Abandonment of Scotlands only New World Colony, Caledonia, at Darien, Isthmus of Panama
The Darién scheme is probably the best known of all Scotlands colonial endeavours, and the most disastrous. In 1695, an act was passed in the Scottish Parliament establishing The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies and was given the Royal assent by the Scottish representative of King William the II of Scotland (and III of England). This act gave the company a 31 year monopoly on trade with Africa and Asia, authorised it to arm and equip ships and to establish colonies in uninhabited or unclaimed areas of America, Asia or Africa. These powers were similar to those of the English East India Company, which opposed the establishment of a Scottish rival.
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Richard Levinge, an Irish MP, who had been committed to the Tower of London, is released
Richard Levinge, an Irish Member of Parliament and prominent lawyer, was committed to the Tower of London by the English House of Commons during the late 17th century—likely in connection with political tensions involving the constitutional relationship between England and Ireland.
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Anne Bonny, née Cormac, pirate, is born in Co. Cork
Anne Bonny (late 17th century – disappeared after 28 November 1720), sometimes Ann Fulford, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Captain Charles Johnson’s 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates.
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According to Gullivers Travels, it was on this day that Lemuel Gulliver sets sail
According to Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, it was on this day that Lemuel Gulliver set sail on board the Antelope from Bristol. This fictional voyage marks the beginning of one of literature’s most enduring and satirical journeys. Published in 1726, Gulliver’s Travels is presented as a travel memoir, and Swift assigns Gulliver’s departure to a specific date—adding a layer of realism to the fantastical narrative. Setting sail from Bristol, Gulliver embarks on a series of incredible adventures to lands such as Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms. Swift used these imaginative lands to parody and critique contemporary politics, science, human nature, and colonialism, making the book a classic not just of fantasy but also of sharp political satire.
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The second session of William III's second Irish parliament ends on this date
January 26–June 14 – the Parliament of Ireland meets and enacts legislation to levy duties on exported woolens; to encourage the construction of parsonages; to oblige landowners to plant and conserve trees; and to prevent Roman Catholics from becoming solicitors.
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Foundation of Scotlands only New World colony New Caledonia at Darien Imus of Panama
In the late 17th Century, a business idea was hatched by William Paterson to create a Scottish Colony in the New World. William Paterson, a Scot whos other major claim to fame was the foundation of the Bank of England, was born in Tinwald in Dumfriesshire in 1658. He made his first fortune through international trade, travelling extensively throughout the Americas and West Indies.
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