Scotland to make brave return to the scene of the Darien disaster
Darien disaster ruined Scotland’s economy and helped persuade people of the need to become part of the UK
In 1695, the Company of Scotland was established and promptly set about persuading the good people of Scotland to put about a quarter of all their cash into an impressively large iron chest. The Darien Scheme, they said, would make everyone rich. Unfortunately, it didn’t. It made them poor instead.
The idea was actually a good one. Setting up a colony in Panama would enable goods to be transported to the Pacific coast, creating a new trade route to the Far East that avoided the treacherous sea journey around Cape Horn (the Panama Canal performs a similar function today).
Alas, they failed to take account of unfamiliar diseases, a harsh climate (in the days before air-con), and angry Spanish who viewed the land as theirs and were prepared to use violence to defend it. The scheme failed, and penniless Scotland later decided to become part of the UK.
Now an Ullapool travel company, Nomadic Skies, plans to take tourists to the site of the failed colony. A new ‘Darien scheme’ for a new age? Fingers crossed, we’re sure it’ll all be fine...
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