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Poyais (1820s)
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Posted By:
Aug 18, 2004
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I'm very, very surprised that a search of your site for "Poyais" turns up nothing. It is, according to several 19th century historians, the greatest hoax of all time.
The Poyais scheme basically involved a colony in Central America which advertised for colonists willing to settle; it was backed up by almanacs, books of descriptions, vivid drawings, and numerous certificates, plus the name of Sir Gregor MacGregor, a hero of the wars of Bolivar.
Many colonists signed up and sailed over...only to find that Poyais didn't exist. The intricate hierarchy of Poyaisian society MacGregor had told England about was totally invented, as were the almanacs, books, drawings, and certificates - and MacGregor's knighthood and status as a "war hero". Before word of the hoax got out, the ingenious Scotsman got an enormous amount of money from investors in "Poyais", and promptly fled with it.
This hoax had big consequences. Dozens of colonists died in the mosquito-infested jungles while looking for the colony and waiting for MacGregor's second convoy; the economy in England plummetted after word got out; and the devious mastermind was jailed for a short amount of time.
You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poyais
...or in the book "The Land That Never Was" by David Sinclair. Amazing hoax; or as the book calls it, "The Most Audacious Fraud in History".
Category: ; Replies: 1
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Comments
The Curator
in San Diego
Member
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 | 04:38 PM
There's many, many hoaxes that I've never had time to put up on the site. But David Sinclair's book certainly looks interesting. I'll have to check it out and then try to get something up on the site about it. |
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Note: This thread is located in the Old Forum of the Museum of Hoaxes.
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