Why Did Gregor McGregor Invent a Country?

Robin Wigglesworth calls Gregor McGregor a delightful scoundrel who invented an entire country to sell bonds in the 1800s in England. McGregor is not a hero and should not be rehabilitated. His life is wild enough that a movie about him should already exist.

He fought in Venezuela, served as a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and then ran one of the most outrageous financial scams in history. He might have believed the country he invented. The scheme was a 19th century version of fake it till you make it: he was trying to will a new country into existence, and he was essentially incompetent. Nobody knows exactly what he believed, and the story is still incredible.