This man pulled one of the biggest scams in history and did not get any jail time at all? The absolute audacity of fate to not give him the punishment he deserves!
Meet Gregor MacGregor, a man who took advantage of the investing hype of the 1820s in England by creating a false country to pitch to rich people. The socialite/con artist created the independent country of Poyais. He advertised and marketed the land as a new country that “would rapidly advance in prosperity and civilization.” People were convinced of his scam, believing that they were the ones responsible for building a developing country, and set sail for the fictional country.
Of course, at some point, people discovered all of his lies. Two expeditions left to set sail for Poyais, hoping to get better opportunities and all of their money’s worth. Unfortunately, that was not the case. All they got was sickness, death, and the fact that they wasted their money on a country that never existed.
... hundreds of British had fallen for the marketing hype, exchanging their life savings for Poyaisian money and land grants. The first ~70 settlers left from England in fall 1822 on the Honduras Packet. Another ~180 set sail from Scotland in January 1823 on the Kennersley Castle. [...]
After the beautiful view from the ship, Hastie and the others believed they would find St. Joseph, a European-style capital city outfitted with a government center and a theater.
Strangely, the new arrivals didn’t see any dwellings or buildings. The only signs of life were the remaining passengers from the Honduras Packet, holed up in bamboo huts, and 2 eccentric Americans who had been living off the land for years.
There was no property to be assigned to the landowners. No banks for depositing and withdrawing Poyaisian money. No easy access to wild game.Over the next couple months, the Poyais newcomers felt the consequences of the punishing heat and humidity, withering away from hunger, exhaustion, and malaria as they rationed provisions from the ship.
MacGregor fled to France to escape prosecution – which he successfully did, as the survivors of the expedition who came back to England did not blame him. They even petitioned the London government and signed an affidavit that this man was a victim as well. Lucky bastard.
Image credit: George Watson/National Gallery of Scotland/Wikipedia; PGM
#ConArtist #Poyais #GregorMacGregor #history #scam #England #Honduras