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The Land That Never Was Sir Gregor Macgreor and the Most Audacious Fruad in History
Once upon a time, in the heart of Central America, there was a country named Poyais. It was exceptionally rich in natural resources, civilization, and culture and was ruled by the brave and enlightened Scottish soldier, Sir Gregor MacGregor, who became its ruler after his heroic exploits in the fight for South American independence. On a cold January morning in 1823, a group of Scottish immigrants looking for a new life set sail for this tropical Eden called Poyais. The only catch was that it didn't exist. Two months later the ship landed on the swamp-infested Mosquito Coast and the settlers realized that they had become the victims of one of the most elaborate hoaxes in history. The land they had been sold was nonexistent, the banknotes and guidebooks they carried with them were forgeries, their documents were worthless. Poyais was a fiction. The man responsible? Sir Gregor MacGregor. Who was this eccentric, scurrilous man? And why is he such a loveable rogue?
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First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 3, 2021
I picked this up after listening to a Behind the Bastards episode on Sir Gregor MacGregor whose con I'm interested in updating and fictionalizing. David Sinclair's prose can be quite dry at times, but his healthy balance of admiration and contempt for MacGregor grounds the story. There is a direct line to modern confidence tricksters and frauds, like Fyre Fest as well as the crypto market, NFTs, and perhaps Elon Musk and other tech billionaires.
March 15, 2008
The story of Poyais, the gorgeous South American country that never existed... The tale is fascinating, but Sinclair sucks a lot of the interest out of it with a pedestrian writing style. He can't seem to distinguish between what is interesting detail and what is just excess. I was left feeling that the book was interesting in spite of, rather than because of, the way it was written.
November 25, 2008
Oh my dear God. I can't believe I finally finished this book. I don't even know how long I've been reading this book - at least 8 months, I'd say. The story *should* be interesting. A professional soldier of Scottish descent swindles hundreds of Scots and Brits into giving him money and buying land in a country that does not even exist. He even puts the ones who bought land on a ship and sends them off to this fake country in South America. It sounds fascinating. In reality, this is like reading the driest history text book ever. Endless boring accounts of military maneuvers and family history - it's like reading the begats in the Bible. The very few pages that are spent discussing the actual con are relatively interesting, but I'd say those pages are maybe 30-40 in a 300+ page book. I'm glad I know this history of this story, but I will NEVER read this book again and I will NEVER recommend it to anyone else. I'd like a writer with an interest in story to have a go at this. As for my copy, it's going straight onto BookMooch.
September 1, 2025
What is it about Scots and Central America? First there was Darien; then, as this book explains, there was Poyais on the Mosquito Coast. Two hundred and fifty settlers, most of them Scots, left Britain to start new lives in the Republic of Poyais in 1823. Fewer than fifty survived to report that the bustling, elegant city of St. Joseph did not exist, that the friendly and helpful local Poyais Indians were nowhere to seen, and that the rich farmland was just a jungle. These settlers, along with a host of investors, had been the victims in what David Sinclair describes as 'the most audacious fraud in history', perpetrated by Gregor MacGregor, the so-called Cazique of Poyais.
After a curious and inconsequential foreword by Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, the book is divided into three sections. In the first, Sinclair outlines the scale of the fraud, and recounts the experiences of those who arrived in Poyais only to find their dreams shattered. The second part concentrates on MacGregor's colourful career before he styled himself the Cazique of Poyais. Here we rather lose sight of the fraud and its victims. Instead, Sinclair settles down into a biography of MacGregor, outlining his exploits in the armies of Britain, Portugal and Venezuela. At times, the narrative is obscured by long discussions of South American leaders like Miranda or Bolivar that lend bulk rather than illumination to the story.
Ultimately what emerges is an image of MacGregor as a man who revelled in leading glorious invasions (often from a safe distance) and then fleeing when danger closed in. The man who would be Cazique is portrayed as a fantasist and a coward who left soldiers to die while he saved his own skin. The final section describes MacGregor's efforts to sustain his fraud, even after it became clear that Poyais was no El Dorado. In part he was able to do this because it was not entirely clear at the time that it was he who had been responsible for the disaster at Poyais. He was never prosecuted in Britain, but was less fortunate in France, whose citizens he also tried to con. He was held on remand in Paris for several months, but was ultimately acquitted on appeal. British satirists lampooned him in the 1830s, but he passed the final years of his life in Venezuela, lauded as a hero of the independence movement.
Sinclair's tale is unashamedly a work of popular history. It sweeps us across the Atlantic, through the jungles of South America and into the financial centres of European capitals. There is plenty of derring-do in exotic locations, but at times the book feels like a triumph of imagination over evidence. The book lacks footnotes of any kind, so the reader is left wondering precisely how Sinclair knows how any of the characters 'must have felt'. Sinclair's sources, judging by his select bibliography, appear extremely limited and there are some curious omissions. Articles have been written on MacGregor, but they are missing here. Even more surprisingly, MacGregor's autobiography, housed in the National Archives of Scotland, merits no mention.
Perhaps the clearest insight into the past from this book is the potential disparity between expectation and reality for migrants. The tragedy at Poyais brings home how vulnerable emigrants could be to the designs of unscrupulous emigration agents and organisers. The author, however, tends not to allow analysis to interrupt his narrative. When he does try to analyse his story more closely, and to situate it within broader historical contexts, he runs into difficulties. Towards the end, the author suggests that MacGregor might have believed he was creating a viable colony, perhaps to right the wrongs of Darien (p. 325). Sinclair goes on to say that with 'a serious programme of British emigration' MacGregor might 'have helped to create a thriving little territory as productive and wealthy as the West Indies' (pp. 325-6). This is hugely problematic. For one thing, it undercuts Sinclair's own thesis that this was an 'audacious fraud'. It also reveals a lack of awareness of the imperial context of the 1820s.
So a fun, but not very reliable or properly researched book. I have given it two stars and wonder have I been over generous?
After a curious and inconsequential foreword by Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, the book is divided into three sections. In the first, Sinclair outlines the scale of the fraud, and recounts the experiences of those who arrived in Poyais only to find their dreams shattered. The second part concentrates on MacGregor's colourful career before he styled himself the Cazique of Poyais. Here we rather lose sight of the fraud and its victims. Instead, Sinclair settles down into a biography of MacGregor, outlining his exploits in the armies of Britain, Portugal and Venezuela. At times, the narrative is obscured by long discussions of South American leaders like Miranda or Bolivar that lend bulk rather than illumination to the story.
Ultimately what emerges is an image of MacGregor as a man who revelled in leading glorious invasions (often from a safe distance) and then fleeing when danger closed in. The man who would be Cazique is portrayed as a fantasist and a coward who left soldiers to die while he saved his own skin. The final section describes MacGregor's efforts to sustain his fraud, even after it became clear that Poyais was no El Dorado. In part he was able to do this because it was not entirely clear at the time that it was he who had been responsible for the disaster at Poyais. He was never prosecuted in Britain, but was less fortunate in France, whose citizens he also tried to con. He was held on remand in Paris for several months, but was ultimately acquitted on appeal. British satirists lampooned him in the 1830s, but he passed the final years of his life in Venezuela, lauded as a hero of the independence movement.
Sinclair's tale is unashamedly a work of popular history. It sweeps us across the Atlantic, through the jungles of South America and into the financial centres of European capitals. There is plenty of derring-do in exotic locations, but at times the book feels like a triumph of imagination over evidence. The book lacks footnotes of any kind, so the reader is left wondering precisely how Sinclair knows how any of the characters 'must have felt'. Sinclair's sources, judging by his select bibliography, appear extremely limited and there are some curious omissions. Articles have been written on MacGregor, but they are missing here. Even more surprisingly, MacGregor's autobiography, housed in the National Archives of Scotland, merits no mention.
Perhaps the clearest insight into the past from this book is the potential disparity between expectation and reality for migrants. The tragedy at Poyais brings home how vulnerable emigrants could be to the designs of unscrupulous emigration agents and organisers. The author, however, tends not to allow analysis to interrupt his narrative. When he does try to analyse his story more closely, and to situate it within broader historical contexts, he runs into difficulties. Towards the end, the author suggests that MacGregor might have believed he was creating a viable colony, perhaps to right the wrongs of Darien (p. 325). Sinclair goes on to say that with 'a serious programme of British emigration' MacGregor might 'have helped to create a thriving little territory as productive and wealthy as the West Indies' (pp. 325-6). This is hugely problematic. For one thing, it undercuts Sinclair's own thesis that this was an 'audacious fraud'. It also reveals a lack of awareness of the imperial context of the 1820s.
So a fun, but not very reliable or properly researched book. I have given it two stars and wonder have I been over generous?
January 20, 2022
It's an interesting story : in 1820, a silver-tongued Scotsman sets up a scheme to attract new settlers to the beautiful South-American country of Poyais, of which he is the "cazique" or ruler. The problem? The country doesn't exist, his claim to the land in question is dubious, and much of his heroic military background (Napoleonic wars, wars of liberation in South America under the legendary General Miranda and Simon Bolivar) is invented. And so when the settlers arrive, they find, not a European-style capital eager to embrace their British skills, but a mosquito-infested coast subject to torrential rains.
Sir Gregor McGregor, the swindler in question, suffers only very moderate punishment for his repeated schemes, and manages to live out his last years in peace in South America.
It's an interesting story, but the book was not as engaging as I had expected. The author is clearly knowledgeable about investments, shares, bonds and other financial instruments, and goes into the technicalities of the swindle(s) in some detail - this was not of particular interest to me. I was more interested in Gregor McGregor's adventures in Latin America, but I had a hard time following the narrative. This may be because in the early 19th century there were so many wars and rebellions and skirmishes with the Spanish, that I simply lost track. It seems to have been a very fluid situation, complicated by the involvement of not just local freedom fighters, but European adventurers and mercenaries. I think that the inclusion of a map and timeline might have added a lot of clarity to these chapters.
The most interesting parts of the book were the excerpts from the letters or memoirs from the participants in the events : the deceived settlers who had to make their way back to England from South America, the soldiers who had joined Gregor McGregor on his ill-conceived and ill-fated military enterprises.
Sir Gregor McGregor, the swindler in question, suffers only very moderate punishment for his repeated schemes, and manages to live out his last years in peace in South America.
It's an interesting story, but the book was not as engaging as I had expected. The author is clearly knowledgeable about investments, shares, bonds and other financial instruments, and goes into the technicalities of the swindle(s) in some detail - this was not of particular interest to me. I was more interested in Gregor McGregor's adventures in Latin America, but I had a hard time following the narrative. This may be because in the early 19th century there were so many wars and rebellions and skirmishes with the Spanish, that I simply lost track. It seems to have been a very fluid situation, complicated by the involvement of not just local freedom fighters, but European adventurers and mercenaries. I think that the inclusion of a map and timeline might have added a lot of clarity to these chapters.
The most interesting parts of the book were the excerpts from the letters or memoirs from the participants in the events : the deceived settlers who had to make their way back to England from South America, the soldiers who had joined Gregor McGregor on his ill-conceived and ill-fated military enterprises.
May 7, 2022
Would not have read it if a relative was not around in Carthagena and Jamaica at the time. An interest sparked by an ‘order of the Green cross’ in my possession . The financial background of the author and their extensive research makes it a worthwhile read with modern bibles in mind but a dispiriting story about someone clearly ‘on the spectrum’ and yet high functioning in spurts which leads to disaster and chaos all around them. My relly went bankrupt in 1830, was the hero a contributor?
November 15, 2017
The story of the man itself is very interesting, but the author goes into details about things we reaaaally don't need to know about in an attempt to contextualize things, but it just ends up making you lose focus of the main story.
It's an ok read, but not exactly a very entertaining one
It's an ok read, but not exactly a very entertaining one
August 17, 2025
While I found the topic to be of interest, I think I learned more about the economics of the times than I did about either the conman or his victims. A boring read that included too much speculation.
January 12, 2023
Great story well told. When fact is stranger than fiction! Occasionally difficult to understand the geography as real countries and territories were different in 18th. Century to 21st.
January 8, 2025
Interesting story, could if been told better
December 17, 2015
Read this book on a rec. It's not bad by any means, but I think my ratings trend wayyyy too high on here, so "The Land That Never Was" is going to be sacrificed in the name of regaining balance.
It's definitely an interesting story, and I got to learn a decent bit about Latin American wars of independence and the wanky way in which British people participated in them. The idea of joining a war voluntarily in order to get famous and make tons of money is obviously insane and worthy of condemnation. It's also pretty foreign to the modern context, and it's pretty interesting. I had read about "filibusters" from the antebellum South recently, so this followed from that.
My disappointments here:
1) I love history books. This was too light for my taste and I often wished the author would expand on interesting points that he hit upon during the narrative that were tangential to MacGregor's story. That's not the kind of book this is, though.
2) Way too many assumptions and gaps in knowledge. I don't want to read "You'd have to assume" any more.
3) Because of the lack of documentation, the book didn't spend as much time on Poyais as I expected it to. Instead, we got a LOT of content about MacGregor's other adventures, which was interesting, but not exactly what I signed up for.
4) The first 60 or so pages were just content from the various (false) pamphlets MacGregor put out. After a few pages, reading about what actually happened was a lot more interesting than reading MacGregor's lies. Especially because we know they're lies from the very beginning.
It's definitely an interesting story, and I got to learn a decent bit about Latin American wars of independence and the wanky way in which British people participated in them. The idea of joining a war voluntarily in order to get famous and make tons of money is obviously insane and worthy of condemnation. It's also pretty foreign to the modern context, and it's pretty interesting. I had read about "filibusters" from the antebellum South recently, so this followed from that.
My disappointments here:
1) I love history books. This was too light for my taste and I often wished the author would expand on interesting points that he hit upon during the narrative that were tangential to MacGregor's story. That's not the kind of book this is, though.
2) Way too many assumptions and gaps in knowledge. I don't want to read "You'd have to assume" any more.
3) Because of the lack of documentation, the book didn't spend as much time on Poyais as I expected it to. Instead, we got a LOT of content about MacGregor's other adventures, which was interesting, but not exactly what I signed up for.
4) The first 60 or so pages were just content from the various (false) pamphlets MacGregor put out. After a few pages, reading about what actually happened was a lot more interesting than reading MacGregor's lies. Especially because we know they're lies from the very beginning.
Read
February 5, 2009Sinclair opens his book with the moment that settlers realize they've been bamboozled and abandoned. He then backtracks to MacGregor's murky pre-Poyais history, where he fabricated military successes, an aristocratic past, and his great land fraud. In retelling this colorful history, Sinclair relies primarily on the records of one of MacGregor's enemies and the swindler's own pompous lies, but documents contemporary sources as well. Critics cite the story's structure, not its writing, as its strength; the morass of details might detract readers. Still, Sinclair offers remarkable insight into one of the great--if not the greatest--land scheme in history. It is, the San Francisco Chronicle notes, "a tale as pungent as the spices of Poyais, if only there was a Poyais."
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
October 12, 2007
This was an informative account showing how one persuasive man with a well-written, descriptive document exploited people's greed and gullibility. Other major topics include the independence movements in Central and South America in the early 19th century and the eagerness of Europeans to help militarily and financially. Sinclair wraps up the book nicely in his analysis of how MacGregor started becoming caught up in his own fantasy towards the end.
June 29, 2011
Amusing story about a self-styled nobleman who tricks people into buying land in an imaginary country in Central America. I enjoyed this book for several reasons... 1) it was an interesting biography of a larger than life character. 2) it does a good job at showing the chaotic nature of the post-Napoleonic world... where a person can make up a country and people don't know any better because the maps had changed so many times 3) it shows how gullible people can be at times.
December 28, 2014
Sinclair breathes a lot of life into the story of a glory-starved Scotsman who fails as a mercenary and conjures up a land fraud that persisted for years. It's astonishing how gullible so many people were in the face of this huckster despite the many clear indiocations. Sinclair might have given a little more attention to the reasons why MacGregor charmed his victims so well, but it is a solid work.
June 5, 2009
Skip the turgid Foreward. After that, great stuff.
December 19, 2009
interesting story but not especially well written.
June 17, 2013
It's a really great story but seriously just read the wikipedia page. Like every bit of interest in this book is way more succinctly written there.
September 7, 2014
This is an easy-reading account of the great Poyais fraud, although hampered somewhat by the patchiness of the sources about McGregor and his associates.
August 10, 2014
An amazing story! I could not believe it actually happened!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews