The series of events that led to the Union of Parliaments is too extensive and involved to do full justice to them here but foremost among them is the collapse of the Darien Venture which became apparent about 1700. The Venture began in 1695 when the Scottish parliament authorized the establishment of a 'Company of Scotland of Trading to Africa and the Indies' to share in the wealth that was being amassed by English, French and Dutch trading companies. Later on it became known as the 'Darien Company' after a scheme concocted by William Paterson was adopted which called for establishment of a Scottish colony on the narrow Isthmus of Panama (then called Darien) that would spare the necessity of sailing the long sea routes via Capes Horn and Good Hope. The advantages of the scheme were clear and, as we all know, were realized two centuries later with the creation of the Panama Canal. A canal was out of the question in July 1698 when the five Scottish ships carrying 1200 settlers and their supplies departed Scotland for Darien. Unlimited enthusiasm for the Venture had resulted in raising £400,000 to fund the scheme, estimated to be half the capital available in all of Scotland at the time.

      The planners of the venture had vastly underestimated the difficulties in transporting freight between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts through tropical jungles. Nor had they considered fully the lack of enthusiasm the Spaniards would have for Scottish encroachment on territories that they considered to be their exclusive preserve not to mention the fact that Scots are not naturally conditioned to deal with the tropical heat and disease.

      The expedition arrived at Darien in November and construction of a fort was begun. The local Indians seemed happy to welcome non-Spanish settlers but the Spaniards began mobilizing for an assault which took place in February 1699 with the loss of one of the Scottish ships. The Spanish weren't the only source of difficulty -- disease took its toll, supplies were quickly exhausted, and the English colony of Jamaica denied aid. By June only 900 of the original party had survived and they voted to return to Scotland, a journey that resulted in the loss of another 150 people. Shortly after the first party departed for home, a second party set out to relieve them but it too remained only a four months after it arrived in November.

      The Venture was clearly a failure. Scotland was nearly bankrupt and there was a host of stockholders looking for some form of compensation. Other Scots recognized that access to colonial markets was only possible through Union with England and many English recognized that Union might be cheaper in the long run given the Scots ability for troublemaking and smuggling as well as French support of the Jacobites who lurked on both sides of the Border. While the issue of Union was being considered another problem came to the fore -- Queen Anne had had seventeen pregnancies but all had died leaving no heir to take the throne. The English parliament had decided that Anne's successor would pass to Sophia, granddaughter of King James VI/I and wife of Ernest Augustus, 1st Elector of Hanover. The Scottish Parliament was not consulted nor were they in the case of the war with France.