The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies was an overseas trading company created by an act of the Scots Parliament in 1695. Financial and political troubles plagued its early years, but in July 1698 it launched its first expedition, led by William Paterson, who hoped to establish a colony in Darien (on the Isthmus of Panama), which could then be used as a trading point between Europe and the Far East. The Scottish Parliament (Pàrlamaid na h-Alba in Gaelic, Scots Pairlament in Scots) is the national unicameral legislature of Scotland. ... Events January 27 - Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed II to Mustafa II (1695-1703) July 17 - The Bank of Scotland is founded by an Act of Parliament of the old Scottish Parliament. ... Events January 4 - Palace of Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire. ... William Paterson (born 1665 or 1658 in Skipmyre, Dumfriesshire - died in Westminster on January 22, 1719) was a Scottish trader in London. ... Darién is a province in eastern Panama. ... The Isthmus of Panama is the narrow strip of land between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean which links North America and South America. ... A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Far East is a term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ...

Though 5 ships and 1,200 Scottish colonists landed successfully in Darien, the settlement was poorly provisioned and eventually abandoned. A second, larger expedition (launched before the fate of the first was known) took up the deserted settlement, but was quickly besieged by the Spanish. More than a thousand succumbed to hunger and disease, and in April 1700, two ships carried the few survivors home.

All told, the disastrous venture, dubbed the Darien Scheme, drained Scotland of more than a quarter of its liquid assets and may have played a key role in pushing the country to the eventual Act of Union 1707 which united Scotland and England. The Darién scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama. ... The Acts of Union were twin Acts of Parliament passed in 1707 (taking effect on 26 March) in the Scottish and the English Parliaments. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion...

External links

• Official Records at the Royal Bank of Scotland