I bet you didn't know that this thread would have a part 2

The fella above is Gregor MacGregor, and he was quite a character.

From the Clan Gregor, he was an officer in the British Army from 1803 to 1810, and served in the Peninsular War in South America. He joined the Simon Bolivar-led Republican side in the Venezuelan War of Independence in 1812, eventually working his way up to General.

In 1817, he captured an island called Amelia Island under orders to capture Florida on behalf of the Spanish, and proclaimed the Republic of the Floridas, which didn't last long. He then had a couple of disastrous campaigns in New Granada, where he basically abandoned his British volunteer troops twice, before returning to Britain in 1821.

Perhaps the most insane period of his life then followed, when he claimed that the King of the Mosquito Coast on the Gulf of Honduras had created a colony called Poyais that was ripe for British settlement. It was painted as a spa destination for sick colonists from the Caribbean, where the soil was so fertile that a farmer could have three harvests of maize a year, or grow cash crops such as sugar cane without hardship. Furthermore, fish and game were so plentiful that one day's fishing could yield a week's worth of food, and most importantly, the natives were pro-British. In reality, it was an inhospitable, humid strip of land infested by mosquitos for most of the year.



He embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign, even writing a guidebook under the guise of Captain Thomas Strangeways, which included sketches of the coast of Poyais. Even the capital, St.Joseph, was said to be inhabited by 20,000 people, and was a flourishing seaside town with wide boulevards, mansions, an opera house, theatre and domed cathedral.

He devised up a fake honours system for this new "country", not to mention a coat of arms, currency and a flag (green, just like the flag for the erstwhile Republic of the Floridas). He managed to drum up financial support in Britain, and set up offices in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow to sell land certificates to prospective emigrants.

The first ship embarked with 70 emigrants in September 1822, with a second carrying 200 following in January. The first ship arrived anyway to find the area far removed from the descriptions, setting up camp on shore. They sent numerous search parties inland trying to make contact with the fictional Poyaisan authorities. The second ship arrived soon after only to discover that the first set of colonists had been abandoned by their captain, and that the whole thing was a ruse. Of the roughly 250 who had sailed across on the two ships, at least 180 ultimately perished, and fewer than 50 ever returned to Britain.

By now, MacGregor had fled to France to continue the scheme, but eventually got tried for fraud in 1826. Amazingly, he was acquitted, and returned to London, where he attempted variations of the same scam for the next ten years. He was welcomed back to Venezuela as a hero in 1838, and died in Caracas seven years later. He is buried in Caracas Cathedral with full military honours.

Interesting dude.

castletownman wrote: »

The fella above is Gregor MacGregor, and he was quite a character.

From the Clan Gregor, he was an officer in the British Army from 1803 to 1810, and served in the Peninsular War in South America. He joined the Simon Bolivar-led Republican side in the Venezuelan War of Independence in 1812, eventually working his way up to General.

In 1817, he captured an island called Amelia Island under orders to capture Florida on behalf of the Spanish, and proclaimed the Republic of the Floridas, which didn't last long. He then had a couple of disastrous campaigns in New Granada, where he basically abandoned his British volunteer troops twice, before returning to Britain in 1821.

Perhaps the most insane period of his life then followed, when he claimed that the King of the Mosquito Coast on the Gulf of Honduras had created a colony called Poyais that was ripe for British settlement. It was painted as a spa destination for sick colonists from the Caribbean, where the soil was so fertile that a farmer could have three harvests of maize a year, or grow cash crops such as sugar cane without hardship. Furthermore, fish and game were so plentiful that one day's fishing could yield a week's worth of food, and most importantly, the natives were pro-British. In reality, it was an inhospitable, humid strip of land infested by mosquitos for most of the year.



He embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign, even writing a guidebook under the guise of Captain Thomas Strangeways, which included sketches of the coast of Poyais. Even the capital, St.Joseph, was said to be inhabited by 20,000 people, and was a flourishing seaside town with wide boulevards, mansions, an opera house, theatre and domed cathedral.

He devised up a fake honours system for this new "country", not to mention a coat of arms, currency and a flag (green, just like the flag for the erstwhile Republic of the Floridas). He managed to drum up financial support in Britain, and set up offices in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow to sell land certificates to prospective emigrants.

The first ship embarked with 70 emigrants in September 1822, with a second carrying 200 following in January. The first ship arrived anyway to find the area far removed from the descriptions, setting up camp on shore. They sent numerous search parties inland trying to make contact with the fictional Poyaisan authorities. The second ship arrived soon after only to discover that the first set of colonists had been abandoned by their captain, and that the whole thing was a ruse. Of the roughly 250 who had sailed across on the two ships, at least 180 ultimately perished, and fewer than 50 ever returned to Britain.

By now, MacGregor had fled to France to continue the scheme, but eventually got tried for fraud in 1826. Amazingly, he was acquitted, and returned to London, where he attempted variations of the same scam for the next ten years. He was welcomed back to Venezuela as a hero in 1838, and died in Caracas seven years later. He is buried in Caracas Cathedral with full military honours.

Interesting dude.

Ha, I just read about this today, and then come on here to see this!

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Wasn't that because it milk in the US had to travel further so was more likely to go off and so yanks got used to the tastes.

Back in the day the Cadbury's chocolate made here was the nicest because of the Irish milk.

I think it was more the fact that Cadburys had patented the recipe and Hershey’s had to find an alternative. Hence the vomit chocolate.:)

As for the Irish milk making good chocolate, I read that Belgian chocolate is made from Irish milk.

Great article on the history of Baileys in the Irish Times from a few years back.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/in-1973-i-invented-a-girly-drink-called-baileys-1.3240945%3Fmode%3Damp

New Home wrote: »

Also with Disney the american flags that fly in disney world are not actually american flags. If they were they would have to meet all the regulations around flying the flag.

The best shuttlecocks are made from the left wing of a goose.