They may have mismanaged the scheme financially, but it wasn'y money that blockaded Darien itself. Perhaps the good doctor could tell us who ordered the blockade and allowed all those settlers to die of hunger and disease?

Mike, I know it's difficult but face the facts,say sorry for heaping blame on the English for this fiasco and look forward not back.

An under-resourced foolish adventure doomed to failure from the start.

#3 Bill. A bit like Englands attempt to win the World Cup earlier this year

There is an excellent novel about the Darien scheme called "The Rising Sun" by Douglas Galbraith, who really did his research. The decisions that led to the disaster are easier to understand when you read about them in narrative form. Well worth a read (and no, I'm not the author) :)

Mike,Carrigaline - I read that it was the Spanish that drove us out of Darien, not England, which would make sense as they controlled that part of the world. The Union in 1707 was not the worst thing that happened to Scotland - I think that may have been the Bay City Rollers!

#1

When was it blockaded? It wasn't helped but why should one nation be bound to help a rival.

It wasn't blockaded. That just isn't true.

Once again us Scots, are looking to blame someone else. Independence you could no more handle it today than you could then.

I have no view on the Darien scheme but...

#8 john
Which is it? "us Scots" or "you (Scots) could no"

Make up your mind sunshine.

Tell you what. You stick to Canadian issues and we resident Scots will decide our own futures without your advice.

Surely the idea of setting up a trading colony in, what is now Panama was one of terrific vision. The gateway to the Far East, the US certainly had the same idea 200 or so years later!

Once again, Scotland was ahead of the game, only to be thwarted by English skullduggery, Spanish hostility and some irresponsible Scottish decision making. The basic principle was sound, the resources didn't exist in Scotland for such a far-sighted expedition.

I don't see anything in this "new research" which isn't covered in considerable depth, with at least all the information contained in this article, in John Prebble's excellent book "The Darien Disaster" published in 1968.

It didn't blame the English either, it catalogued the whole grisly series of disasters, misjudgments, mismanagement, sheer bad luck, and certainly a bit of a nudge here and there from both English and Spaniards.

Funny how Scotland has chosen to ignore the whole shambles all these years - I don't recall its being given even a mention at school

Nothing new here - when it comes to large financial dealings, the world has not changed - it still happens on a daily basis around the globe.

It’s still better to be Scottish and failed than to be English and succeed.

Who cares what they think - they’ll never know how good it is to be a Scot - !!!

"It’s still better to be Scottish and failed than to be English and succeed.

Who cares what they think - they’ll never know how good it is to be a Scot - !!!"

Yeah right - LMAO :D

Unlike many of your commentators, I cliam no doctoral-level specialist knowledge about the Darien Adventure. However, I nust admit that our willingness to blame the English for our every failing is symptomatic of a grave national insecurity. Time we Scots grew up, lads!

13 - unlucky for sum

Man! I feel braw!

15 - you said it ........ you have been very unlucky!! Never mind, maybe you'll do better next time around........... lol

It always strikes me as rather unsettling that some people -many of them Scots- seem to take an unatural glee in going over the Darien story.

Why would they do that? And more to the point, why do some imagine that the events of 300 years ago have some kind of direct relevance to today's Scotland?

Incidentally, the content of this article is typical poor journalism. It is not some kind of 'new' revelation that the Darien scheme was very poorly managed.

But then again the Scotsman loves this kind of self-flagellation.

Doesn't the Darrien scheme remind you of the Holyrood building? At least darrien ended after 7 months..................