Emily Chan
About a year ago, a 19th-century map drawn by a man named Gregor MacGregor was discovered. The map depicts the Central American country of Poyais, which stretched across eight million acres and was located between what is now Nicaragua and Honduras on the Mosquito Coast.
The tropical oasis ran right along the Caribbean and contained major port towns like St. Joseph, Lempira, and MacGregor.
Poyais offered hope for a better and brighter future. But the problem was that Poyais didn’t actually exist—it never had.
The map of Poyais turned out to be nothing more than a massive fraud. It was one of the most successful con jobs in history.
MacGregor was born on December 24, 1786, to the Clan MacGregor. His father was Daniel MacGregor, a sea captain with the East India Company, while his grandfather had served in the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland.
He joined the British army at the age of 16, right before the Napoleonic Wars broke out. He served in the 57th Foot Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant after just one year.
In 1805, he married Maria Bowater, a wealthy woman with connections who was the daughter of a Royal Navy admiral. He was able to buy his way into becoming captain and was stationed at Gibraltar until 1809.
He was sent to Portugal to support the Duke of Wellington. In 1810, a disagreement with a senior officer caused him to retire from the army.
He moved back to British soil with his wife and tried to establish himself as someone with an elite background in London.
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