Editing British Empire (section)

===North America===

The first documented Scottish settlement in the Americas was of [[Nova Scotia]] in 1629. On 29 September 1621, the charter for the foundation of a colony was granted by [[James I of England|James VI of Scotland]] to Sir [[William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling|William Alexander]].<ref>{{cite book| last =Fry| first=Michael|title=The Scottish Empire| publisher=Tuckwell Press| year =2001|isbn=1-84158-259-X|page=21}}</ref> Between 1622 and 1628, Sir William launched four attempts to send colonists to Nova Scotia; all failed for various reasons. A successful settlement of Nova Scotia was finally achieved in 1629. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and [[New England]]; i.e., [[The Maritimes]]) a part of mainland Scotland; this was later used to get around the English [[navigation acts]].

As a country, Scotland engaged in two ventures in an attempt to establish colonies within English colonies during the 1680s in [[Carolinas|Carolina]] and [[East New Jersey]]. The attempt to establish themselves in Carolina was largely in part due to Scottish Presbyterians fleeing from the threat of religious persecution in Scotland, and were assisted in their efforts by Scottish merchants who were aiming to develop transatlantic trade which was not subjected to the English Navigation Acts. The Act restricted Scottish trade with English colonies. Scottish settlement attempts in Carolina began in 1682, and was eventually defeated by the dissolution of the Scottish settlement of Stewartstoun, which was established in 1684, by the Spanish in 1686.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Scottish Colonising Voyages to Carolina and East New Jersey in the 1680s |url=https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol30/tnm_30_155-166.pdf |website=cnrs-scrn.org |publisher=Joseph Wagner |access-date=1 March 2025}}</ref>