – the same principle which, much later, would lead to the construction of the
Panama Canal. The Company of Scotland easily raised subscriptions in London for the scheme. The English Government, however, was opposed to the idea, since it was at war with
France and didn't want to offend
Spain, which claimed the territory as part of
New Granada; as a result, the English investors were forced to withdraw. Returning to
Edinburgh, the Company raised 400,000 pounds sterling in a few weeks, with investments from every level of society, and totalling roughly a fifth of the wealth of Scotland.
Second expedition
Word of the disastrous first expedition didn't reach Scotland in time to prevent a second voyage of more than 1,000 people leaving
Scotland. It arrived on
St Andrew's Day in 1699.
Of the total 2,500 settlers that set off, just a few hundred survived.
Consequences of failure
The failure of the Darien scheme has been cited as one of the motivations for the
1707 Acts of Union. The Scottish establishment realized that it could never be a major power on its own and that if it wanted to share the benefits of England's international trade, then its future would have to lie in unity with England.
Further Information
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