WEBVTT - How Did Gregor MacGregor Swindle People into Moving to a Country that Didn't Exist?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum here. Many Londoners in the eighteen twenties were

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<v Speaker 1>exhausted and impoverished from the Napoleonic Wars that had ravaged Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>They were eager for some hope and good news. So

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<v Speaker 1>when Scotsman Gregor McGregor arrived in town, claiming to be

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<v Speaker 1>his Serene Highness Gregor, the first Sovereign Prince of the

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<v Speaker 1>State of Poious and its Dependencies, and Casque of the

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<v Speaker 1>poor Nation, they fell for his engaging tales of this

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<v Speaker 1>far off land. The wrongs of citizens invested in the

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<v Speaker 1>Kingdom and even attempted to move there, becoming victims of

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<v Speaker 1>one of the world's greatest swindlers. McGregor's intriguing tale begins

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen eleven when McGregor took it upon himself to

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<v Speaker 1>sail to South America and fight under Simone Boulivard in

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<v Speaker 1>the Venezuelan War of Independence against Spain. Impressed with McGregor's

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<v Speaker 1>solid military background in the Royal Navy, Bolivard granted him

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<v Speaker 1>a commission. The personable, daring McGregor did well in many

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<v Speaker 1>battles and quickly rose through the ranks. When the Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>were largely vanquished, McGregor moved two various spots in the

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<v Speaker 1>region to testle with other European outposts. In eighteen twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>he landed on the Mosquito Coast, an area that today

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<v Speaker 1>incorporates the eastern coast of Nicaragua and a little of

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<v Speaker 1>southern Honduras, named after the native Mosquito people who lived

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<v Speaker 1>in and around the region. It was little more than

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<v Speaker 1>a swampy, pest filled jungle. After applying the landowner, King

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<v Speaker 1>Frederick Augustus with booze, McGregor persuaded Augustus to sign over

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<v Speaker 1>the forlorn acreage to him. Then he sailed for London

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<v Speaker 1>to start his scheme. McGregor told Londoners and his fellow

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<v Speaker 1>Scots that King Augustus had dubbed him Prince of Poise

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<v Speaker 1>and granted him twelve thousand, five hundred square miles. That's

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<v Speaker 1>about thirty two thousand, three hundred square kilometers of beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>land in the Bay of Honduras, full of old mines,

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<v Speaker 1>where fruits, sparkling water and fertile soil. The land simply

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<v Speaker 1>needed settlers, he said, partnering with other hucksters. He opened

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<v Speaker 1>the offices for the Poiagan Legation to Britain in London

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<v Speaker 1>and land offices in Glasgow, Sterling and Edinburgh to sell acreage.

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<v Speaker 1>McGregor swapped fake poy in money had printed for interested

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<v Speaker 1>settlers real currency. He even proofered the book Sketch of

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<v Speaker 1>the Mosquito Shore, including the Territory of Poias, as proof

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<v Speaker 1>of Pois's existence. The book similarly described land not only

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<v Speaker 1>rich in resources, but also possessing a civil service, bank, army,

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<v Speaker 1>and democratic government. But McGregor had actually published the book himself,

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<v Speaker 1>using the startling pen name Captain Thomas Strange Ways. Hundreds

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<v Speaker 1>of people, both rich and poor, bought his story and

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<v Speaker 1>invested in the land. Soon McGregor was a multimillionaire by

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<v Speaker 1>today's standards. Then, McGregor chartered boats to take Well to

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<v Speaker 1>their new home. In eighty two, some two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>forty people, many of them older in age, set out

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<v Speaker 1>for Poia's in two ships. When they arrived, they obviously

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<v Speaker 1>didn't find the paradise McGregor had described. Instead, they found

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<v Speaker 1>an empty, inhospitable buggy land. Malaria and yellow fever soon

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<v Speaker 1>swept through the group. Killing three quarters of them. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>fifty people made their way back to London, where McGregor

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<v Speaker 1>was exposed as a fraud, but by then he had

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<v Speaker 1>snuck away to France. The French were as easily swept

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<v Speaker 1>away by the concept of poias as the Brits and Scots,

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<v Speaker 1>but French authorities grew suspicious and McGregor landed in jail

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<v Speaker 1>in France and later in England. Incredibly, authorities in both

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<v Speaker 1>countries released him after short stays. Nonetheless, in eighteen thirty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>penniless and friendless, Gregor and McGregor moved back to Venezuela,

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<v Speaker 1>where he persuaded authorities to grant him a pension for

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<v Speaker 1>his years of service as a general in the Venezuelan

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<v Speaker 1>War of Independence. He'd id on December four at the

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<v Speaker 1>age of fifty nine. Today, Pious remains undeveloped. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Melanie red Zekei McManus and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clain. To learn more about Gregor McGregor, check out

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast Ridiculous History and their episode Gregor McGregor invented

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<v Speaker 1>a country and convinced people to invest in it and

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. Breen Stuff is a production

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