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"The Price of Scotland" covers a well-known episode in Scottish history, the ill-fated Darien Scheme. It recounts for the first time in almost forty years, the history of the Company of Scotland, looking at previously unexamined evidence and considering the failure in light of the Company's financial records. Douglas Watt offers the reader a new way of looking at this key moment in history, from the attempt to raise capital in London in 1695 through to the shareholder bail-out as part of the Treaty of Union in 1707. With the tercentenary of the Union in May 2007, "The Price of Scotland" provides a timely reassessment of this national disaster.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I approached this book as I have a particular interest in period of time surrounding the Treaty of Union in 1707. Thus I was primarily interested in the political relevance of Darien. But in this book you get so much more. What is contained here is engaging, vivid and accessible. It goes beyond the political arguments of the age and looks at The Company of Scotland for what it really was at the start - a business venture.
Many have an obsession with the romantic parts of Scottish history - Wars of Independence, Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie. This obsession means that we often miss out on the fact that far from being an irrelevant country - Scotland was pioneering many new ideas in regards to business and finance. Watt does an admirable job in giving an account of one such example - The Company of Scotland.
Gradually he builds up the story of how the Company of Scotland was formed and why. He demonstrates the early network of finance that existed in Europe and how Scotland tried to tap into that. I was fascinated by the examples of other small European countries that had managed to build up a small trading system of their own - one that Scotland could have followed to great success. So to is his explanation of the hype that surrounded the Company - particulary when it moved from being a business venture to a political weapon to be wielded by the Country Party. He points out that part of the success of the Bank of Scotland (formed at the same time as the Company of Scotland), was that it remained free from political and government inteference.
But what really stands out in this book is his conclusions. The Company of Scotland could have brought wealth - had it kept accessible goals. He makes one memorable remark about how the Panama Canal construction required the resources of a super power - yet a small poor country in the late 17th Century attempted a similar feat. You gotta admire the gumption.
A final note is how much the book resonates with recent events in the financial world of 2008. He mentions the Bank of Scotland and how it became a successful bank for 300 years. Recently BoS became part of Lloyds TSB in light of the recent financial turmoil. He details the hype that surrounded the Company and how people thought of the cash to be made - rather than hard facts. I can't help but see a moral for those who jumped on the housing bandwagon to make a quick buck.
A great book that makes me wish that I had the opportunity to attend Douglas Watts classes.
Many have an obsession with the romantic parts of Scottish history - Wars of Independence, Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie. This obsession means that we often miss out on the fact that far from being an irrelevant country - Scotland was pioneering many new ideas in regards to business and finance. Watt does an admirable job in giving an account of one such example - The Company of Scotland.
Gradually he builds up the story of how the Company of Scotland was formed and why. He demonstrates the early network of finance that existed in Europe and how Scotland tried to tap into that. I was fascinated by the examples of other small European countries that had managed to build up a small trading system of their own - one that Scotland could have followed to great success. So to is his explanation of the hype that surrounded the Company - particulary when it moved from being a business venture to a political weapon to be wielded by the Country Party. He points out that part of the success of the Bank of Scotland (formed at the same time as the Company of Scotland), was that it remained free from political and government inteference.
But what really stands out in this book is his conclusions. The Company of Scotland could have brought wealth - had it kept accessible goals. He makes one memorable remark about how the Panama Canal construction required the resources of a super power - yet a small poor country in the late 17th Century attempted a similar feat. You gotta admire the gumption.
A final note is how much the book resonates with recent events in the financial world of 2008. He mentions the Bank of Scotland and how it became a successful bank for 300 years. Recently BoS became part of Lloyds TSB in light of the recent financial turmoil. He details the hype that surrounded the Company and how people thought of the cash to be made - rather than hard facts. I can't help but see a moral for those who jumped on the housing bandwagon to make a quick buck.
A great book that makes me wish that I had the opportunity to attend Douglas Watts classes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
For someone who is interested in how the colonists actually managed to exist (or not) in Darien, this book was quite a disappointment. OK, the meticulous research into the founding of the Company and the political and financial wheelings & dealings is impeccable, if sometimes just a tad too deep and repetitive.
But, it is not until 150 pages into the book that we get any idea of Darien itself and how the colony was established, manned and equipped.
For political or financial economists it provides deep and disturbing insights into the duplicity of kings, the greed of financiers and the gullibility of the masses; for those interested in the resilience of colonisers and their dealings with the indigenous tribes there is remarkably little.
But, it is not until 150 pages into the book that we get any idea of Darien itself and how the colony was established, manned and equipped.
For political or financial economists it provides deep and disturbing insights into the duplicity of kings, the greed of financiers and the gullibility of the masses; for those interested in the resilience of colonisers and their dealings with the indigenous tribes there is remarkably little.
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