As a Panamanian I never knew this. The place is now an indigenous colony called Guna Yala or San Blas. To this day the place is called "Puerto Escoces" or Scottish Port. There is still even an island called Caledonia, San blas. It is my understanding that the "area of the port" is now part of a route used by migrants avoiding the perils of the jungle.
The Darien Gap seems like a place that has always been a place of death and sorrow. If there's such a thing as 'cursed ground' this is an example of it.
I just recently learned of the Darien Gap, and my favorite quote from OverlandTraveller is: "you need to be living under the shadow of a death wish to attempt to cross between the two countries by land."
Had it succeeded the settlement would not have been left alone by the Spanish who would have taken it for themselves if it proved to have any worth. The Scottish may have lacked information on the climate but England would have advised them in advance on the geography and the politics of Spain, a global power, making claim to it. One way or another the adventure was doomed from the outset.
@@GOGS-zg7rd Exactly! Scottish myth peddlers are the worst. They romanticise the Clans and life under Clan chieftains. It was serfdom, pure and simple. Among the most distasteful oppressive ways of life imaginable.
Parliament:"sounds like a great idea" East India Company: Does not approve Parliament: "Sorry, can't help you guys!" While in the Army, I got an all expense paid vacation to Panama back in '91. When we all arrived the cadre at Ft Sherman stated, "Your lucky, this is the dry season." After 2 weeks there, all I could think about is: "that if this was the dry season, how bad the monsoon season must be." edit to erase an errant quotation mark
While its true to say that the success of the venture could have changed history, the failure **did** change history. Scotland might have been dirt poor but it had something nowhere else in Europe had. An actually an advanced system of Universal Public Education which provided a population which were numerate and literate in far greater numbers than else where. So after the Act of Union, where would the new British Empire find the clerks and book-keepers and administrators to run an expansive, world-straddling empire? in Scotland of course. And while the military adventures and contributions of Scots are generally better remembered, it was the clerks and administrators who made the Empire possible and could only have happened with such a broadly educated population.
@@rosaliemoon5905 but to be proud of using that Education to facilitate the machinations of a British Empire? Obviously those Scots who did, did so willingly and were relatively well rewarded but could not and would not ever aspire to be equally regarded as their English “partners”. Scotland’s future may be as an independent nation but it’ll have to face up to its role in subjugating, oppressing, restricting, excluding etc., etc. the colonised from Ireland to India, from Vancouver to Hong Kong if it is to stand alongside the democracies of the planet. After all Scotland was not colonised by the English so it cannot claim innocence.
@@Oluinneachain Functionally this is a contrition based in hindsight. Relative to the times, universal high quality public education was a rarity early on in the 18th century and before that, in the 17th, was even more piecemeal. Schooling, where reading, writing, and arithmetic, seems fairly universal today, at the time combining humanities,literacy, and mathematics components was revolutionary. While I don't disagree with the sentiment of regretting colonial policy and its ills for the people under it, the time was right,the ideals were different, technological advances existed, and political machinations in the general areas of Europe pushed people to "free" portions of the globe. Improved ventures of healthcare and education and technology, simply put, weren't enough to sustain their growth. In an ideal world, trade networks and mutual exchange of technologies would have prevailed but, at this point it is a moot point. Not even taking into account it took 100 years to develop vaccines, antibiotic therapy, and the idea of sterile procedural technique, wondering about such a fair "future past" is fanciful whimsical nothingness. First exchange of horrible disease happened, afterall, because of fair and mutual trade policy. (Looking at you Urcinia Pestis and Antiqua, also broadly known as the Black Death.)
What bravery in the face of such obstacles! And to think that, for me, a trip across the US would be a disaster if my car AC failed, an engine overheated, a tire goes flat, or the restaurant runs out of mustard... None of which are particulary life-endangering crises.
@@jeffreyadams648 What makes them go South? Any red flags apparent during that first year of the relationship? Sorry, I have my own future relationship plans in mind.
If you're familiar with Ouray & Silverton Colorado in the San Juans, they used to have the Galloping Goose rail cars from 1931 to 1952. That would be a wonderful snip of history to see. I'm still really loving the story on the Marine that took off in the A4 for a joy ride. I'd thought that was more an urban legend while serving at El Toro, CA.
The entire Rio Grande Southern would make for a fascinating video. Durango-Ridgeway, & the Telluride Branch. 1890 (completed 1903) - 1951, scrapped 1952. An amazing amount of cars & engines survive, including all but the first of the Geese.
@@treehousekohtao It is only fairly recently that more Scottish History has been taught in our schools. When I was at school in the 1970s, Scottish History was never mentioned in our History classes. Some anti- Scottish Independence, Pro - British Nationalists, would love to see things go back to the days when most Scots were ignorant about most of our own History. Only this week, a ‘Scottish Conservative and Unionist’ MP backed a controversial plan for the UK Government to root out “undue nationalist bias” in the teaching of British history in schools. Andrew Bowie said the idea was one of “a series of feasible policy recommendations” that could help “a Unionist fightback” against the threat of independence.
That part of the world was a frigging nightmare. You've only got to read the - much later - accounts of the building (and failing to build) the Panama canal, to grasp all of the horrid diseases and bugs that were teeming. But it's quite nice now though...
There's something truly Scottish about this story. They come up with a great idea then that independent grit takes over. BTW, I love the color map of old Edinburgh before New Town was built!
@@thenextshenanigantownandth4393 The Scottish Enlightenment though it was more than one idea. Later scientists like Maxwell and Bell. I knew a young Scotsman who came back to the US and became a US citizen to work on the Space Shuttle.
What a fascinating chapter of forgotten history. I had never heard of this before. Thanks for this awesome video, History Guy! This single instance really helps shed light on why England and Scotland joined at all.
I already have a coffee cup with your logo. You should have your quote, “ Don’t all good stories have pirates.” on shirts and other goods. Perhaps with a pirate wearing a bow tie.
Good version of this story. In short, people from a small country tried to take on the 'Big Boys' and got screwed over. Darien Gap would have been hard enough to set up a colony but never stood a chance when everyone else wanted to see it fail.
I was born and raised in the Canal Zone, which is now a provence of Panamal We covered this quite thoroughly, but not in school. We covered it in family discussions and discussions with others. Darien is not a great place to travel, but it sure is beautiful. The Guna are reknown for their incredible fabric known as molas.
Thanks for shining some light on this. Just like to add the support for the act of union was obtained by the selective reimbursement of Scottish mps in return their votes. Thus Burns' line " bought and sold for English gold".
Or maybe they finally realised that both countries are located on a very small island so it makes sense to get along as they now shared a royal family.
@@JohnyG29 Not at all, this was a union brokered by payments to the Scottish Nobility and once enacted there was rioting throughout the country in opposition to the Union.
@@JohnyG29 Most of the country was against the union with England and there were riots in the streets of Edinburgh. Universal enfranchisement was a long way off therefore only those men with a large enough parcel of land, were able to vote. Those Scottish Lords who signed the Act of Union were financially reimbursed for doing so, hence Burns’ succinct description of Scotland being “bought and sold for English gold” by the “parcel o rogues”.
AS ALWAYS THE HISTORY GUY, AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! I sort of knew the story of New Caledonia, but, your telling of it gave MORE KNOWLEDGE than I previously knew. Thank You for enlightening me. 👏👏👏🌞🌞🌞✌✌✌✌ BTW, with all that the Scots, Spanish, French and Americans went through, IT'S A BLOODY MIRACLE the Panama Canal was ever built.
I'd never heard of any other place called New Caledonia than the island in the South Pacific that my dad's ship used as a foreign Port of Call during World War II
Happy to hear a Historian say the Pan American Highway does not go through the Darien Province, due to its dense jungle and rough terrain. Some claim to have traversed the Pan American Highway on motorcycle, where no highway exist.
I didn't know about this... Love the 'History Guy'..!! President Lincoln was in support for an American Colony in Panama, to have a place to send the slaves he 'Emancipated' near the end of the Civil War. Instead he supported sending freed slaves back to Africa and establish the Free Country of "Liberia" as a way of answering the "Slave Problem"... Panama was a Valuable Geographic Location, and the idea of digging a canal would need many workers for the labor to accomplish an 'Impossible Task".... Very Interesting History..!!
@@mbgal7758 I remember going with my cousins to their grandmas house in Paterson, in the late 80s early 90s. It was crazy... we were not allowed to leave the backyard without an adult. My cousins grandfather was actually robbed & killed in front of his home. Bringing home Christmas gifts...
My family lives in Westfield. I can walk into Scotch Plains from my grandmother's house. 3 streets away, or hop over the creek between the parks... 1 of many parts of the nice New Jersey... it's not all bricks & slums... although alot of it is😭
@@006ahenry I've got a cousin that lives in Westfield. It's one of the nicer (and high dollar) areas. But New Jersey actually has a lot of nice places, generally away from the northeast corner, Philly and Atlantic City.
I remember something about this in high school history, it just went downhill after they set foot on the bench it seems sad, they packed winter, always a bad idea, always pack tropical :D
The present day Scottish people are the Irish. The irish 'Scotti' tribe colonised what is now known as Scotland in the 6th Century post the Roman Empire and ousted the picts. So when you say that Irish history is much the same as Scotland, there is a reason for it, same people, same ideology, same failings.
Actor SEAN CONNERY paid anquelogical expedition to recovery artifacts from the site. Actially the site is totaly abandoned and hundreds of miles from any Town or road.
I am so glad that you did this one. I had heard about the Scottish plan to make the first Panama Canal, but I could find never find enough good information about this little topic, to be satisfied. I have heard rumors that to this day, some Panamanian jungle natives, strangely, have red hair and blue eyes!
I’d love to see an episode on the HMAS Melbourne Aircraft carrier. Multiple incidents/collisions, sailors thought it was cursed, then sold for scrap to Korea, only to be discovered hidden in China, being studied & cloned side by side with a structure of bricks. I’m interested to see what else you can find out about it!
I always like to speculate what would of happened, had the venture been successful. Would we see a United Kingdom, an English speaking central America, a United States?
I don't think there's any realistic chance it could have been successful, unfortunately. Not only were the Scots going against both the English and the Spanish, but their fundamental idea--to set up a porting scheme whereby they could take goods from Atlantic to Pacific in a fraction of the time and charge for the privilege--was sunk as soon as they chose to land in the middle of the most intractable stretch of jungle on Earth. So, even if they'd managed to successfully establish the colony, it would have just been a constant drain on the resources of the mother country.
If the Scots took hold of the Darien Gap, Panama would never had existed. The canal would have been built at Darien sooner but not better. It was a Scotsman that built the Panama Canal. Then he quit and chose to work for another industrial nation at that time, Russia
A few comments on your piece. Scotland had a wide history of trade with Europe from Norway to Portugal and France to what is now Poland. Check out Billy Kay's The Scottish World for more information on it. Some reference needs to be made to the English interference in Scottish trade from 1690 onwards and English attempts to incorporate Scotland in to it as it had done with Wales. King William gave royal assent to the trading Company and was then instrumental in scuppering it despite being the King of Scots. He viewed them as getting above themselves and instructed English colonies not to trade or give aid with the Scots. He also aided the Spanish during this time Billy Kay also mentions that the local Cuna tribe befriended the Scots who had purchased the land required from them. The Scots also defended them against the Spanish, and because of their actions are still held in very high regards by the Cuna. Darien had very little to do with the union of Scotland and England as it was England in 1704 that started the "scheme" to force Scotland in to a union with it. Again, the Monarch in this case Queen Anne actively worked against Scottish interests due to the Act of Security and rapidly declining relations.
Ah yes, the Scottish royalty who inherited England and the Scottish aristocrats who facilitated that, and led the charge to colonise Panama and led the subsequent pressure against the English government to form the Union (of which the Scottish passed the first Act of Union before England, who delayed it) were all foreigners all along! Scotland never did bad! Did the space aliens beam down to massacre at Glencoe, or take the Clansmens lands and give it to their Clan Chiefs to use as profitable enclosed pastures too?
All of that is factually incorrect as it was England who forced the union on Scotland. Search for the alien act of 1705, & then read up on why the Scottish parliament passed the act of union first. Threats of invasion by england
That’s an interesting point that the entire pan American highway which runs from Alaska down to Tierra del Fuego stops at Darien because that is the most difficult part of the entire hemisphere to Traverse. At least it is from north to south.
Stealing names from places that are Norman , and named by a Normon De' Carteret. Scottish canals ? I thought you were going to say the proposed canal across Scotland, intended to allow Royal naval access the North Sea. (German Ocean as it was known at the the time) . The advantage of that mentioned at the time was Scotland could have been cast adrift.
Good afternoon, The History Guy! Long time subscriber, and I think it's really awesome to have watched this channel grow. I was wondering if you could do a video on the Chevy expedition across the Darien Gap. It's automotive history that many are ignorant to, and I believe it's history that deserves to be remembered. I hope you do as well, have a pleasant day sir!
I love history, and I love your channel. However, I was expecting something for today, June 15. Today is the 72nd anniversary of the shooting of baseball player Eddie Waitkus. The incident was the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel "The Natural." Perhaps this is a topic you can do a video on?
Hey there History Guy, would you consider doing a piece on Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak? There's a film coming out soon that's loosely based on the subject and it'd be interesting to hear your prospective on the historical figure.
I had an ancestor who lost two of his sons in the Scottish rebellions of the latter 1600's against Charles II and his brother James II. He took his surviving children and moved to Ireland, where he and his third son were among the defenders in the 1689 Siege of Derry (sometimes also known as the Siege of Londonderry) which would be relieved by a force sent by William and Mary, who had been crowned the King and Queen of England in 1688.
As a Panamanian I never knew this. The place is now an indigenous colony called Guna Yala or San Blas. To this day the place is called "Puerto Escoces" or Scottish Port. There is still even an island called Caledonia, San blas. It is my understanding that the "area of the port" is now part of a route used by migrants avoiding the perils of the jungle.
The Darien Gap is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to this day, so we can’t be too hard on these folks for failing.
The Darien Gap seems like a place that has always been a place of death and sorrow. If there's such a thing as 'cursed ground' this is an example of it.
You are right, to this day is a route used in migration to the US from South America and a lot of people lose their lives during the trip.
I just recently learned of the Darien Gap, and my favorite quote from OverlandTraveller is: "you need to be living under the shadow of a death wish to attempt to cross between the two countries by land."
Had it succeeded the settlement would not have been left alone by the Spanish who would have taken it for themselves if it proved to have any worth.
The Scottish may have lacked information on the climate but England would have advised them in advance on the geography and the politics of Spain, a global power, making claim to it. One way or another the adventure was doomed from the outset.
Robert Burns wrote a poem about the Act of Union, "What a Parcel of Rogues", which title shows his opinion of the Act.
As soon as I saw the period and location I thought, "This is going to go well...."
You're being sarcastic right, haha
My first thought was: “The Scottish are going to try and colonize an area that has lots of sunshine? That wont work!” lol...
Trying to enslave the local Indian tribe was a mistake!
The Scots could not have picked a worse place to try to establish a colony. When people meet inhospitable tropical jungle, the jungle wins.
Even worst when an inhospitable tropical jungle is picked out by the most unsuited kind of people that is accustomed to *cold wet highlands.*
@@BHuang92 More of us live in cold, wet lowlands. Now and back then :-)
@@GOGS-zg7rd Exactly! Scottish myth peddlers are the worst. They romanticise the Clans and life under Clan chieftains. It was serfdom, pure and simple. Among the most distasteful oppressive ways of life imaginable.
@@BHuang92 Just imagine how much wool they were probably wearing when they got there.
They didn't stop to think for a moment exactly why no-one else ever bothered colonizing that specific area...
This is history that absolutely deserves to be remembered. Excellent.
Parliament:"sounds like a great idea"
East India Company: Does not approve
Parliament: "Sorry, can't help you guys!"
While in the Army, I got an all expense paid vacation to Panama back in '91. When we all arrived the cadre at Ft Sherman stated, "Your lucky, this is the dry season." After 2 weeks there, all I could think about is: "that if this was the dry season, how bad the monsoon season must be."
edit to erase an errant quotation mark
While its true to say that the success of the venture could have changed history, the failure **did** change history. Scotland might have been dirt poor but it had something nowhere else in Europe had. An actually an advanced system of Universal Public Education which provided a population which were numerate and literate in far greater numbers than else where.
So after the Act of Union, where would the new British Empire find the clerks and book-keepers and administrators to run an expansive, world-straddling empire? in Scotland of course. And while the military adventures and contributions of Scots are generally better remembered, it was the clerks and administrators who made the Empire possible and could only have happened with such a broadly educated population.
And the Scots should be proud of that!?🤔
@@Oluinneachain YES! Too few people place importance on education.
@@rosaliemoon5905 but to be proud of using that Education to facilitate the machinations of a British Empire? Obviously those Scots who did, did so willingly and were relatively well rewarded but could not and would not ever aspire to be equally regarded as their English “partners”. Scotland’s future may be as an independent nation but it’ll have to face up to its role in subjugating, oppressing, restricting, excluding etc., etc. the colonised from Ireland to India, from Vancouver to Hong Kong if it is to stand alongside the democracies of the planet. After all Scotland was not colonised by the English so it cannot claim innocence.
@@Oluinneachain Functionally this is a contrition based in hindsight.
Relative to the times, universal high quality public education was a rarity early on in the 18th century and before that, in the 17th, was even more piecemeal. Schooling, where reading, writing, and arithmetic, seems fairly universal today, at the time combining humanities,literacy, and mathematics components was revolutionary. While I don't disagree with the sentiment of regretting colonial policy and its ills for the people under it, the time was right,the ideals were different, technological advances existed, and political machinations in the general areas of Europe pushed people to "free" portions of the globe. Improved ventures of healthcare and education and technology, simply put, weren't enough to sustain their growth. In an ideal world, trade networks and mutual exchange of technologies would have prevailed but, at this point it is a moot point. Not even taking into account it took 100 years to develop vaccines, antibiotic therapy, and the idea of sterile procedural technique, wondering about such a fair "future past" is fanciful whimsical nothingness. First exchange of horrible disease happened, afterall, because of fair and mutual trade policy. (Looking at you Urcinia Pestis and Antiqua, also broadly known as the Black Death.)
@@OluinneachainOne rises to the occasions presented to one.
What bravery in the face of such obstacles! And to think that, for me, a trip across the US would be a disaster if my car AC failed, an engine overheated, a tire goes flat, or the restaurant runs out of mustard... None of which are particulary life-endangering crises.
It didn’t always end poorly for the Scottish. My grandparents emigrated to California in the 1930’s and lived happily ever after.
Lmao, you live in America
"The seven ill years." My new name for my first marriage.
I feel you on that one.
30 here. Hold my beer.
@@jeffreyadams648 What makes them go South? Any red flags apparent during that first year of the relationship? Sorry, I have my own future relationship plans in mind.
@@theoutlook55 get prenup
My first marriage lasted 7 years and that would fit it perfectly.
Great to see a VMI shako on display! Rah Virginia Mil! Love the content. Cheers
If you're familiar with Ouray & Silverton Colorado in the San Juans, they used to have the Galloping Goose rail cars from 1931 to 1952. That would be a wonderful snip of history to see. I'm still really loving the story on the Marine that took off in the A4 for a joy ride. I'd thought that was more an urban legend while serving at El Toro, CA.
The entire Rio Grande Southern would make for a fascinating video. Durango-Ridgeway, & the Telluride Branch. 1890 (completed 1903) - 1951, scrapped 1952. An amazing amount of cars & engines survive, including all but the first of the Geese.
As a Scotsman I am super happy to learn about this. Cheers. After your challenge coin video, I now have a sizeable collection
What scotsman didnt learn this in school?
@@treehousekohtao It is only fairly recently that more Scottish History has been taught in our schools. When I was at school in the 1970s, Scottish History was never mentioned in our History classes.
Some anti- Scottish Independence, Pro - British Nationalists, would love to see things go back to the days when most Scots were ignorant about most of our own History.
Only this week, a ‘Scottish Conservative and Unionist’ MP backed a controversial plan for the UK Government to root out “undue nationalist bias” in the teaching of British history in schools.
Andrew Bowie said the idea was one of “a series of feasible policy recommendations” that could help “a Unionist fightback” against the threat of independence.
@@HerewardWake Thankfully, here in Scotland, it is you who are irrelevant.
As a fan from Scotland, thanks for dredging up the past 😉
Really enjoy your content, keep them coming 🏴🏴🏴
Imagine a larger version of The Falkirk Wheel in modern Panama, had the venture succeeded.
The Falkirk wheel was designed and built in Ripley Derbyshire England by the butterly works
Amazing piece of engineering.
Falkirk is a giant bus shelter, full of piss and vomit.
Ha Ha, made by the English 😅
That part of the world was a frigging nightmare. You've only got to read the - much later - accounts of the building (and failing to build) the Panama canal, to grasp all of the horrid diseases and bugs that were teeming. But it's quite nice now though...
There's something truly Scottish about this story. They come up with a great idea then that independent grit takes over.
BTW, I love the color map of old Edinburgh before New Town was built!
"They come up with a great idea" How was it a great idea?
@@thenextshenanigantownandth4393 The Scottish Enlightenment though it was more than one idea. Later scientists like Maxwell and Bell. I knew a young Scotsman who came back to the US and became a US citizen to work on the Space Shuttle.
This is one of the few videos you've done that I had absolutely no knowledge at all of. And I love it!
Similar situation as what happened in Haiti around the same time. Generalized opposition can make achieving something new very difficult.
What a fascinating chapter of forgotten history. I had never heard of this before. Thanks for this awesome video, History Guy! This single instance really helps shed light on why England and Scotland joined at all.
Your close to that million sub mark, can't wait to see it.
Thank you Mr HG. Having grandparents who came from Scotland I find this very interesting.
Thank you History Guy and staff members.
I already have a coffee cup with your logo. You should have your quote, “ Don’t all good stories have pirates.” on shirts and other goods. Perhaps with a pirate wearing a bow tie.
the-history-guy.creator-spring.com/listing/THGPirates?product=227 the-history-guy.creator-spring.com/listing/THGPirates?product=46 the-history-guy.creator-spring.com/listing/THGPirates?product=46 the-history-guy.creator-spring.com/listing/THGPirates?product=526 the-history-guy.creator-spring.com/listing/THGPirates?product=794
"Ask and ye shall receive"
I like that you included the locals and how they figured into the story and their motivations.
I just found this channel and woke up to a new video? Nice!
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7am Central time. Like clockwork.
Welcome....! 😎✌🏼
You will not be disappointed
I keep learning more with every episode. Please keep them coming.
Good version of this story. In short, people from a small country tried to take on the 'Big Boys' and got screwed over. Darien Gap would have been hard enough to set up a colony but never stood a chance when everyone else wanted to see it fail.
I was born and raised in the Canal Zone, which is now a provence of Panamal We covered this quite thoroughly, but not in school. We covered it in family discussions and discussions with others. Darien is not a great place to travel, but it sure is beautiful. The Guna are reknown for their incredible fabric known as molas.
Thanks for shining some light on this. Just like to add the support for the act of union was obtained by the selective reimbursement of Scottish mps in return their votes. Thus Burns' line " bought and sold for English gold".
Or maybe they finally realised that both countries are located on a very small island so it makes sense to get along as they now shared a royal family.
@@JohnyG29 Not at all, this was a union brokered by payments to the Scottish Nobility and once enacted there was rioting throughout the country in opposition to the Union.
@@JohnyG29 Most of the country was against the union with England and there were riots in the streets of Edinburgh. Universal enfranchisement was a long way off therefore only those men with a large enough parcel of land, were able to vote. Those Scottish Lords who signed the Act of Union were financially reimbursed for doing so, hence Burns’ succinct description of Scotland being “bought and sold for English gold” by the “parcel o rogues”.
@@kirsteneasdale5707 it wasn’t that popular in England
Good friend of mine is half Scottish half Nicaraguan . Lives in Costa Rica. Father was RAF....in World war I and survived.
Scotland: "Let's settle here."
Time traveller from today: "Are you pointing at the last unpopulated part of the Americas?"
Fun fact, I am descended from William Paterson, the man who bankrupted Scotland and caused them to join the union in the first place.
AS ALWAYS THE HISTORY GUY, AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!!!
I sort of knew the story of New Caledonia, but, your telling of it gave MORE KNOWLEDGE than I previously knew. Thank You for enlightening me. 👏👏👏🌞🌞🌞✌✌✌✌
BTW, with all that the Scots, Spanish, French and Americans went through, IT'S A BLOODY MIRACLE the Panama Canal was ever built.
I'd never heard of any other place called New Caledonia than the island in the South Pacific that my dad's ship used as a foreign Port of Call during World War II
Happy to hear a Historian say the Pan American Highway does not go through the Darien Province, due to its dense jungle and rough terrain. Some claim to have traversed the Pan American Highway on motorcycle, where no highway exist.
@@zonian1966 that is what I have heard also
Thanks for sharing!
There were a lot of details here that I didn't know before. Thank you for adding that nuance.
I didn't know about this... Love the 'History Guy'..!! President Lincoln was in support for an American Colony in Panama, to have a place to send the slaves he 'Emancipated' near the end of the Civil War. Instead he supported sending freed slaves back to Africa and establish the Free Country of "Liberia" as a way of answering the "Slave Problem"... Panama was a Valuable Geographic Location, and the idea of digging a canal would need many workers for the labor to accomplish an 'Impossible Task".... Very Interesting History..!!
The history of Scotland is indeed an interesting one, not even more so. I never heard this part before.
The real reason it went wrong was sunburn..
Not only sunburn but diseases even here in 2021 we can't defeat.I mean of the Scots not Panama.lol
Good comprehensive piece on the 'Venture'. Best one out there i've seen so far. (i find anything from this era/region interesting),
So glad to see the history of this ill-fated colony remembered - thank you!
Panama was a hot spot to go at the time.
Now we know how Patterson, NJ, got its name, as well as Scotch Plains.
As a former resident who escaped it’s called Paterson. One T
@@mbgal7758 I escaped NYC one year after movie starring Kurt Russell.
@@mbgal7758 I remember going with my cousins to their grandmas house in Paterson, in the late 80s early 90s. It was crazy... we were not allowed to leave the backyard without an adult. My cousins grandfather was actually robbed & killed in front of his home. Bringing home Christmas gifts...
My family lives in Westfield. I can walk into Scotch Plains from my grandmother's house. 3 streets away, or hop over the creek between the parks... 1 of many parts of the nice New Jersey... it's not all bricks & slums... although alot of it is😭
@@006ahenry I've got a cousin that lives in Westfield. It's one of the nicer (and high dollar) areas. But New Jersey actually has a lot of nice places, generally away from the northeast corner, Philly and Atlantic City.
I remember something about this in high school history, it just went downhill after they set foot on the bench it seems sad, they packed winter, always a bad idea, always pack tropical :D
I didn't make the connection between Darien and the Darien Gap until you mentioned it near the end of the video. Talk about doomed to failure.
Only thing sadder than Scottish History is the story of The Irish. History that should not be forgotten.
The present day Scottish people are the Irish. The irish 'Scotti' tribe colonised what is now known as Scotland in the 6th Century post the Roman Empire and ousted the picts.
So when you say that Irish history is much the same as Scotland, there is a reason for it, same people, same ideology, same failings.
Actor SEAN CONNERY paid anquelogical expedition to recovery artifacts from the site. Actially the site is totaly abandoned and hundreds of miles from any Town or road.
I am so glad that you did this one. I had heard about the Scottish plan to make the first Panama Canal, but I could find never find enough good information about this little topic, to be satisfied. I have heard rumors that to this day, some Panamanian jungle natives, strangely, have red hair and blue eyes!
I’d love to see an episode on the HMAS Melbourne Aircraft carrier. Multiple incidents/collisions, sailors thought it was cursed, then sold for scrap to Korea, only to be discovered hidden in China, being studied & cloned side by side with a structure of bricks.
I’m interested to see what else you can find out about it!
It is amazing that you find such interesting, little know history! You always get a "thumbs-up" from me!
You might do a piece on New Sweden, Sweden's attempt to do the same thing.
great history, i hadn't watched for a while but i enjoyed it!
Thank you for making this !
I always like to speculate what would of happened, had the venture been successful.
Would we see a United Kingdom, an English speaking central America, a United States?
I don't think there's any realistic chance it could have been successful, unfortunately. Not only were the Scots going against both the English and the Spanish, but their fundamental idea--to set up a porting scheme whereby they could take goods from Atlantic to Pacific in a fraction of the time and charge for the privilege--was sunk as soon as they chose to land in the middle of the most intractable stretch of jungle on Earth. So, even if they'd managed to successfully establish the colony, it would have just been a constant drain on the resources of the mother country.
@@d2factotum Too true. There was no real way for it to succeed, but as a speculative alternate history, it's one of my favorites.
I certainly wouldn't object to an English speaking Central America. They certainly would have at least been better colonizers than the Spaniards
Probably, sun screen would have been invented a lot sooner…
@@Terabit3 oh yeah look at the success they made of Ireland, India, the Caribbean slave islands, Africa etc.
Two vids I would love to see on THG: the Port Chicago disaster, and the administration of Thorotrast, and it’s disastrous effects.
Your content is always great !
Another gem. Thanks for the information.
If they still have not extended the Panamanian highway thru the area, that says a lot.
It’s true that it is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. More so now than in the past because it’s all drug cartels with guns.
@@mbgal7758 oh dang
If the Scots took hold of the Darien Gap, Panama would never had existed. The canal would have been built at Darien sooner but not better. It was a Scotsman that built the Panama Canal. Then he quit and chose to work for another industrial nation at that time, Russia
The Scots built everything in my part of Canada. They were everywhere
A few comments on your piece.
Scotland had a wide history of trade with Europe from Norway to Portugal and France to what is now Poland. Check out Billy Kay's The Scottish World for more information on it. Some reference needs to be made to the English interference in Scottish trade from 1690 onwards and English attempts to incorporate Scotland in to it as it had done with Wales.
King William gave royal assent to the trading Company and was then instrumental in scuppering it despite being the King of Scots. He viewed them as getting above themselves and instructed English colonies not to trade or give aid with the Scots. He also aided the Spanish during this time
Billy Kay also mentions that the local Cuna tribe befriended the Scots who had purchased the land required from them. The Scots also defended them against the Spanish, and because of their actions are still held in very high regards by the Cuna.
Darien had very little to do with the union of Scotland and England as it was England in 1704 that started the "scheme" to force Scotland in to a union with it. Again, the Monarch in this case Queen Anne actively worked against Scottish interests due to the Act of Security and rapidly declining relations.
Ah yes, the Scottish royalty who inherited England and the Scottish aristocrats who facilitated that, and led the charge to colonise Panama and led the subsequent pressure against the English government to form the Union (of which the Scottish passed the first Act of Union before England, who delayed it) were all foreigners all along! Scotland never did bad!
Did the space aliens beam down to massacre at Glencoe, or take the Clansmens lands and give it to their Clan Chiefs to use as profitable enclosed pastures too?
All of that is factually incorrect as it was England who forced the union on Scotland. Search for the alien act of 1705, & then read up on why the Scottish parliament passed the act of union first. Threats of invasion by england
That’s an interesting point that the entire pan American highway which runs from Alaska down to Tierra del Fuego stops at Darien because that is the most difficult part of the entire hemisphere to Traverse. At least it is from north to south.
Stealing names from places that are Norman , and named by a Normon De' Carteret. Scottish canals ? I thought you were going to say the proposed canal across Scotland, intended to allow Royal naval access the North Sea. (German Ocean as it was known at the the time) . The advantage of that mentioned at the time was Scotland could have been cast adrift.
All Good Stories - Involve Pirates (Long Live Our Scottish History)
Where did, "Because, don't all good stories include pirates?" go?
6:31
Statement of fact.
Not, our beloved retorical query.
Thanks, I've always been interested in the age of the European Exploration of the western continents.
Aside from the stories, I’m really loving the intro graphics.
Good afternoon, The History Guy! Long time subscriber, and I think it's really awesome to have watched this channel grow. I was wondering if you could do a video on the Chevy expedition across the Darien Gap. It's automotive history that many are ignorant to, and I believe it's history that deserves to be remembered. I hope you do as well, have a pleasant day sir!
Great as always
But why haven't we paved our way through the Darian Gap? Sounds like another episode!
Until today the Darien mountains don’t have a road to cross it and that disconnect North an South Americas
That's one more horror story of the Darien to add to the many I've heard.
Cool ... I'd never heard of this. Very interesting! Thanks again!
I love history, and I love your channel. However, I was expecting something for today, June 15. Today is the 72nd anniversary of the shooting of baseball player Eddie Waitkus. The incident was the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel "The Natural." Perhaps this is a topic you can do a video on?
Feeding the Machine. Always enjoy your content
There exists a very rare medal issued in 1700 to commemorate the founding of the colony by Campbell.
*I wonder is the Burma/Myanmar of this alternate timeline would turn out?*
The Scots people did not agree to the union. The Scots nobles, well bribed, did.
And it's been great. Here's to another 300 years !
@@indigohammer5732 Been great, done that. Now we want out of it. @ History Guy *Hamish Henderson* is a person worth remembering.
@@Gizmomadug
The English people didn’t agree to it either
@@HerewardWake Thank you? For what, exactly?
@@HerewardWake Piggyback? Read "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" by Arthur L. Herman.
I wonder what Panama would be like with the Scotland accent
Which Scottish accent though?
@@Nastyswimmer those in the Nth speak proper English unlike Glasswegian for example.
Thanks THG. ⚓️
Why is there a Saint Andrews Park, and Panama City, in Florida ?
0:01 Are ya ready kids?!
Hey there History Guy, would you consider doing a piece on Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak? There's a film coming out soon that's loosely based on the subject and it'd be interesting to hear your prospective on the historical figure.
The flag of New Caledonia is awesome!!! Rather... modern, for the time.
I am receiving a college level history education.
And it's for free. Available at any time, anywhere on the internet. Man, I love technology
Very informative. Thanks
Thank you for the lesson.
I heard they were taking Nessie with them. It needed a vacation and warm water to swim in.
Great topic!
Fascinating. Thx
Even though they're shorter than the others, I still am not a fan of non-skippable ads.
Very nice piece on the Scottish attempt to colonize the New World.
Luv this channel!
For once, I’ve heard this part of history before. Your telling of it was much more interesting, of course. ☺️
I had an ancestor who lost two of his sons in the Scottish rebellions of the latter 1600's against Charles II and his brother James II. He took his surviving children and moved to Ireland, where he and his third son were among the defenders in the 1689 Siege of Derry (sometimes also known as the Siege of Londonderry) which would be relieved by a force sent by William and Mary, who had been crowned the King and Queen of England in 1688.
Great stuff. I see though after numerous comments and suggestions the only response are to people looking for merch.
What a way to end a video!