 |
Darien:
Disaster in Paradise
´óÏó´«Ã½
TWO, Thursday 10 July at 9.00pm
Fresh
evidence about a major turning point in Scottish - and British -
history has been found by a new archaeological expedition.
A Bristol
University expedition to Panama in conjunction with ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland
has uncovered parts of the township site and a significant number
of artefacts from the Darien project – an ambitious plan to
create a New Scotland in Central America, which failed dramatically,
leading, many historians believe, to the union with England in 1707.
In
the late 1690s, 4,000 Scots – funded by around half of the
country's wealth - set sail for the Darien isthmus of Panama, which
they believed could be a key land link between the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans; a kind of 17th century prototype to its modern day equivalent,
the Panama Canal.
The
aim was to set up a wealthy Scots colony – pivotal to global
trading – but within two years the dream was over with half
of the colonists dead. And
Scotland itself was bankrupted.
Many
experts believe the financial ramifications led directly to the
union, out of economic necessity, with England in 1707.
This
new expedition earlier this year found parts of the fortifications
known as Fort St Andrews and the remains of huts in what was to
be New Edinburgh, a communal oven and the wreck of a supply ship.
Among
the finds by the international team of archaeologists – led
by Mark Horton, an expert in the colonial history of the Caribbean
- were Scottish pennies and a pocket sundial, which would have been
a significant aid to telling the time and a personal treasure for
someone of status in the doomed colony.
Also
uncovered were musket balls, cannonballs, a grenade and tools.
The
details of the expedition and its finds will be revealed in a special
hour long programme to be broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO on Thursday 10 July
at 9.00pm.
Darien:
Disaster in Paradise will also feature dramatic reconstructions
of the original venture, based on journals and letters sent by the
original colonists, with actor Bill Paterson playing his namesake
William Paterson, the visionary behind the venture.
He
came up with the scheme in response to strangulating trading blocks
imposed by England, which had led to widespread poverty in Scotland.
But
his bold venture, which was initially hailed and celebrated in Scotland,
was beset by difficulties almost from the start.
Supplies
taken with the venture were woefully inadequate and valuable space
and resources were given over to items such as combs and blue bonnets
for the natives.
A
supply ship went down in the natural Darien harbour after a sailor
kicked over a candle in the hold, while trying to get a nip of brandy.
The
colonists were then faced with the daunting task of turning the
jungle into a settlement while battling the heat, humidity and mosquitoes.
Malaria,
yellow fever and dysentery were endemic with as many as 12 deaths
a day registered until more than 2,000 – including William
Paterson's wife Hannah – had died.
The
2003 expedition found that the jungle has virtually reclaimed the
area.
Director
and producer of the film, Andrew Thompson, said: "We could
only be there for two weeks but we really did experience similar
conditions.
"The
Darien venture had to be one of the boldest bids of its time, to
set up a new colony – the basis for a new country –
where the jungle was and still is the king.
"On
one level it was complete folly to put so much of Scotland's hopes
for the future in one basket, but in another way you can see what
Paterson was trying to achieve and the strategic significance of
the area meant it did have the potential to become an incredibly
rich trading centre.
"If
Darien had succeeded, it could have led to a very different course
for British history.
"Scotland
may have remained independent with the possibility that the United
Kingdom would never have been created."
However,
the programme reveals the likelihood of success was always slim
as the Spanish believed they owned the area, which was their main
gold trading route, and were determined not to let the Scots get
hold of it.
Untypically
the English were at peace with Spain – for the first time
in 30 years – and would offer no assistance to the colonists.
The
2003 expedition found examples of Spanish warfare at the site suggesting
the Spanish assault on the fledgling colony was fiercer than had
been previously thought.
Leader
of the expedition of international volunteers, Dr Mark Horton of
Bristol University, had been to the area with a previous expedition
in 1979.
Mark
Horton - who also fronts the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland-made Time Flyers series
- said: "This new expedition was a really amazing experience
because it's really told us a lot about what the Scottish colony
was really like. And we've learnt an awful lot about the defences,
about the sheer energy that the Scots must have invested in to find
this colony.
"And
we've learnt a lot about the Spanish attack on the colony in terms
of the all the cannon balls and musket balls and things that were
lobbed into the middle of the fort. Maybe it was actually a lot
more bloody than the historical sources tell us.
"The
historical sources are confused, they're contradictory, they're
dramatic, but were they true? By cutting out and feeling the sheer
sweat of it all one can understand what it was like to be a Scottish
colonist in Darien.
"I
think finding the portable sundial was my moment of greatest excitement
because that is the most extraordinary find.
"There
could only have been one on the site and it must have belonged to
one of the really senior people in the colony, one of the officers.
I mean it could even actually have belonged to William Paterson
himself and also in a funny sort of way it also said how time was
running out for the colony itself. How the Spanish army were mustering
all around it and, inevitably, the dream was just going to fail.
"I
suppose the absolute fatal flaw in the whole expedition was that
Paterson and others had not realised just how key this bit of land
was to the Spanish because this was where all the gold and silver
from South America was funnelled through.
"If
they allowed the Scots into Darien then the Spanish Empire would
have collapsed.
"New
research and historical records in Madrid have shown that actually
if the first campaign had failed the Spanish were mounting an even
bigger one, they were absolutely determined to get rid of these
Scots. They were not going to countenance the idea of a Scottish
colony here. So, ultimately the dream would have failed whatever."
Darien:
Disaster in Paradise - ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO, Thursday 10 July at 9.00pm
All the
´óÏó´«Ã½'s digital services are now available on ,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable.
Freeview
offers the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s eight television channels, interactive services
from ´óÏó´«Ã½i, as well as 11 ´óÏó´«Ã½ radio networks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
