Company of Scotland Trading to Africa & the Indies 1695-1707

What became the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies was the idea of William Paterson, a prolific ‘projector’ or promoter of speculative money-making schemes. He had been instrumental in the foundation of the Bank of England in 1694, but his new plan aimed to bring financial prosperity to Scotland, his homeland.

He proposed that the Scottish Parliament, following the passing of “An Act for Incourageing Forraign Trade” in 1693, should grant a Scottish monopoly on trade with Africa and the Indies to a trading company, enabling it to harness the lucrative Far Eastern trade.

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