Weather of Arabia - During the colonization race that took place in the Americas, and in light of the intense competition between European countries to seize new lands, a Scottish fraudster named Gregor MacGregor devised a plan to take advantage of this winning race. MacGregor created a fictitious colony called “Boyas” on the Gulf of Honduras in Central America in 1821, and succeeded in convincing the British that he was the prince of this fictitious colony.
MacGregor convinced Britain to invest in this fictitious colony, even gathering approximately 200 people and encouraging them to move there. Over time, people discovered the horrific truth, as they realized that "Boyeyes" was nothing but a hoax, and were forced to evacuate after it turned out that they had fallen victim to a fake image skillfully created by McGregor.
Gregor McGregor was born into a wealthy Scottish family and grew up in circumstances that suggested he would never become a con man. At the age of sixteen, he joined the British Army and participated for a short time in the Napoleonic Wars. During this period, his family purchased a colonel's rank for him worth approximately $1,000. During his service, MacGregor met and married Maria Powater, a member of an influential British family.
In 1810, he was expelled from the British army after a conflict in which he participated, and his wife died. He found himself in financial difficulties and decided to establish himself as an aristocrat in London as a scion of the royal family. But after being ignored by the British elite, he chose to implement a new plan.
In 1812, MacGregor sold his property in Scotland and sailed to Venezuela. There, he was warmly received by General Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan revolutionary and friend of the famous revolutionary Simón Bolívar. Participating in wars of independence across the Americas, Sir Gregor achieved many victories and demonstrated his courage and leadership. He advanced through the ranks until he became a division commander in the Venezuelan army, and married Josefa Lovera, Bolívar's cousin. McGregor used this period of success to achieve more fame and wealth.
In 1820, Gregor MacGregor discovered a deserted, pest-infested plot of land on the coast of Nicaragua. This area was controlled by the Mosquito people, a tribe descended from Native Americans and African slaves.
The inhabitants saw no real use for the land in which MacGregor was interested, so they gave up a piece of it as large as Wales in exchange for jewels, which MacGregor named "Boyace", and then claimed the title of royal commander of that fictitious colony.
When he returned to London in 1821, MacGregor began promoting his new colony as a kingdom. As a charismatic war hero, he attracted people's attention with his stories, especially the "boyais" stories in which he claimed to be a utopia.
MacGregor asserted that the natives were not only friendly but also loved the British, and that not only was the soil fertile, but the temperature was also moderate throughout the year, with beautiful scenery and vast herds on the prairies. According to the American "All That's Interesting" website.
MacGregor also spoke enthusiastically about how Poyas was not only settled, but became a capital with domes and large buildings. He claimed that governance there was remarkable, with mechanisms such as a tripartite parliament, banking systems, and land titles.
McGregor worked hard to make his story credible, falsifying vast amounts of official-looking documents. He quickly pushed Boyais's letter into print, even fabricating a 355-page guide book for the fake colony titled "Chart of the Mosquito Coast," written by a fictitious explorer named Captain Thomas Strangeways.
The guide was full of detailed information and drawings, and thousands of copies were printed and distributed throughout Britain, such as London and Edinburgh, and Poyais was incorporated into maps, and the guide presented many stories about that legendary country.
McGregor also chose an opportune moment in European history to promote his scheme. In the early 1800s, inaccurate cartography of South America became widespread, so who's to say Boyays doesn't exist?
MacGregor then pulled his final trick, organizing two settlement voyages to Poyas in September and October 1822. More than 200 settlers set out on two ships toward a destination that did not exist.
When the settlers arrived at the alleged site of Boyais, they were completely confused. They found only uninhabited swamps and forests untouched by human feet. The new immigrants who had been deceived by this story thought they had made a sailing mistake, and began unloading their luggage. They considered that Boyais must be nearby, so they decided to venture into the forests to search for her.
However, in reality, there was none, and with the settlers having ample provisions, malaria and yellow fever spread rapidly among them in the middle of the rainy season. By the time help came from a British settlement 800 kilometers north, about two-thirds of the settlers had died, and the remaining fifty or so had returned to England.
When the survivors arrived home in 1823, Gregor MacGregor had fled to Paris, where he was planning a new scam, this time succeeding in raising $400,000.
In 1825, MacGregor was finally arrested and charged with fraud. His trial was held in France and was delayed due to some diplomatic confusion, and it took more than a year for the trial to begin. During the trial, McGregor tried to blame his "accomplices", and was acquitted of all charges.
In the 1830s, MacGregor attempted some schemes, although they were not very successful. After the death of his second wife in 1838, he returned to Venezuela and settled in Caracas. There, he was restored to his former military position with the help of his old comrades, where he received a retroactive salary and a pension. After being granted Venezuelan citizen status, he lived comfortably in the capital and was buried with full military ceremonies upon his death in 1845.
Despite the series of frauds he led that affected the lives and money of others, McGregor's reputation was not affected at all, at least during his lifetime.
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Source: arabicpost
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