The Darien Adventure Solutions to the Activities

Transcription

1 Worksheet 1: The Importance of Trade The first four questions in this activity test comprehension of Information Sheet 1, and the sample answers directly quote the text. The last question requires some imaginative input, and the answers below are suggestions only. 1 The buying, selling and exchanging of goods. 2 Central America 3 People believed that a colony there could short-cut the long and dangerous sea routes to the East around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. They also believed that riches such as gold and fruit would be found there. 4 Three things are: the wish to escape poverty in Scotland; the hope of finding riches; and the prospects for trade. 5 Good points could include the attraction of a new beginning; adventure; seeing the world; and making a fortune by finding riches, or by trading with the rest of the world. Bad points could include being very far from home and family; the risk of the unknown, especially in a new project such as Darien; and danger, for example on the long sea crossing. It may be fruitful for pupils to return to these answers after they have completed the resource, to compare and contrast their answers with what they now know about how the adventure turned out. Worksheet 2: Raising Money 1 The name of each subscriber and how much money he/she contributed. Also in many cases the town the subscriber lived in and what his occupation was. 2 Many sorts of people: merchants; ministers; gentlemen; soldiers. The list includes all types of people who had enough spare money to invest some of it, but no labourers or other very poor people. Most of the investors are men, because money was usually controlled by them, but there are some women for example Cicilia Fotheringham, Lady Kilry. Notice also that some town councils invested in the project. 3 To pay for cargo to sell, ships to carry the cargo, and all the materials they would need to establish a colony, where houses would have to be built, etc. 4 The most significant reason has to be that they wanted to make a profit. In addition, after English support was withdrawn, the success of the project became a matter of Scottish national pride. 5 They realised that the new Scottish company would be competing with the East India Company. The Good Town of Edinburgh 3,000 Lieutenant Colonel John Erskine, son to David Lord Cardross 1,200 Gideon Eliot Chirurgion there 500 Mr William Eccles, Dr of Medecin 200 Mr Edward Eizat, Dr of Medecin 200 John Edingtoun, Writer there 200 John Eliot, Writer to the Signet 100 Total of other subscribers 394,600 Promised capital 400,000

2 Worksheet 3: William Paterson and The Company of Scotland 1 of the Court of Directors of the Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies; Together with that of the Nominees in the Act of Parliament for establishing the said Company commencing the 14 th day of February 1696 and ending the 15 th day of July February 1696 to 15 July Drawing 4 Ship, camel, elephant and llama. The animals are all carrying large packs. They represent the riches that the Company hoped would be traded and brought back from the colony. 5 The two figures (thought to be an African and a Central American) look friendly and happy. This suggests that the Scots wanted to be friends with them, rather than conquer them. They are both holding horns of plenty filled with flowers and fruit, suggesting that their lands are rich and beautiful. The motto, by talking of the united strength of the world, suggests an idea of nations working together, rather than conquering each other. The rising sun, which was also used on its own as a symbol of the Company of Scotland, suggests the start of a new day; an optimistic vision of a new beginning. If the Scots wanted to conquer nations, we might expect the coat of arms to show swords or other weapons, and also to make more effort to make Scotland look powerful for example, it might show strong-looking Scotsmen instead of friendly native people. 6 fetch home the Indian treasures. Promised capital (carried forward) 400,000 One quarter of the promised capital was paid up 100,000 Spend 3,000 to set up company 3,000 Pay the directors 2,000 for their work 2,000 New capital 95,000 Worksheet 4: The First Expedition 1 It records what provisions (including quantities) were taken to Darien on which ships. 2 Select some from the list (see transcript on Worksheet 4). 3 From the port of Leith, near Edinburgh, on 14 July ,200 5 Anything that would have been needed for establishing a colony, such as clothes, building materials, medicines, foods, seeds, farming tools, knives and forks, candles, etc. Previous capital (carried forward) 95,000 Pay 25,000 for ships and crew 25,000 Spend 20,000 on provisions 20,000 Lose 20,000 through embezzlement 20,000 New capital 30,000

3 Worksheet 5: The Voyage to Darien 1 Draw arrows past Orkney, around the north coast of Scotland, and down to Madeira. From Madeira the arrows should go across to Crab Island, and then on to Darien. 2 The English were hostile to the project, so it was safer to go the long route around the north and down the Atlantic, rather than risking being stopped by the English navy in the Channel. 3 About 4 months. 4 St Andrew, Unicorn, Caledonia, Dolphin and Endeavour. 5 The names symbolise the Scottish nature of the project, and the sense of adventure involved in it. St Andrew Unicorn Caledonia Dolphin Endeavour patron saint of Scotland symbol of Scotland Latin name for Scotland common name for a ship, due to aquatic associations adventurous, hopeful name Previous capital (carried forward) 30,000 Pay 10,000 for extra provisions 10,000 New capital 20,000 Worksheet 6: The Settlement 1 The directors of the Company of Scotland. 2 the matter is to be regulated by the majority of voices: And the several reasons of your different opinions to be entered in your respective journals. 3 The disagreement would be settled by following the opinion of the majority, i.e., through a democratic vote. Everybody should write down their own opinions and reasons in their own journals. This was presumably so that the directors back in Edinburgh would be able to find out an accurate account of what had happened afterwards. 4 Copy of the map. 5 a 10,000 b less c Losing money is a disaster for a company. If it keeps on losing money, it will eventually be bankrupted. Note that one item here is a credit to the account, and the other two are debits. Previous capital (carried forward) 20,000 Receive 10,000 for selling goods 10,000 (added, not subtracted) Pay 15,000 for two relief ships 15,000 Pay 5,000 for more provisions 5,000 New capital 10,000

4 Worksheet 7: The Second Expedition 1 The houses which had been built would be falling down, and the jungle rapidly taking over again. Perhaps there might be some graves of the Scots who had died. 2 Hot, humid climate; shortage of food supplies; attacks from the Spanish. In addition, the English settlers on surrounding islands offered no support, because the King had instructed them not to do so. 3 They could have: taken more food and other supplies with them taken more medicines and medically-trained settlers with them, to reduce the impact of disease and fever tried to negotiate with the Spanish to avert their hostility sent a small group of people on a fact-finding mission to Darien before sending so many settlers, so that they had a better idea of what to expect and how to equip themselves properly for the place On the other hand, assuming all the ships left Scotland fully laden, more food would have meant either less of some other part of the cargo, or taking another ship, which would have used up even more of the company s capital medicine at that time was primitive, and might have done no good at all Spain saw herself as the ruler of this whole region, and it is very unlikely that she would ever have supported another country s interests there The Company of Scotland believed that secrecy was paramount, which is why even the settlers did not know where they were going until after the expedition had left Madeira. If the Company had sent a ship to investigate and report back, then rival countries would probably have heard about it, and might have used their superior resources to colonise Darien before Scotland had time to react. While it is clear that some of the Company of Scotland s decisions were foolish, or at least unfortunate, the body of evidence seems to suggest that the Scots could not have been prepared for everything they faced in Darien. 4 April a John Rankin b six pounds six shillings and six pence c The Rising Sun Note that the account becomes a negative number at this point; in other words, the Company of Scotland ran out of capital. Some pupils may need to be referred back to Activity 2, to remind them of why a company has to have money in order to operate. This will enable them to understand the catastrophic consequences of going 25,000 into debt. Previous capital (carried forward) 10,000 Pay 20,000 for four more ships 20,000 Pay 15,000 for cargo 15,000 New capital - 25,000 Worksheet 8: The Aftermath and Legacy 1 Angry. They blamed the English for the failure of Darien and wanted revenge. 2 The English had obstructed the project, particularly by forcing Scotland to raise all the money itself, without any English money. In addition, the King had ordered the English colonies in the region not to assist the Scots with supplies of food or military assistance. On the other hand, there were other reasons why the project failed

5 which had nothing to do with the English; the climate in Darien was very hostile, the settlers did not have enough supplies, and the Spanish attacked the colony. 3 Scotland was very poor, especially after it lost so much money in the Darien Adventure, and after a series of bad harvests. England, meanwhile, was much more wealthy, particularly because of its successful trade with overseas colonies. Scotland hoped to share in this success by joining with England. It may be appropriate to encourage more able pupils to try placing these factors in order of importance. 4 Money paid to Scotland as compensation for its losses in Darien, and to support Scottish industry. 5 The major factors that have been covered include hostile climate; disease; shortage of provisions; Spanish hostility; and the refusal of the English to support the Scots. 6 This question is an expansion of question 3 on worksheet 7, which addresses how the Scots could have handled the Darien Adventure better. This question looks beyond the Scots own power, to consider all the factors affecting the success or failure of the project, including other groups interests, environmental factors, and sheer luck. While some pupils may give a simple Yes/No answer, more able pupils should be encouraged to expand their responses. They may weigh up the various factors, place them in order of significance, and reach a reasoned conclusion about whether or not the failure of the Darien Adventure was inevitable, and how many factors would have had to be different for the project to succeed. As an extension, pupils may also consider what might have happened, to Darien and to Scotland, if the colony had been a success. As well as the factors covered in question 5, a further point worth considering here is the fact that even today, Darien remains uninhabited. This might suggest that the area is fundamentally unsuited to human settlement.