Press Releases

The Darien Adventure travels Scotland

4 May 1999

A new exhibition on the Darien Adventure, the seventeenth century attempt by the Scots to establish a trading colony at Panama, starts a tour of Scotland today at The Royal Bank of Scotland’s flagship branch in Edinburgh.

The exhibition has been produced jointly by the National Archives of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland and is sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland.

It tells the story of the expedition and its aftermath by using the large and varied body of archive material on Darien held by the National Archives, the National Library and the Royal Bank. This includes ship cargo lists which mention pipes, wigs and combs taken as goods for trade - the combs were taken because the settlers had heard that the natives had long hair.

The exhibition also contains letters sent home from the colony which initially described the "good hunting and fowling and excellent fishing in the bayes and Creeks of the Coast" (sic). Just six months later one settler wrote a very different story: "I am not capable by wryting to give you ane account of the miserable condition we have undergone…being starved and abandoned by the world." (sic)

Patrick Cadell, Keeper of the Records of Scotland at the National Archives of Scotland, said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with the National Library of Scotland on a project which draws so significantly on both our collections. We welcome the involvement of The Royal Bank of Scotland, which allows us to bring these valuable resources to a wider audience."

Sir George Mathewson, Group Chief Executive of the Royal Bank, said: "The Darien Adventure was partly responsible for the Scottish parliament’s acceptance of the Act of Union in 1707 and also led to the establishment of The Royal Bank of Scotland. This interesting period in history can now be told to people all over Scotland through this exhibition."

The Darien Adventure exhibition is one of a series of panel displays produced by the National Library of Scotland which are designed for travelling around public libraries, small museums and galleries.

Notes to editors:

1. The exhibition begins its tour today in the foyer of The Royal Bank of Scotland, 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, where it will be shown for two weeks. The exhibition will then tour for two years to venues including:

The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum
The Ewart Library, Dumfries
The Central Library, Aberdeen
The Frigate Unicorn and the Central Library, Dundee
The AK Bell Library, Perth
North Lanarkshire Council
The Royal Bank of Scotland Kirkaldy
The Royal Bank of Scotland Paisley
South Ayrshire Libraries
Hawick Museum
East Kilbride Library
Hamilton Library
The Royal Bank of Scotland Dundee
The Royal Bank of Scotland Aberdeen

2. The exhibition grew out of a display of original documents to mark the tercentenary of the Darien Adventure. This display can still be seen at the National Archives of Scotland, General Register House, Edinburgh, until 7 May.
3. The Royal Bank has also produced an illustrated leaflet telling the story of the Darien Adventure to accompany the display.
4. The Royal Bank marked the tercentenary of the expedition in 1998 by producing a teaching resource on Darien which was sent free to all Scottish schools.

 Contact:

Jacqueline Cromarty, National Library of Scotland
Tel: 0131 622 4810

Rosemary Gibson, National Archives of Scotland
Tel: 0131 535 1339

Alison Turton, Head of Archives
Tel: 0131 523 5925