William Paterson (April 1658 - 22 January 1719) was a Scottish trader and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. He was a founding member of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

and was one of the main proponents of the catastrophic

Darien scheme The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The pl ...

. Later he became an advocate of union with England.

Biography

Early life

William Paterson was born in his parents' farmhouse at Tinwald in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and lived with them until he was seventeen, when he emigrated first (briefly) to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and then to the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, although accounts differ as to the duration of his stays. During his time in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

he first conceived the idea of the Darién scheme, his plan to create a colony on the isthmus of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, facilitating trade with the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. While in the West Indies, it is said that he acted as a merchant, developing a reputation for business acumen and dealings with local buccaneers. Walter Herries claimed that the English privateer William Dampier shared his knowledge of Darién with Paterson.Watt, Douglas (2014), ''The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the Wealth of Nations'', Luath Press,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, pp. 1 - 11,

Career

Paterson returned to

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by the middle of the 1680s, and attempted to convince the English government under James II to undertake the Darién scheme. When they refused, he tried again to persuade the governments of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

and Bradenburg to establish a colony in Panama, but failed in each case. Paterson then went to London in 1687 and made his fortune with foreign trade (primarily through the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

with the

) in the

Merchant Taylors' Company The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prior to 1300, first in ...

. He also helped to found a company for supplying water to North London from the Hampstead Hills, known as the Hampstead Water Company which existed until the late 19th century. In 1694, he co-founded the

. It was said that the project originated with him in 1691, as described in his pamphlet ''A Brief Account of the Intended Bank of England'', to act as the English government's banker. He proposed a loan of £1.2m to the government; in return the subscribers would be incorporated as The Governor and Company of the Bank of England with banking privileges including the issue of notes. The Royal Charter was granted on 27 July 1694. On the foundation of the bank in 1694 he became a director. In 1695, owing to a disagreement with his colleagues, he withdrew from the board and devoted himself to the colony of Darien, unsuccessfully planted in 1698.

Darien scheme

Paterson relocated to

, where he was able to convince the

Scottish government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

to undertake the Darién scheme, a failed attempt to found an independent Scottish Empire in what is today Panama. Paterson personally accompanied the disastrous Scottish expedition to Panama in 1698, where his wife, Hannah Kemp, and their child died, while he himself became seriously ill. On his return to Scotland in December 1699, he became instrumental in the movement for the Union of Scotland and England, culminating in his support of the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

. He spent the last years of his life in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and died in January 1719. A mystery still surrounds the burial site of Paterson. Many (including officials at the Bank of England), believe he is buried in Sweetheart Abbey, New Abbey,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

Publications

* ''Proposals and Reasons for Constitulating a Council of Trade'' (1701), a plan to create a Scottish council of Trade which would stimulate the Scottish economy and trade, partly by abolishing export duties. * ''A Proposal to plant a Colony in Darién to protect the Indians against Spain, and to open the Trade of South America to all Nations'' (1701), a broader version of the Darién scheme intended to bring

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

to all of Central and South America. * ''Wednesday Club Dialogues upon the Union'' (1706), a series of imaginary dialogues in which Paterson expressed his beliefs that Scotland had to be guaranteed equal taxation, freedom of trade and proportionate representation in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

if union with England was to succeed.

In fiction and drama

William Paterson is the central character in Eliot Warburton's novel, ''Darien, or, The Merchant Prince'' (1852). He also features in Douglas Galbraith's novel, ''The Rising Sun'' (2000), and Alistair Beaton's play, ''Caledonia'' (2010).Sandrock, Kirsten (2022), ''Scottish Colonial Literature: Writing the Atlantic, 1603 - 1707'',

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, pp. 139 - 148,

References

External links

*
Famous Scots - William PatersonThe Darien Venture, Dr Mike Ibeji (BBC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, William 1658 births 1719 deaths People from Dumfries and Galloway Scottish bankers Scottish economists Scottish company founders People associated with the Bank of England Merchants from the British West Indies 17th-century Scottish businesspeople Cloth merchants 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Burials at Sweetheart Abbey