The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, also called the Scottish Darien Company, was an overseas trading company created by an act of the

Parliament of Scotland 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 ...

in 1695. The act granted the company a monopoly of Scottish trade to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, extraordinary sovereign rights and 21 years of exemptions from taxation. Financial and political troubles plagued its early years. The court of directors was divided between those residing and meeting in Edinburgh and those in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, amongst whom were both Scots and English. They were also divided by business intentions; some intended to trade in India and on the African coast, as an effective competitor to the English

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, while others were drawn to William Paterson's

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 ...

, which ultimately prevailed. In July 1698 the company launched its first expedition, led by Paterson, who hoped to establish a colony in Darien (on the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

), which could then be used as a trading point between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and 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 ...

. Though five 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. In 1700–01 the Company sent further expeditions to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, but suffered shipwrecks at

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

and seizure of cargo by pirates at

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Founding

On 26 June 1695 the

passed the (c. 10), ''Act for a Company Tradeing to Affrica and the Indies'', establishing the Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies. The subscription book of the Company of Scotland was opened in

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 ...

on 26 February 1696, inviting investments from a minimum of £100 up to a maximum of £3,000. Such was the popularity of the scheme that on the first day alone 69 subscriptions were taken, worth £50,400. A second book was open in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

between 5 March and 22 April. Although attempts to raise funds in London, Hamburg and Amsterdam had been blocked, by the beginning of August 1696 the full target of £400,000 sterling had been reached. When the Company of Scotland was first formed, it was managed by its promoters, whose key task was to encourage subscriptions to the company. Once the subscription target of £400,000 sterling had been reached, however, the company required a more formal management structure. On 3 April 1696 a general meeting of subscribers elected a committee of twenty from their number to work with the promoters to establish rules and a constitution. By the middle of the month they had agreed that the company would be managed by a court of directors and a council general. The court of directors was to be an elected body with a maximum of fifty members, with each £1,000 of stock entitling its holder to one vote in the election. Twenty-five members would be elected by the subscribers, with up to a further twenty-five being elected by the first twenty-five. Subscribers with a holding of £1,000 or more could stand for election. A different director was to act as president of the court at each meeting. The first court of twenty-five directors was elected by shareholders on 12 May 1696. Candidates for election had to own at least £1,000 of company stock and so a limited number of shareholders, 119 out of a total of 1,320 (1,267 individuals and 53 institutions), were eligible to become directors. The court's directors came from across Scotland's wealthy classes, comprising two nobles, eight merchants and 15 lairds. Shortly afterwards, the first twenty-five directors appointed William Paterson and three others as additional directors. From July 1696 the court of directors met in the company's offices in Mylne Square on Edinburgh's

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. The council general was to be a larger body than the court of directors, comprising both the directors themselves and representatives of the remaining subscribers, with one representative for each £10,000 of stock. Whilst the court of directors was responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, the council general was convened to discuss major decisions, such as capital-raising, the election of future directors and the payment of dividends. The council general was only convened as and when there were matters to discuss, and therefore meetings were not held at regular intervals.

Consequences of failure

All told, the venture, dubbed the

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 ...

, drained Scotland of an estimated quarter of its liquid assets and played a key role in leading the country to 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 ...

which united the kingdoms of Scotland and England. By 1707, the company's debt was over £14,000 (). The new joint government, in a political bargain, agreed to cover the costs of winding up the Company of Scotland, in addition to compensate for servicing the English national debt and higher taxes for Scotland.

Ships

* ''Rising Sun'' * ''Saint Andrew'' (1697) (a 56-gun, 350 ton

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

built in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

) * ''Caledonia'' (1697) (a 56-gun, 350 ton

built in

) * ''Dolphin'' (originally a French

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

, ''Royal Louis'', bought by James Gibson in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

) * ''Endeavour'' (a

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

bought by Dr. John Munro in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

) * ''Unicorn'' (a 46-gun merchant vessel, originally named ''Saint Francis'', bought by James Gibson in

)

Original signators and major shareholders, May 1695

Note: * James Balfour of Edinburgh (later styled "of Pilrig") * Robert Blackwood of Pitreavie * Sir Robert Chiesley of Bonnington,

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

* James Chiesley, brother of the above, Scottish merchant in London * George Clerk,

bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

of Edinburgh * Adam Cockburn, Lord Ormiston * John Corse, sugar merchant in Glasgow, brother of Robert Corse * Thomas Coutts, Scottish merchant in London * Joseph Cowan, Scottish merchant in London * Thomas Deans * James Foulis of Colinton * Hugh Fraser, Scottish merchant in London * John Hamilton, Lord Belhaven * Sir John Maxwell of Nether Pollok * Francis Montgomerie of Giffen * David Nairn * David Ovedo of London * William Paterson, Scottish banker in London * Walter Stewart, Scottish merchant in London * John Swinton of Swinton All were Scots by birth except John Smith, who was Lord of the Treasury for the English parliament.

Court of Directors, May 1696

*William Arbuckle - Glasgow merchant * George Baillie of Jerviswood -

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

for

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

*James Balfour - Edinburgh merchant * John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton * Robert Blackwood - Edinburgh merchant *James Campbell - London merchant *George Clark - Edinburgh merchant * Adam Cockburn, Lord Ormiston -

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

*John Corse - Glasgow merchant * Hew Dalrymple -

for New Galloway *James Drummond of Newton *Lieutenant Colonel John Erskine *John Haldane of Gleneagles *William Hay of Drumelzier * Sir John Home of Blackadder -

for

*Daniel Lodge - London merchant *James McLurg of Vogrie - Edinburgh merchant * Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, 1st Baronet -

for

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

* Francis Montgomerie of Giffen -

for

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

*Hugh Montgomery - Glasgow merchant *Sir Archibald Muir of Thornton -

for

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

* William Paterson - London banker *James Pringle of Torwoodlee -

for

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It de ...

* David Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven of Freeland * Sir Francis Scott of Thirlestane -

for

(father of William Scott of Thirlestane) * Sir Patrick Scott of Ancrum * Sir John Shaw, 2nd Baronet of Greenock *James Smyth - London merchant * Sir John Swinton of that Ilk -

for

*Robert Watson - Edinburgh merchant *William Wooddrop - Glasgow merchant

Notes and references

Sources

* Refer: ''Papers Relating to the Ships and Voyages of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, 1696-1707'' edited by George Pratt Insh, M.A., Scottish History Society, Edinburgh University Press, 1924.

External links

Official Records at the Royal Bank of Scotland
* {{Authority control Former Scottish colonies Defunct companies of Scotland Chartered companies 1695 establishments in Scotland Political scandals in Scotland Companies established in 1695 Trading companies of Scotland Trade in Scotland