The Poyais Scheme of 1822 (Episode 4, Remastered)

In Episode 4 we take a ride with swindler Gregor McGregor all the way to the beautiful tropical country of Poyais. You'll hear all about investment bubbles, South American political movements, the tried and true military strategy of running quickly away from the enemy, and how a Scottish con man convinced thousands of people to sink their life savings into shares of an imaginary South American paradise.

*Note from Greg: As our long-time listeners know, the original audio for this episode was corrupted. I've done my best to make it listenable, but our levels are still uneven and there's some generally poor-quality audio. Which is a shame, because this is one of my favorite stories. Remastered 1/30/23. 

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Sources for this episode include:

"Sketch of the Mosquito Shore: Including the Territory of Poyais...", T. Strangeways, 1820

"He promised people paradise — and sent them to their deaths", L. Getlin, New York Post, 2018

"The Fraud of the Prince of Poyais on the London Stock Exchange", B. Taylor, Global Financial Data, 2020

"Gregor MacGregor, Prince of Poyais", J. Brain, Historic UK, 2020

"The Con Man Who Invented His Own Country", E. Andrews, History, 2016