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| Ships in the Port of Leith near Edinburgh, 1698 |
Three ships sat in Leith harbour near Edinburgh, and two more anchored off Kirkcaldy-The Unicorn, St Andrew, Caledonia, Endeavour and The Dolphin were the hope of the nation to carve a new trade route to China. 2500 passengers, soldiers and crew awaited the lifting of the anchors...but where were they headed?
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When I began writing Opportunities: Jamie Leith in Darién
I lived in a small cramped space near what was once the bustling Port of Leith. I walked daily by the Water of Leith, and I imagined it as it must have been in 1698 with the ships of the Darien Venture at anchor in the harbor preparing for the journey. It wasnt long before I was also imagining it through the eyes of an adventurous street urchin and Jamie Leith was born: In contrast to the quiet streets of the town, the dock was even more crowded than usual. Dockers and ship’s crew milled around on the quayside like partners in some unorganized dance. The difference today was the crowd of passengers, mostly men, who were standing in orderly queues, waiting to be boarded. In comparison to the dock officials, the passengers were a pathetic sight, soaked to the skin from the recent rain. The men who had donned hats for the heavy shower, had removed them, but the women’s bonnets drooped dejectedly. Their baggage lay waterlogged in puddles at their feet.~from Opportunities: Jamie Leith in Darién
“Looks like the Expedition ships are finally getting ready tae sail.” Jamie ambled closer.
“It’s about time.” Gordon nibbled at the hard apple core. “They’ve been loading them for weeks!”
Activity increased as they neared the quayside; harbour officials strutted and postured. Orders from both the docks and aboard ship were barked across the morning. “They’ll leave on tonight’s tide, maybe tomorrow’s.” Jamie threw his apple core high into the air, landing in the brown chocolate suspension that was Leith harbour. Twice a day the tide flushed away the stinking mess, but the Water of Leith, while rising clear and clean in the Pentland hills, also passed through Edinburgh. The capital’s sewer then ran down to Leith.
“Almost like an adventure,” Gordon said. “Not knowing where they’re going.”
“Best kept secret in town.”
chapter 1 by Ian Hall
The volunteer colonists, some of whom had paid for their inclusion in the venture, had no idea what they’d signed up for. A seven month monsoon season, food rationing, bad leadership, Spanish attacks, and diseases that would ultimately wipe them out at the rate of ten per day.
Of the almost 4000 who embarked on the three missions to Panama, only 100 returned to Scotland. But on this day in July 315 years ago, their hopes were high, their resolve untested and unbroken, their casualties none. The Darien Venture was the hope of Scotland. It’s a shame that the reality would prove so severe.
