The Darien disaster

Question 1

When was the Company of Scotland set up?

Answer 1

1695

Question 2

What was the main role of Company of Scotland?

Answer 2

To establish a Scottish empire overseas

Question 3

June 1695 — Darien disaster

Answer 3

William Paterson encouraged the Scottish parliament to set up the Company of Scotland by an act of parliament
- this was to set up a trading post on the Darien Isthmus

Question 4

17 December 1695

Answer 4

English parliament protested to King William about the threat to English trade that the company of Scotland posed
- consequently, King William banned English and Dutch investment in the company of Scotland

Question 5

1696-98

Answer 5

In Scotland, the rich and poor alike invested in the Darien scheme, a sum totalling £400,000 as they believed it would be the solution to Scotland’s economic troubles

Question 6

4 July 1698

Answer 6

First ships of Darien colonists set sail from Leith Harbour

Question 7

2nd November 1698

Answer 7

Scots starting building a settlement called New Edinburgh

Question 8

March 1699

Answer 8

More than 200 colonists had died, and the death rate had risen to over 10 a day,
- ships sent out to trade fir supplies returned with the news that all English ships and colonies were forbidden to trade with the Scots, by order of the king

Question 9

May 1699

Answer 9

News arrived that the Spanish intended to attack colony, so Darien was abandoned

Question 10

18 August 1699

Answer 10

A second expedition left the Clyde, knowing nothing about the first failure and many died on the voyage

Question 11

30 November 1699

Answer 11

Second expedition attempted to re-establish the colony but did no better

Question 12

31 March 1700

Answer 12

Colonists surrendered to the Spanish after being attacked and were allowed to sail home.
- two ships were sunk in a hurricane, one was shipwrecked and the other surrendered to the Spanish ay Carthagena in April 1700

Question 13

How much rai fall did Darien have every year

Answer 13

200 inches

Question 14

What killer diseases were in the area of Darien?

Answer 14

Yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, cholera amongst others

Question 15

What does Historian Tom Devine argue about effects of tropic diseases

Answer 15

Since Scots had no natural immunity to diseases unheard of in Scotland, Tom Devine states their effect was lethal

Question 16

What happened In Spring 1699 and why?

Answer 16

There was a severe shortage of food since the terrain of Darien was unsuitable for agriculture cultivation

Question 17

What does Historian K. Brown argue about William Patterson’s poor planning ?

Answer 17

“The (Darien) enterprise was planned and executed with staggering incompetence”

Question 18

What was Patterson’s scheme of Darien based on ?

Answer 18

It was based on the takes of Lionel Wafer who told him about a wonderful paradise on the Isthmus of Panama and no attempt was ever made to visit it

Question 19

What did Patterson fail to do when coming up with his audacious scheme?

Answer 19

He failed to consider the geographical proximity to the Spanish empire and didn’t consider the likelihood that the Spanish settlers would attack them

Question 20

How were logistics of the voyage poorly managed?

Answer 20

The company bought ships instead of hiring them which was expensive as they bought them and their supplies at a time when stocks were high
-they also didn’t insure them which meant they received no compensation for when they were lost at sea

Question 21

What does Devine argue about the actions of king William and the English on the failure of the Darien scheme?

Answer 21

“The blame was also laid squarely at England’s door”

Question 22

English East India company pressure on King William

Answer 22

Even though William had initially been generous in his support to the Company of Scotland, this was reversed when the English parliament addressed a letter to William, saying “The great prejudice, inconvenience and mischief”
- the idea was that the company of Scotland was a threat to English trade

Question 23

Nine-years war on France and the failure of the Darien scheme

Answer 23

King William was then persuaded by the House of Commons and Lords that the enterprise could be harmful to English commerce
- he also couldn’t afford the English parliament refusing funding for his nine-years war 1688-97

Question 24

What led to the company of Scotland seeking fund solely from within?

Answer 24

King William forbade all English and Dutch investment into the scheme and so when it did fail, all the economic impact was on Scotland

Question 25

What actions did William take because he was angry at the Scots for going ahead with the scheme without his support ?

Answer 25

He forbade all English merchants and colonies, such has NY, Barbados and Jamaica, from trading with Scots which led to them falling short of vital supplies and provisions

Question 26

What does Devine argue about the link of failure of Darien scheme to legislative war?

Answer 26

He argues that the simmering discontent led to the legislative war of 1701-17