Review
Review
Podcast
21.1.2021
The passengers expected nothing less than paradise when the proud Kennersley Castle anchored off the coast of the supposed kingdom of Poyais in March 1823. From the deck of the ship, the emigrants from Great Britain were able to catch their first glimpse of their new home in Central America. It took two months to make the crossing to a country where there was supposed to be wealth and a flourishing capital. And at first glance, everything did indeed look as promised in the settlers' handbook: Sugarloaf Mountain rose on the horizon, a palm-fringed headland protecting the lagoon from the sea lay before them. At least that was how sawyer James Hastie was to describe his arrival in a British newspaper a few months later.
Only one thing struck them as odd: The capital city of St. Joseph, which was supposed to be home to several thousand people, was missing. There was no sign of the cathedral, the royal palace or the theater. When Hastie went ashore with his troop, they only came across a few completely neglected settlers. They were living in simple tents and leaf huts, emaciated by hunger.
At the Poyais office in Edinburgh, Hastie was promised some fantastic land. He sold all his possessions and set off with his family full of hope. But none of this was true. Where the capital was supposed to be, there was none, let alone a kingdom, but only endless jungle, swamps and numerous mosquitoes.
At this moment at the latest, sawyer Hastie, the other passengers and the other settlers who had arrived a few months before them must have realized: All the fine promises were a scam, an unprecedented one at that, put on by a man who was going to get filthy rich with his tall tales. But how could the man who called himself a king invent an entire country?
The Scottish nobleman Gregor MacGregor is behind the fictitious kingdom. Born on Christmas Eve 1786, he was stationed as a soldier in Gibraltar and Portugal. In 1811, he traveled to South America to assist the revolutionary Simón Bolívar in his fight against the Spanish.
MacGregor fought in various battles against the Spanish. In 1817, he led an attack on an island off the coast of Florida and conquered the island. Without further ado, he christened it the "Republic of the Floridas". However, fearing a setback, he withdrew from the island again, apparently without paying his soldiers. He was only able to finance the attack by promising rich Americans land that he had not yet conquered.
Back home, he boasted about his supposed feats of glory. At events, he told how he had risen to become king there, becoming "His Highness the Cazique of Poyais" and that the natives would like nothing more than to become more civilized and adopt the culture of Europe - and enough people believed him.
Around 1821, he solicited settlers in Great Britain for his supposed land and sold them plots of land and investors bonds amounting to 200,000 pounds sterling. There was a spirit of optimism in London at the time. Many saw the collapse of the Spanish colonies in South America as an opportunity for good investments. A country like Poyais was just what they needed. Some sold their belongings, put all their eggs in one basket and exchanged their money for worthless Poyais dollars. 240 settlers set off on two ships to a land that had never existed. In their luggage: a deed that would secure their new property.
When the first European settlers arrived in what they thought was Poyais, they didn't even have money for a return journey. But what for? Too many of them wanted to believe what the man in Edinburgh had promised, found the overgrown ruins of a former British fort - and saw themselves confirmed. Somehow the story had to work out - didn't it?
Living in their makeshift huts, they became ill from the dirty drinking water and contracted yellow fever. Older and weakened members died. There was no order, no one went hunting for the company, some were apparently so desperate a short time later that they committed suicide.
Others made their way to Cape Gracias a Dios, a good 150 kilometers away. There they turned to the - this time real - king of the Miskito coast. He had apparently actually given a piece of land to the Scotsman MacGregor, but had not given him permission to call himself king there. The real King George Frederic then terminated the agreement and demanded that the settlers submit. Anyone who refused would be massacred. The survivors were at the mercy of the king's will - and were then rescued at the last minute by a British ship. 60 people went on board, 240 had once wanted to believe the dream.
MacGregor had long been living in Paris at the time and was enjoying himself. His house was in a prestigious location on the Champs-Élysées. In France, he pulled the same scam again and wanted to sell bonds worth 300,000 pounds sterling. But the French authorities became suspicious. They had never heard of a Land Poyais before. Without further ado, they seized his ship in Le Havre and after three months in hiding, they were finally able to catch MacGregor.
The end of a crook? Not at all. The Scotsman managed, however, to obtain an acquittal. He had not defrauded anyone, he claimed in court in 1826. He had wanted to use the loan to finance the progress of his subjects. He had not taken any money for himself. MacGregor remained at large until the end of his life.
But his luck did not last forever. After the trial in France, hardly anyone wanted to do business with him. His wife died and he lived impoverished in London. He had squandered his money and spent it on his scam. The offices alone, such as the one that lured the sawmill worker James Hastie, swallowed up a lot of money. The former revolutionary Simón Bolívar finally granted him a pension for his service in the fight against the Spanish as well as outstanding wages and made it possible for him to move to Venezuela. He died there in December 1845, shortly before his 59th birthday.
Review
21.1.2021
Jan Schulte
Sun, sea, a beautiful country in the Caribbean: the King of Poyais offered all this to potential emigrants at the beginning of the 19th century. The only problem was that the country didn't exist - and those who did set off on the journey ended up in the middle of the jungle.
The passengers expected nothing less than paradise when the proud Kennersley Castle anchored off the coast of the supposed kingdom of Poyais in March 1823. From the deck of the ship, the emigrants from Great Britain were able to catch their first glimpse of their new home in Central America. It took two months to make the crossing to a country where there was supposed to be wealth and a flourishing capital. And at first glance, everything did indeed look as promised in the settlers' handbook: Sugarloaf Mountain rose on the horizon, a palm-fringed headland protecting the lagoon from the sea lay before them. At least that was how sawyer James Hastie was to describe his arrival in a British newspaper a few months later.
Only one thing struck them as odd: The capital city of St. Joseph, which was supposed to be home to several thousand people, was missing. There was no sign of the cathedral, the royal palace or the theater. When Hastie went ashore with his troop, they only came across a few completely neglected settlers. They were living in simple tents and leaf huts, emaciated by hunger.
At the Poyais office in Edinburgh, Hastie was promised some fantastic land. He sold all his possessions and set off with his family full of hope. But none of this was true. Where the capital was supposed to be, there was none, let alone a kingdom, but only endless jungle, swamps and numerous mosquitoes.
At this moment at the latest, sawyer Hastie, the other passengers and the other settlers who had arrived a few months before them must have realized: All the fine promises were a scam, an unprecedented one at that, put on by a man who was going to get filthy rich with his tall tales. But how could the man who called himself a king invent an entire country?
The Scottish nobleman Gregor MacGregor is behind the fictitious kingdom. Born on Christmas Eve 1786, he was stationed as a soldier in Gibraltar and Portugal. In 1811, he traveled to South America to assist the revolutionary Simón Bolívar in his fight against the Spanish.
MacGregor fought in various battles against the Spanish. In 1817, he led an attack on an island off the coast of Florida and conquered the island. Without further ado, he christened it the "Republic of the Floridas". However, fearing a setback, he withdrew from the island again, apparently without paying his soldiers. He was only able to finance the attack by promising rich Americans land that he had not yet conquered.
Back home, he boasted about his supposed feats of glory. At events, he told how he had risen to become king there, becoming "His Highness the Cazique of Poyais" and that the natives would like nothing more than to become more civilized and adopt the culture of Europe - and enough people believed him.
Around 1821, he solicited settlers in Great Britain for his supposed land and sold them plots of land and investors bonds amounting to 200,000 pounds sterling. There was a spirit of optimism in London at the time. Many saw the collapse of the Spanish colonies in South America as an opportunity for good investments. A country like Poyais was just what they needed. Some sold their belongings, put all their eggs in one basket and exchanged their money for worthless Poyais dollars. 240 settlers set off on two ships to a land that had never existed. In their luggage: a deed that would secure their new property.
When the first European settlers arrived in what they thought was Poyais, they didn't even have money for a return journey. But what for? Too many of them wanted to believe what the man in Edinburgh had promised, found the overgrown ruins of a former British fort - and saw themselves confirmed. Somehow the story had to work out - didn't it?
Living in their makeshift huts, they became ill from the dirty drinking water and contracted yellow fever. Older and weakened members died. There was no order, no one went hunting for the company, some were apparently so desperate a short time later that they committed suicide.
Others made their way to Cape Gracias a Dios, a good 150 kilometers away. There they turned to the - this time real - king of the Miskito coast. He had apparently actually given a piece of land to the Scotsman MacGregor, but had not given him permission to call himself king there. The real King George Frederic then terminated the agreement and demanded that the settlers submit. Anyone who refused would be massacred. The survivors were at the mercy of the king's will - and were then rescued at the last minute by a British ship. 60 people went on board, 240 had once wanted to believe the dream.
MacGregor had long been living in Paris at the time and was enjoying himself. His house was in a prestigious location on the Champs-Élysées. In France, he pulled the same scam again and wanted to sell bonds worth 300,000 pounds sterling. But the French authorities became suspicious. They had never heard of a Land Poyais before. Without further ado, they seized his ship in Le Havre and after three months in hiding, they were finally able to catch MacGregor.
The end of a crook? Not at all. The Scotsman managed, however, to obtain an acquittal. He had not defrauded anyone, he claimed in court in 1826. He had wanted to use the loan to finance the progress of his subjects. He had not taken any money for himself. MacGregor remained at large until the end of his life.
But his luck did not last forever. After the trial in France, hardly anyone wanted to do business with him. His wife died and he lived impoverished in London. He had squandered his money and spent it on his scam. The offices alone, such as the one that lured the sawmill worker James Hastie, swallowed up a lot of money. The former revolutionary Simón Bolívar finally granted him a pension for his service in the fight against the Spanish as well as outstanding wages and made it possible for him to move to Venezuela. He died there in December 1845, shortly before his 59th birthday.
About the author
Jan Schulte
Jan Schulte writes about business and politics.
