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The Kingdom of Scotland Once Tried To Colonize North America
It went rather poorly
During the 17th century, Scotland sat on the sidelines and watched as England laid claim to vast and distant territories. At this time, Scotland was still largely its kingdom despite technically sharing a monarch with neighboring England. Scotland had its own bank, it retained control of its own parliament, and the population was still fiercely independent. Despite the shared monarchy, England did nothing to share the wealth coming in from the New World with Scotland. If the English weren’t going to share, Scotland had to get in on the New World money on their own.
Scotland devised a plan to create its own colony in North America with the intent of elbowing in on English trade. Suppose the Kingdom of Scotland could get a slice of the wealth flowing across the Atlantic. In that case, it could bolster their economy, bring Scotland much-needed European respect and stave off English attempts to form a permanent union between the two kingdoms.
The crown chose an area on the Isthmus of Panama along the Gulf of Darien, where they planned to build a formidable fort to protect an overland trade route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Such a route would be invaluable, and a port at the head would blossom into a bustling center of commerce.
With that vision in mind, the Kingdom of Scotland gave its blessing to the Company of Scotland, which was backed by nothing less than 20% of the Bank of Scotland’s entire asset base.
In 1698, five ships sailed from Scotland for North America with colonists, adventurers, and investors on board.
Dawn of a new era (1698)
The fleet of five ships left Scotland in secrecy, avoiding English warships, and hiding the colonists below deck until they were safely out to sea. The company was full of hope and promise. In November of 1698, the fleet landed at the planned site of their new colony. They immediately set to work digging in and constructing the foundation for their dream settlement.
