Biography: Gregor MacGregor

They say that those who don’t pay attention to history are doomed to repeat it. This may or may not have anything to do with anything that’s happening today. Con artists have always existed. If you notice similarities between our subject tonight and any other people in the world, so be it. Gregor MacGregor was a Scottish soldier and adventurer. Oh. And he also tried to pull off one of the most outlandish cons in history.

Born in 1786, Gregor served in the British military from 1803 to 1810. He and his family purchased his promotions, working his way up to Major. He married the daughter of an admiral in 1804. She had some influential connections, and Gregor developed a taste for the finer things. He loved medals and fancy outfits. He was sent to Portugal to fight Napoleon in the Peninsular War. Eventually, a disagreement with a commanding officer caused him to resign in 1810. In 1811, his former regiment received acclaim from their war time triumphs, and earned the nickname the “Die Hards”. This was after he had left, but he still used it to give himself a sense of credibility.

His family moved back to Scotland, and he started calling himself Colonel. He didn’t attain the social status he expected, so he moved back to London in 1811, now with the unearned rank of “Sir”. His wife died shortly after, and now his main source of income and social standing was gone. He couldn’t go back to the military because of how he left it. He was inspired by the idea of adventures in the new world, so he sailed to Venezuela in 1812.

At the time, Venezuela was fighting against the Spanish for independence. Gregor joined the revolutionary cause and due to being “one of the die hards” he was given the rank of Colonel in charge of the cavalry. His leaders liked the idea of having a European fighting for their cause. Gregor married the daughter of a prominent local family that year. By the end of June, he was now a General, just in time for the revolutionary forces to fall. Gregor and his wife fled to Curacao.

Gregor then fought in New Granada where some say he brought fresh insight and military tactics, while others say that he was an embarrassment. This revolution also failed, and Gregor fled to Jamaica, where his wife was. Now, he was hailed as a hero. In 1816, the Venezuelan revolution was reorganized, and he rejoined the fighting. In July, he led his troops on a retreat. Even his detractors admitted that this retreat was a resounding success.

His next adventure was to capture some ports in Florida, which at the time was still under Spanish rule. Gregor traveled the US trying to recruit soldiers and raise money. It’s possible that this is where he learned the skills he’d need later. One of his primary sources of income was by selling land in Florida (that he didn’t have claim to) at great prices.

The Florida expedition initially went well. The Spanish commander on the island of Amelia only had 51 in his garrison, and thought that Gregor’s forces were much larger than they actually were (80) and surrendered without a fight. Gregor now proclaimed himself the leader of the “Republic of the Floridas”. His soldiers were furious when they were eventually paid in Amelia Dollars that he himself printed. Spanish forces began to regroup on the mainland, so Gregor abandoned Amelia and headed to the Bahamas. He, of course, never repaid the money he raised in the US.

In 1818 he returned to London and was given some money by Venezuela to recruit new troops. Instead, he spent it all.  Then he began selling commissions in his army at lower rates than the British Army, which gained him over 500 men. They returned to the new world, where Gregor promptly was unable to pay them. In Jamaica, he was almost arrested for gun running. They landed in Panama on April 9th. Initially, they were able to take the town of Porto Bello, but the Spanish returned April 30th. Gregor climbed out a window and swam to one of his ships. Then he and his ships fled, abandoning 200 men to their fates.

He headed towards Haiti, and gave invented military decorations to his men. His naval commander had a disagreement with him, so Gregor sent him ashore, and stole his ship, renaming it “El MacGregor”. He started getting more recruits from the Old World, but due to lack of action and lack of money, most of them decided to go home. At one point, he had 900 soldiers. Now he had 250.

In September 1819, he deployed his troops to take Rio de la Hacha in New Granada. Throughout this, he was largely absent from actively running his army. Due to this, his soldiers spat at him. Nonetheless, he called himself “His Majesty, the Inca of New Granada”. His soldiers and officers could not believe that so many people respected Gregor. Many of his officers and soldiers left when they saw a Spanish army approaching. Gregor gathered his remaining forces and prepared for battle. And by that, I mean, he fled, leaving the rest of his army to be killed.

When he returned to Jamaica, he found that his colossal failures had preceded him. His wife and son had been evicted. He was wanted for piracy. His former boss Bolivar was so disgusted, that he accused Gregor of treason and ordered he be put to death.

In 1820, one of his former officers had written about him, “to suppose that any person could be induced again to join him in his desperate projects, would be to conceive a degree of madness and folly of which human nature, however fallen, is incapable.”

And now let’s watch as Gregor exploits that degree of madness and folly in humans.

Gregor found himself in Honduras, meeting with the local king. There, the king granted Gregor and his family a huge area of land. This land was pretty, but could not grow crops, and could not sustain cattle. Fear not. Gregor had an idea. He named it “Poyais” and promoted himself to “Cazique (prince) of Poyais”. In 1821, the “prince” returned to London.

At the time, Latin American countries rose and fell, so the idea of a country called Poyais was entirely possible. Gregor was a “die hard”, and had helped the Venezuelan revolution. And, most importantly, there was no internet at the time. News took a very, very long time to cross oceans. He was invited to balls and feasts, and was pampered according to his rank.

He had come to recruit, not soldiers, but civilization. He wanted to blend European technology with native land. He began selling land in Poyais at a great discount. The lengths he went to in order to appear legit are kind of astounding. Sure, he forged documents, but that’s basic criminal stuff. He developed imaginary banking systems, elaborate uniforms for his military, complex political processes for his government, and even had government offices setup in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

Gregor and his associates created a 400+ page document describing the paradise that was Poyais. The climate was perfect for Europeans. The soil was so perfect, you could grow multiple crops each year. You could hunt enough in one day to feed your family for a week. The capital of St. Joseph had paved streets, mansions, 20000 people, a cathedral, and a theater.

He gave interviews extolling the virtues of this heaven on earth. The documents all looked official. The prices were low. By 1823, 500 people had bought land in Poyais. Meanwhile, he negotiated loans with prominent banks, lending credence to his claims. In September 1822, the first ship left the Old World with 70 colonists, to begin anew in Poyais. Another ship left a month later with 200 people.

In November, they landed in their new home. They saw no flourishing city. No fertile farm land. Just jungle. Surely, they had simply landed further away. So they waited. Eventually the Poyais people would great them. Then they waited some more. Weeks go by, and the ship captain realized that they’d been duped, so he left. He did. Not the colonists. They stayed. The leader of the group went to look for help. The second ship landed in March 1823. In April, the leader of the group returned with bad news. No one could help them, and the king in Honduras who had supposedly given Gregor this land, had no idea what was going on.

Soon diseases like Malaria and Yellow Fever arrived. In May, a magistrate from Belize found them. Ten people had died, including children, and most of the survivors were sick. He informed them that Poyais didn’t exist, but that they’d be welcome in Honduras. Most decided to wait. A week later the king arrived and explained that Gregor hadn’t earned the title of Cazique, and he didn’t have the rights to sell the land. They were actually invaders in his country. Some moved to the US. Some returned to England. Many died in transit.

By the time the news arrived back in London, 5 more ships were on their way. Luckily the Royal Navy stopped them. Of the 250 people who landed in Poyais, 180 had died.

Meanwhile, MacGregor had moved on to France, where he continued doing the same thing. Here’s the thing about people. They don’t like admitting that they’ve been swindled. That would imply that THEY made a bad decision. So instead, people insisted that Gregor had been swindled and unknowingly passed that on. He was a victim.

Eventually, MacGregor and 2 of his associates were arrested. Another escaped to the Netherlands. In 1826 they were tried, but the lawyer argued that the one in the Netherlands was the mastermind, so all charges were dropped.

Gregor returned to London and did a few more lesser schemes, before returning to Venezuela in 1838, after his second wife died. There he was received as a hero, given the title of general, and a pension. He died in 1845 with full military honors. The land that was supposed to be Poyais is still undeveloped to this day.

Gregor craved attention. He loved to be admired. He loved pomp and ceremony. He named the ship he stole after himself. He lied and stole. He refused to pay people. He abandoned people loyal to him. He exaggerated claims to an absurd level, to the point people HAD to believe him. He didn’t care what evidence was presented against him, because his followers would still support him.

And people died because of it.

Now, I’m not saying that there are any people out there today who are the same. I’m simply saying that history is interesting.