! Magisterarbeit Titel der Magisterarbeit The Darien Scheme and the Union of 1707 between Scotland and England Verfasser Daniel Paul Stirrat Angestrebter akademischer Grad Magister der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, 2010 Studienkennzahl : A 066 805 Studienrichtung:: Globalgeschichte Betreuer: ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Fröschl Contents Abstract / Abstrakt ..................................................................................................5 Preface .........................................................................................................................6 Introduction ...............................................................................................................8 1 Historical Contexts .............................................................................................13 1.1 Previous Attempts at Union ..............................................................................................14 1.1.1 The Union of the Crowns: 1603 ...........................................................................................14 1.1.2 Cromwellian Conquest: 1651 ...............................................................................................16 1.2 The Glorious Revolution of 1688 ....................................................................................20 1.3 Troubled Times .....................................................................................................................23 2 The Darien Scheme ............................................................................................25 2.1 Scotland in the late 17th century ...................................................................................25 2.2 Previous Scottish attempts at colonisation ................................................................26 2.3 EnGlish colonies and their effect on Scotland .............................................................27 2.4 The Idea of a Central American TradinG-Post ...........................................................28 2.5 The Company of Scotland ..................................................................................................30 2.6 RaisinG the money ...............................................................................................................31 2.7 Paterson’s Folly ....................................................................................................................32 2.8 The First Expedition ............................................................................................................33 2.9 Lionel Wafer ...........................................................................................................................35 2.10 Wafer’s Descriptions of the Kuna and their Land ..................................................35 2.11 Arrival at Darien ...............................................................................................................39 2.12 The Fate of the First Expedition ....................................................................................41 2.13 The Second and Third Expeditions ..............................................................................43 Daniel Paul Stirrat 2 3 The Need for Union ............................................................................................45 3.1 The Problem of Succession ................................................................................................45 3.2 Another Failed Attempt at Union ....................................................................................47 3.3 Hostile Acts .............................................................................................................................50 3.4 Union NeGotiations Announced ......................................................................................53 3.5 The Articles of Union ...........................................................................................................56 3.6 The RatiUication Process ....................................................................................................59 3.7 RatiUication in EnGland ......................................................................................................66 3.8 Final Formalities ..................................................................................................................67 3.9 1st May 1707 .........................................................................................................................68 Conclusion ................................................................................................................70 Appendix ..................................................................................................................74 1. The Articles of Union .............................................................................................................74 2. Speech aGainst the Union by John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton, Given to the Scottish Parliament in EdinburGh. ................................................................89 Bibliography .........................................................................................................102 Curriculum Vitae .................................................................................................107 List of Illustrations A map showinG the location of Darien..................................................................................9 Riot aGainst the AnGlican Prayer Book (1637).................................................................17 Portrait of William Paterson...................................................................................................28 A map showinG the routes taken by the Scottish Uleets to and from Darien...........34 A picture from Wafer’s book showinG “The Indians in their Robes in Councel, and SmoakinG tobacco after their way” .............................................................................36 A picture from Wafer’s book showinG “The Indians marchinG upon a Visit, or to Feast” .........................................................................................................................................38 A picture from Wafer’s book showinG “The Indians manner of bloodlettinG” ......39 A map showinG the fate of the First Expedition’s ships .................................................43 Daniel Paul Stirrat 3 The Articles of Union..................................................................................................................58 The ExempliUication....................................................................................................................68 Daniel Paul Stirrat 4 Abstract / Abstrakt This thesis explores Scottish attempts at colonisation, mainly the ill-fated Darien Scheme at the turn of the 18th century, and the inRluence this had on the subsequent Union with England in 1707. The historical contexts of both these events are looked at brieRly, before a detailed analysis of Scotland’s Central American ambitions and the Union is carried out. The Scots’ reasons for wanting to unify with their more powerful southern neighbour, were largely economic, whereas English desire for union largely stemmed from the French military threat and the need to secure the Hanoverian succession. However, constitutional dificulties, which originated after the Union of the Crowns in 1603, had made British politics increasingly fraught and complicated throughout the 17th century. Therefore, I am left to conclude that although the scheme’s failure acted as a catalyst for union, it was not essential as some kind of agreement would have had to be found regardless. Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit den schottischen Kolonisationsversuchen, besonders mit dem im 18. Jahrhundert fehlgeschlagenen Darien Projekt, und deren EinRluss auf die anschließende Vereinigung mit England im Jahr 1707. Zunächst wird ein kurzer Überblick über den historischen Kontext beider Ereignisse gegeben, gefolgt von einer ausführlichen Analyse sowohl der schottischen Ambitionen in Mittelamerika als auch der Union mit England. Die Schotten wollten hauptsächlich aus Rinanziellen Gründen mit ihren mächtigeren südlicheren Nachbarn vereinen. Die Engländer hingegen entschieden sich für die Vereinigung wegen der militärischen Bedrohung durch Frankreich bzw. der unbedingten Notwendigkeit, die hannoversche Thronfolge abzusichern. Nach der Union der Kronen im Jahr 1603 entstandenen jedoch verfassungsmäßigen Schwierigkeiten, die die damalige britische Politik das ganze Jahrhundert hindurch zunehmend belasteten. Daraus lässt sich schließen, dass der Misserfolg des Darien Projektes zwar ein Katalysator für die Vereinigung war, seine Rolle jedoch eine untergeordnete, da in jedem Fall irgendeine Vereinbarung notwendig geworden wäre. Daniel Paul Stirrat 5 Preface As a native of the British Isles with both Scottish and English heritage, I have always been fascinated by the topic of the Anglo-Scottish Union in 1707, as it is one of the deRining moments in both countries’ histories. It is for this reason that I endeavoured to write my master’s thesis on this subject, yet I also wanted to enhance my knowledge of Britain’s history in order to better understand the present. Furthermore, the failure of the Darien Scheme was a time of extreme difRiculty for Scotland, although the Union a few years later is often viewed as a turning point in Scottish fortunes. This made for an interesting contrast,