A different Scottish scheme

Scotland's scheme
Scotland 1658
In Tinwald a small village in Dumfries Scotland a baby is born stillborn his name was William Patterson.

Scotland 1698

Though Scotland's central bank had existed for three years the nation was poor. On the northern fringes of Europe most trade had to go through England. Though England was in personal union with Scotland the English exploited there position using it to keep the northern realm weak. There were two ways people wanted to solve this problem. A minority wanted to go into political union with England but the vast majority were in fovor of Scotland founding its own empire.

Thus the company of Scotland was born with the purpose of establishing a empire in the East Indies. A few tried to convince the Scottish government to try to found a colony on the isthmus of panama this idea was dismissed.

Scotland's Parliament in a effort to raise money send dignitaries around Europe to try and get people to invest in the East Indies adventure. The British East India company was not pleased at this turn of events. The East India company threatened to take legal action against the company of Scotland stating that they did not have the kings aproval to seek foreign investors. Continental investors quickly withdrew investment after this leaving the company no choice but to get backing from Scottish citizens.

In the end the company of Scotland managed to raise 400,000 pounds. Purchasing five ships and the tools and supplies needed to live a farming life. The ships set sail with 1,200 passengers bound for the Indian Ocean. But Scots were not built for the sea. The voyage was a traumatic experience for passagers who had never even been on the sea before. Having set off in early July the five ships stopped in Cape Town to restock supplies on November,2,1698 After leaving Cape Town the group of ships passed through the Mozambique Channel.

After coming upon an island it was agreed to set up a settlement on the island. The French called the island Mayotte. But the Scots named the island New Caledonia. On December,4,1698 the Scots disembark from there ships. Deciding to settle at the center of the smaller of two bays.

The Scots immediately get to work with cuting down trees and building houses. Many Scots die from heat stroke but they continue on. Finally after nonstop building they finish building the community a week before Christmas. If you look from the bay you would see a wooden palisade two yards from the beach. When you went inside you whould find small wooden houses. At the center of the settlement was a church were they would pray and hold meetings until the mother country appointed a governor. After agreeing to leave one ship behind to protect the settlement. Four of the five ships were sent on there way back to Scotland to inform the government of there new colony.

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The new home of many Scots.
 
International reactions and relations with natives
May 1699 Scotland
To say the world was shocked was the wrong word more like horrified while also hopeful. While the world had known Scotland's colonial dream no one thought they would actually go through with it.

When the four out of five ships arrived back in Glasgow news spread like wildfire. The Scottish Parliament received a scathing from the French government asking them why they settled rightful French land. England was displeased but still sent a congratulations In there letter. Spain and Austria were both in jubilation not for Scotland but for themselves as this meant France had even more challengers. Russia and the Ottoman Empire sent disinterested formal notes. Russia didn't even bother to send a note.

The company quickly was able to confrontation of New Caledonia being a company colony. Under there charter the company was able to be completely autonomous in running there colony only swearing loyalty to the king and Scottish Parliament. While Scotland got a share of the gold in taxes on the company and handled any foreign deals concerning the company.
The company's administrators quickly packed there bags to head to New Caledonia.

Back in New Caledonia

Stocks on food were getting low the settlers would have to find a solution. The colonists sent out a scouting party of fifteen men in hope of finding food instead they find some natives. After talking they bring the natives back to the town to talk to what was already being called the regent assembly. Luckily they have a native that knows French so they along with there translator to communicate.
The settlers find out that they will only have those strange looking yellow and brown things to eat until the company contacts them and that if they want to turn a profit they have to have cash crops.

The Scots learn through there translator that the natives have prisoners they want to sell to other tribes. Knowing that they will need slaves to tend to there cash crops they offer to buy fifty the natives looked surprised wondering how such a small tribe could afford fifty slaves. The Scots present the natives with chests full of shiny trinkets they present how to use them. Eventually after much haggling a deal is reached twenty acres worth of coffee seed and fifty slaves for ten compasses and ten guns.

Population of New Caledonia: 1,250
Free:1,200
Enslaved:50
food: coconuts and banana
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Company of Scotland flag
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Company of Scotland coat of arms.
 
What happened while the administration was coming
June: First child born in the colony she's named Caledonia.

July: Coffee planting officially starts.

August: After raiding a rival tribe Caledonia's native ally's give them ten slaves for ten shiny bracelets.

September: The Scots make contact with the Portuguese in Mozambique trading many bananas and coconuts for twenty slaves.

October: After months of waiting the administration is finally here and the regent assembly is disbanded.
 
When the administration puts the serfs to work and Europe decided to fight.
When the administration landed on the island they were horrified. They had expected a proper welcome instead they found a sleeping settlement along with a small coffee plantation.

They immediately order the construction of a small harbor. There next order was to construct an administrative building.

Meanwhile in Europe

Wile the company of Scotland concerned itself with setting up an administration. The gunpowder that was the Spanish succession had finally blown up with the death of Charles the second of Spain. By law the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs should inherit but the bourbons tried to push there claim through Phillip of Anjou.

Spain quickly spiraled into civil war as Aragon declared for the Habsburgs and Castile for the Bourbons. For now no one acted but everyone was shure that by the end of the month they would be at war.

With the consent of the king Scotland quickly declared for the Habsburgs scared that France would try to seize their colony.

England declares for the Habsburgs. The Dutch Republic declare for the Habsburgs. Portugal declares for Habsburgs.
Scotland declares for Habsburgs.

Bavaria declares for Bourbons. Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily declare for Bourbons.

Smaller factions declare for both sides.
 
Mayotte was already heavily populated and Islamised with a sultanate established in 1500. The island had trading contacts throughout the Indian Ocean and no doubt the locals would not have been impressed by a chest of "shiny trinkets". By the 17th century there are accounts by Europeans describing the bazaars on Mayotte selling wares from Persia, Arabia, India along with European goods such as delftware and tobacco pipes from the Netherlands. The Comoros served as a place where ships from the Indies would gather provisions and the inhabitants wore European clothes such as stockings and hats, and many spoke English, Dutch, French and Portuguese. In addition most spoke Swahili as their trade with the Swahili coast was important. Also, France did not claim Mayotte until the 19th century, as far as I am aware no European power claimed the island.

Also, how do they begin cultivating coffee in Mayotte? Coffee cultivation at the time was limited to modern-day Yemen and Ethiopia, and it takes a minimum of five years for a coffee tree to grow and produce coffee beans. A colony in this region would no doubt face the same obstacles of the short-lived English Puritan colony on an island Madagascar 1645 at Saint Augustin where only 12 of the 140 settlers survived the first year. Many starved and the locals refused to sell them food as they had nothing of value.
 
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Mayotte was already heavily populated and Islamised with a sultanate established in 1500. The island had trading contacts throughout the Indian Ocean and no doubt the locals would not have been impressed by a chest of "shiny trinkets". By the 17th century there are accounts by Europeans describing the bazaars on Mayotte selling wares from Persia, Arabia, India along with European goods such as delftware and tobacco pipes from the Netherlands. The Comoros served as a place where ships from the Indies would gather provisions and the inhabitants wore European clothes such as stockings and hats, and many spoke English, Dutch, French and Portuguese. In addition most spoke Swahili as their trade with the Swahili coast was important. Also, France did not claim Mayotte until the 19th century, as far as I am aware no European power claimed the island.

Also, how do they begin cultivating coffee in Mayotte? Coffee cultivation at the time was limited to modern-day Yemen and Ethiopia, and it takes a minimum of five years for a coffee tree to grow and produce coffee beans. A colony in this region would no doubt face the same obstacles of the short-lived English Puritan colony on an island Madagascar 1645 at Saint Augustin where only 12 of the 140 settlers survived the first year. Many starved and the locals refused to sell them food as they had nothing of value.

Thank you will edit and research heavily.
 
Perhaps the Seychelles might be an alternate settlement location for the Scots? They were only colonized in the 18th century in OTL, even though they sighted (but not properly mapped) quite early on. The Seychelles also has the benefit of being one of the few malaria free zones in the world and being devoid of human occupants in the late 17th century.

You could have the Company send a mapping expedition first followed by a main colonization fleet.

Agriculture and spices (nutmeg and cinnamon in OTL) are probably going to be the main concern of the colony as they'll surely want to trade with India and serve as a resupply station (as was the initial intent for Darien). If they can get established on the Seychelles, and begin trading with India they'll likely gain more investment from those merchants shut out of the Indies trade by the EIC. In OTL they pumped money into a number of upstart East Indies companies to make a profit off the trade. The rights given to the Scottish Company theoretically could allow them to give the EIC a run for its money. The key would be getting a firman from the Mughals though and being allowed to set up shop.

Assuming things go really well, you could even have them takeover Mauritius once the Dutch leave in 1710 instead of the French.
 
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Thanks I think that y'all only deserve the best quality so I'm going to do my research and come back to this probably sometime next year.
 
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