|
The Darien Scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called "Caledonia" on the Isthmus of Panama on the Gulf of Darién in the late 1690s. The aim was for the colony to have an overland route that connected the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. From the beginning the undertaking was beset by poor planning and provisioning, divided leadership, lack of demand for trade goods, devastating epidemics of disease, and failure to anticipate the Spanish Empire's military response. It was finally abandoned in March 1700 after a siege by Spanish forces, which also blockaded the harbour.〔Monaghan, ''Renaissance, Reformation ...'', p. 56.〕 As the Darien company was backed by 25–50% of all the money circulating in Scotland, its failure left the entire Lowlands almost completely ruined and was an important factor in the subsequent Act of Union (completed in 1707). The land where the Darien colony was built is virtually uninhabited today. ==Origins== The late 17th century was a difficult period for Scotland. The country's economy was relatively small, its range of exports very limited and it was in a weak position in relation to England, its powerful neighbour (which it was in personal union with, but not yet in political union). In an era of economic rivalry in Europe, Scotland was incapable of protecting itself from the effects of English competition and legislation.〔Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream''.〕 The kingdom had no reciprocal export trade and its once thriving industries such as shipbuilding were in deep decline; goods that were in demand had to be bought from England for sterling. Moreover, the Navigation Acts further increased economic dependence on England by limiting Scotland's shipping, and the Royal Scots Navy was tiny.〔 Several ruinous civil wars in the late 1600s had exhausted the people and diminished their resources. In the 1690s "seven ill years" saw widespread crop failures, which brought famine. The deteriorating economic position of Scotland led to calls for a favourable political union, or at least a customs union, with England. However, the stronger feeling among Scots was that the country should become a great mercantile and colonial power like England.〔 In response a number of solutions were enacted by the Parliament of Scotland: in 1695 the Bank of Scotland was established; the Act for the Settling of Schools created a parish-based system of public education throughout Scotland; and the Company of Scotland was chartered with capital to be raised by public subscription to trade with "Africa and the Indies".〔Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster''.〕 In the face of opposition by English commercial interests, the Company of Scotland raised subscriptions in Amsterdam, Hamburg and London for the scheme.〔Prebble, ''The Darien Disaster'', pp. 84–90.〕 For his part, King William III had given only lukewarm support to the whole Scottish colonial endeavour. England was at war with France and hence did not want to offend Spain, which claimed the territory as part of New Granada.〔Insh, ''Papers'', p. x.〕 England was also under pressure from the London-based East India Company, who were keen to maintain their monopoly over English foreign trade.〔 It therefore forced the English and Dutch investors to withdraw. Next, the East India Company threatened legal action on the grounds that the Scots had no authority from the king to raise funds outside the English realm, and obliged the promoters to refund subscriptions to the Hamburg investors. This left no source of finance but Scotland itself.〔 Returning to Edinburgh, the Company of Scotland for Trading to Africa raised £400,000 sterling in a few weeks (equivalent to roughly £ today), with investments from every level of society, and totalling about a fifth of the wealth of Scotland.〔Carroll, "The Sorry Story ..."〕〔Hidalgo, "To Get Rich For Our Homeland".〕 It was, for Scotland, a massive amount of capital.〔Prebble, ''Darien: The Scottish Dream'', p. 90.〕 Scottish-born trader and financier William Paterson had long promoted a plan for a colony on the Isthmus of Panama to be used as a gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific – the same principle which, much later, would lead to the construction of the Panama Canal. Paterson was instrumental in getting the company off the ground in London. He had failed to interest several European countries in his project but, in the aftermath of the English reaction to the company, he was able to get a respectful hearing for his ideas.〔 The Scots' original aim of emulating the East India Company by breaking into the lucrative trading areas of the Indies and Africa was forgotten, and the highly ambitious Darien scheme was adopted by the company. Paterson later fell from grace when a subordinate embezzled funds from the company, which then took back Paterson's stock and expelled him from the Court of Directors; he was to have little real influence on events after this point.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Darien scheme」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|