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Poyaisian Land Grant, 1827 Class A Land Grant fr 1000 Acres, I/U Signed by Sir Gregor MacGregor

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Stock & Bond - Certificates Start Price:170.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 500.00 USD
Poyaisian Land Grant, 1827 Class A Land Grant fr 1000 Acres, I/U Signed by Sir Gregor MacGregor
SOLD
180.00USD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2021 Mar 10 @ 19:07UTC-5 : EST/CDT
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Mosquito Territory (Honduras), 1827 I/U Poyaisian Land Certificate, Class A, Land Grant for 1000 Acres, S/N 88 signed by Gregor MacGregor. Black text in English and French, with elaborate coat of arms depicted at top center, featuring English and Scottish flags. Fine condition with some slight toning, holes, and staining, especially along fold lines. General Gregor MacGregor (24 December 1786 to 4 December 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, and confidence trickster who attempted from 1821 to 1837 to draw British and French investors and settlers to "Poyais", a fictional Central American territory that he claimed to rule as "Cazique". Hundreds invested their savings in supposed Poyaisian government bonds and land certificates, while about 250 emigrated to MacGregor's invented country in 1822Ð23 to find only an untouched jungle; more than half of them died. MacGregor's Poyais scheme has been called one of the most brazen confidence tricks in history. He devised a tricameral parliament and other convoluted constitutional arrangements for Poyais, drew up commercial and banking mechanisms, and designed distinctive uniforms for each regiment of the Poyaisian Army. His imaginary country had an honours system, landed titles, as well as a coat of arms. A French court tried MacGregor and three others for fraud in 1826 after he attempted a variation on the scheme there, but convicted only one of his associates. Acquitted, MacGregor attempted lesser Poyais schemes in London over the next decade. In 1838, he moved to Venezuela, where he was welcomed back as a hero. He died in Caracas in 1845, aged 58, and was buried with full military honors in Caracas Cathedral. Rare piece of history from an infamous scandal. (John E. Herzog Collection)