The Kingdom of Scotland unsuccessfully attempts to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama (Darien Scheme). Five ships leave Leith for Central America. They are grossly unprepared and ill-informed. They arrive in a mosquito-infested, uncultivable swamp and are unable to conduct business with the local Indians. Furthermore, Englishmen from nearby colonies are forbidden to trade with them, and the Spanish are hostile. The mission fails, and only 300 of the 1,200 manage to return home. The failure leaves the Scottish Crown in debt by £250,000 and is likely one of the factors that contributed to Scotland’s capitulation to British annexation in 1707.
