But as the saying goes.
Misfortunes never come singly.
At this time, a great famine erupted within the country, with approximately 15% of the population starving to death.
To develop the economy, the Scottish government decided to take a gamble:
They planned to establish a colony in Central America to facilitate trade with Asia.
However, given that the national treasury was already empty, the Scottish government eventually decided to fund the project through public fundraising.
Thus, members of parliament, local gentry, and thousands of wealthy citizens, including captains, doctors, and pharmacists, eagerly invested their life savings into the colonial plan.
Then tragedy struck:
Before the second colonial fleet arrived in Panama in 1699, the "New Edinburgh" established by Scotland had already been destroyed by the Spanish, and all the funds ultimately ended up in Spanish pockets.
Truly, a bearer of wealth giving.
