Darien Venture was a good idea at the time, insists TV archaeologist
THE Darien Venture is often seen as one of Scotland's great follies: a flawed attempt to establish its own overseas empire that was doomed from the start, crippled the country financially, and led to the 1707 Act of Union.
But a new archaeological expedition into a previously unexplored area of the Darien Isthmus has shown that plans to establish a colony and set up a trade route across Panama were not foolhardy or ridiculous but entirely feasible.
The story of the Darien Venture is well-known: financial adventurer William Paterson led the ambitious expedition, funded by public subscription, to set up The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies. His aim was to turn the country into the major broker of trade across the Pacific Ocean.
Arriving there in late 1698, however, they found themselves beset by disease, poorly prepared for the conditions, attacked by nearby Spanish colonies, and hit by an English trade bar. Of 1,200 people who went out, only 300 returned. And a similar fate befell a second expedition, with only a handful of 1,302 colonists returning.
Dr Mark Horton, archaeologist and presenter of the BBC's Coast series, recently returned from the unexplored Pacific side of the isthmus, where, using maps drawn up by pirates and Spanish expeditions in the 17th and 18th centuries, he carried out a survey of the area to see if Paterson's plans to set up a trade route were realistic.
"This area has never been archaeologically surveyed, partly because it's a pretty dangerous due to guerrilla activity and the risk of being taken hostage," he said. "We found a series of rivers, which would certainly have been accessible in the 17th century and would have made it easy to get around the area.
"Some are extremely deep and you could easily sail large ships far inland. It wasn't really such a silly idea. Basically, Paterson knew exactly what he was doing: there was a feasible trade route across the isthmus."
Dr Horton said there were records of pirates attacking the Spanish colonies via a similar route, and Paterson may well have got the idea for the route from hearing such stories. He added that the characterisation of the venture as a shameful folly has been overstated.
"It was English-generated propaganda to justify the Union and to show that the Scots were incapable of creating colonies themselves," he said, pointing out that England's refusal to allow its colonies in the Caribbean to trade with the Scots had been instrumental in the failure of the venture.
Dr Horton added that in many cases, plain luck was a significant factor in the survival of a colony. "The first American colony, Jamestown, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year, has incredible similarities: they faced great hardship, they had no food, had taken the wrong equipment, found the environment very hostile and were about to go home when a relief expedition arrived and so they decided to stay."
But he conceded that the Darien expedition's plans were imperfect: "Perhaps the project was ambitious and its very size attracted the attention of the Spanish and they failed to grow any food, believing they could trade with the Indians but that didn't prove to be the case."
Professor of Scottish History at Dundee University, Christopher Whatley, who has written extensively on the events behind the Act of Union, said Dr Horton's findings were "intriguing".
"It has never been established before whether the route was feasible or survivable," he said. "It's always been assumed it was a very hostile environment."
But Prof Whatley said the fact no-one had since tried to establish a colony suggested the location was not ideal.
He added the Scots' intention to convert locals to Presbyterianism angered the Catholic church, which backed Spanish efforts to eject them.
"I think Paterson was naive in underestimating the Spanish reaction to their presence there."
THE failure of the Darien Venture was a devastating blow to Scottish morale and the colonists who returned found themselves cast out as pariahs.
William Paterson, who led the expedition, was forced to give a no-holds-barred account of the colony to defend the whole project, which to some extent vindicated him.
Some years later, he was granted a pension of £18,000, but he died a deeply disillusioned man.
It was the economic impact though, that was to help push the country into Union with England
The company lost more than £232,884, made up of the life savings of many of the Scottish people, crippling the country.
Less than eight years later, in 1707, Scotland passed the Act of Union in 1707.
England paid off Scotland's debts with the "Equivalent", a sum of £398,000, most of which went to cover the Company of Scotland's losses.
The institution established to administer this money eventually became the Royal Bank of Scotland.
However, the real legacy of the Darien Venture was a sense of betrayal. Many Scots believed, rightly or wrongly, that their chance of independence had been deliberately sabotaged by the English.
The resentment that this fostered played no small part in the Jacobite rebellions which were to plague the Union.
