At an expense of fifty thousand pounds a few vessels were procured, the largest of which would hardly have ranked as sixtieth in the English navy; and with this force, a force not sufficient to keep the pirates of Sallee in check, the Company threw down the gauntlet to all the maritime powers in the world.
It was not till the summer of 1698 that all was ready for the expedition which was to change the face of the globe.

The number of seamen and colonists who embarked at Leith was twelve hundred.

Of the colonists many were younger sons of honourable families, or officers who had been disbanded since the peace.

It was impossible to find room for all who were desirous of emigrating.

It is said that some persons who had vainly applied for a passage hid themselves in dark corners about the ships, and, when discovered, refused to depart, clung to the rigging, and were at last taken on shore by main force.