Lot 96
Darien venture - The Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies
Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts
Auction: 29 August 2012 at 12:00 BST
Description
The original papers and letters relating to the Scots Company, trading to Africa and the Indies. [Edinburgh ?]: Printed Anno 1700. 8vo, [56pp.], [Wing C5598A]; [Foyer, Archibald] The defence of the Scots settlement at Darien, answered. London, Sold by the booksellers of London and Westminster, 1699. First edition, 8vo, [iv, 92], half-title, [Wing F2047 A]; [Darien] The history of Caledonia, or the Scots colony in Darien, in the West Indies. With an account of the manners of the inhabitants and riches of the countrey. London: John Nutt, 1699. First edition, 8vo, [54pp.], without final blank, small hole to final leaf with loss of a few letters, [Wing H2114; Sabin 18556], 3 works in one volume, modern calf-backed marbled boards
Footnote
Provenance: Viscount Strathallan, Stobhall, Perthshire
Note:The History of Caledonia, or the Scots colony in Darien (1699) is a rare report on the condition of the ill-fated Scottish colony in the New World begun in 1698 and abandoned in 1700 and is most probably a promotional work produced by the Company. It has a positive gloss, describing the encouraging first meeting between the settlers and the native tribes, reviews the legislation that led to the colonization attempt, and gives a description of the site of the colony, the surrounding country, and local indigenous people.