Panamas early links to the Bank of England
CANADA DAY, July 1, marks the ascendancy of Canadian banker, Mark Carney to head The Bank of England, whose history has a special connection to Panama.
The founder of the Bank. which is a model for similar institutions around the world, was William Patterson, a Scot who was also the man behind the colonization project known as the Darien Scheme an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called "Caledonia" on theIsthmus in the late 1690s.
The undertaking was doomed from the outset by poor planning and provision, weak leadership, lack of demand for trade goods, devastating epidemics of disease and increasing shortage of food. Paterson lost his wife and daughter during the first settlement attempt, and was himself seriously ill.
It was finally abandoned after a siege by Spanish forces in April 1700. As the Darien company was backed by about a quarter of the money circulating in Scotland, its failure left the country virtually bankrupt and ultimately led to the Act of Union [with England] in 1707, and the creation of the United Kingdom.
Although the scheme failed, it didn’t deter Paterson from writing another proposal which was aimed at broadening the Darien scheme to create a Central and South American free trade area, something that is happening in stages 400 years later.
The outline of the Darien attempt is carved into the walls at the entrance to the Canal Museum.
Mark Carney is the first non Briton person to head the bank.. He will succeed Sir Mervyn King, who took over on June 30, 2003. Carney will serve an initial five-year term rather than the typical eight, and will seek UK citizenship.
