The Scottish in the New World

In the late 1600’s Scotland thought that it needed to join the rest of Europe in economic pursuits in Africa and the New World.  One Scot came up with the idea to establish a colony at the Isthmus of Darien which today is called Panama. The idea became so popular the one quarter of the entire liquid assets of Scotland were invested into the Company of Scotland to pursue this goal. The first group to reach this land found it very inhospitable but refused to send back discouraging news which created a second expedition that did not reach the New World until after the survivors of the first expedition had already abandoned the site. There were also a couple other ‘small’ issues. This area was already claimed by the Spanish and King William II who was also King of England never cared about Scotland and refused to antagonize the Spanish over this issue. The second expedition which had attacked and defeated a small Spanish fort in the area was eventually defeated by a larger Spanish force and the entire venture was a disaster for Scotland.

(Book – Scotland: The Story of a Nation – Magnus Magnuson)

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