The Colony: New Historical Novel Brings Scotland’s Forgotten Darien Disaster to Life

A gripping new work of historical fiction is set to shine a light on one of Scotland’s most overlooked chapters – the ill-fated Darien Scheme. The Colony tells the story of Scotland’s attempt in the late 17th century to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama, a catastrophic venture that bankrupted the nation and paved the way for the 1707 Union of the Parliaments.

Author Daniel Pollock was drawn to the Darien Scheme after researching the period leading up to the Union. “We were taught about it at school, but the more I looked into it, the more I realised it had never been tackled properly in a fictional context. It just screamed out as a story that had to be told,” he said.

At the centre of the novel is Jamie Buchanan, a fictional criminal lawyer fleeing Glasgow’s underworld, who becomes an unwilling participant in the doomed expedition. “Buchanan isn’t based on a historical figure,” Daniel Pollock explained. “He came from my imagination – though some of his less noble traits may be autobiographical.”

The book mixes fact with imagination, staying true to the historical framework while fleshing out real figures and inventing dialogue and detail where history falls silent. “The settlers set out expecting Eden and found a mosquito-ridden, disease-ravaged nightmare. Their struggle for survival, ambition, and duty is what makes this such a powerful human story,” Daniel Pollock said.

Although centred on events more than 300 years ago, the book draws clear lines to contemporary Scotland. The Darien failure directly led to the Union with England, raising questions still debated today. “Without the disaster, Scotland might never have had to cede its independence,” said Daniel Pollock. 

The novel also reintroduces women into the story, a perspective often missing from historical accounts. Characters such as Constance Russell and Anne Robertson highlight the resilience and independence of women settlers.

Daniel Pollock, a Glasgow-born former lawyer who spent his career advising oil companies worldwide, now lives between Melbourne and Europe. He describes writing the book as both a passion project and a legacy: “I’ve always written, but this was the story I had to tell before anything else. It’s Scotland’s greatest commercial disaster retold as a character-driven, adventure-filled narrative.”