William Paterson devised one of the most daring speculations of all time: to found a Scottish colony on Darien in Central America and turn Scotland into a colonial power. He invited the public to invest. And they did - in a big way. Within weeks a vast proportion of the nation's wealth had been subscribed. The plan went so badly wrong though, that, within a few years, the Scots - demoralised and impoverished - were forced to give up their nation's independent status and sign the 1707 Treaty of Union with England. Inspired by documents, journals, letters, songs and poems of the period, 'Caledonia' is both a tribute to heroic ambition and a darkly witty take on the deceptions and self-deceptions of rich and poor alike. It was first performed in Edinburgh in 2010.