| Notes |
- The Darien Venture' by Dr Mike Ibeji
A second expedition left Scotland in August 1699, knowing nothing about the fate of the first colony. Three ships, led by The Rising Sun, carried a further 1,302 settlers, of which 160 died in the crossing. Finding the colony abandoned, they set about rebuilding it; but the second colony fared no better than the first.
The men and women sent out to Darien were completely unprepared for the harshness of the territory in which they found themselves, and the collapse of discipline and rampant disease which afflicted them were the natural consequence of their altered circumstances. On top of this, they faced the constant threat of attack from the Spanish, with absolutely no support from the English colonies which had been ordered not to aid them.
Seeing this, one newly-arrived young officer, Captain Alexander Campbell of Fonab, persuaded the colonists to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Spanish forces massing at Toubacanti on the mainland. The attack was outrageously successful, but only served to sting the Spanish into concerted action. Under the command of Governor-General Pimiento, a massive fleet and army besieged Fort St Andrew, which finally surrendered in March 1700. The surviving colonists were permitted to vacate the fort on board their remaining ships. Only a handful ever made it back to Scotland.
The Darien Venture was a complete disaster for Scotland. The blow to Scottish morale was incalculable. Those colonists who returned found themselves cast as pariahs in their own land.
It was an economic disaster too. The company had lost over
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Abt 1663 - Abt 1739 (76 years)
