The concept of a group of idealistic Americans going to the jungles of Central or South America to form a utopian community, did not originate in the 20th Century.

All but forgotten to history, in 1866, a group of adventurous pioneers from the United States set sail for Nicaragua with the goal of establishing an American colony there. One of these intrepid pioneers, Joseph Worth, tells the story of this effort in his 1872 book "Adventures and Narrow Escapes in Nicaragua." Would this group succeed or would it end in failure like that of more recent American emigrant jungle communities such as Jonestown?

According to Worth, the "object of this society was the establishment of an American town in the rich domains of Nicaragua, where a trade should be established among ourselves that should be prolific of good to the country and profit to the colony."