Man declares island (pop. 1) to be a new nation
A 65-year-old man who owns a 2.5 acre island in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea has declared independence from the UK.
[Stuart] Hill, 65, has lived in the Shetland Islands on the edge of the Atlantic since 2001, when his boat capsized there during an unsuccessful attempted to circumnavigate Britain.Link (Via Reason)He is Forvik's only resident, and his home is a tent on the storm-battered island. He says on his website that he plans to create Forvik's own currency -- the "gulde" -- print his own stamps and raise his own flag.
"There will be no income tax, VAT (value added tax), council tax, corporation tax, or any of the other taxes instituted by the British government," Hill wrote.
the latest
latest episodes
This sounds like the island that they filmed the original survivor on (UK version, not the US). If that's the case, good luck to him, because he's got a lot more to worry about than collecting taxes.
And speaking of other things, he'll have to buy many things for is island, most likely from the UK. He's still paying taxes.
So this means we can declare war on him now?
(Heck - he might have oil!)
Didn't Dean Kamen try this?
just wait until he needs one of the things we take for granted that we pay for with out taxes...
"By declaring Forvik a crown dependency I am simply re-establishing the correct legal relationship between this part of Shetland and the crown."
It's legal. It's also "legal" for the Crown to approve an invasion.
"It's legal. It's also "legal" for the Crown to approve an invasion."
future headline "War ends with single casualty"
Hold with the negativity - that island is 2.5 acres, way bigger than Sealand. Think of how many servers you could cram in there...
(And he could easily make himself self-sufficient through revenues from that. Given the coast-to-area ration, he could power it all from the tides.)
"In other news today, the Peoples Republic of China formally recognized the Nation of Forvik. Initial plans include an exchange of envoys and an aid package to Forvik from China. Said aid to include a small nuclear power plant and generator, satellite uplink equipment and a server farm together with financial software. Forvik's new Emperor, the Right Honourable "Codger" Hill has declared his countries intent to provide tax shelters to the qualified and submarine drydock services."
You forgot arms. I wonder if he'll start a whaling program 'for research purposes only'.
This was totally a Mr. Show sketch, except it was a cabin in Montana.
Can't find it on YouTube, though. Look for it on the Season 3 DVD's.
AFAIK, if his island is within 12 nautical miles of the mainland, he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_waters
The world today was not built on peaceful declarations of independence. Hopefully the fine people of the UK will realize this and HALO jump a group of SAS on the island to free it from this mad man's self-imposed dictatorship! I'm sure the plants and animals of the island will greet them as liberators.
Whatever happened to the Duchy of Grand Fenwick anway?
@manicbassman: you mean, like roads?
@merreborn: sealand is 6 miles from the mainland
The guy lives in a tent on an island in the North Sea and he has internet access? Color me impressed.
Whatever happened to the Duchy of Grand Fenwick anway?
Good call. I should have gotten that one. We watched The Mouse That Roared just last week.
@11, Gibraltar is within territorial waters of Spain, why has that got more hold than an independent nation?
I could have sown he named it Brainainia and lobbied the US for a foreign aid check.
"And speaking of other things, he'll have to buy many things for is island, most likely from the UK. He's still paying taxes."
You don't think he can get things shipped to him from Amazon.com? Oh, wait...
@17
Because of the Army, Naval and Air Force bases Britain has on the island. Somehow I don't think Forvik has the same resources to defend its independence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gibraltar_Regiment
From the story, it's not even clear who owns the island. It looks rather like he set up shop there of his own accord; for all we know, a local farmer or some state bureau already has legal title to the land.
Where does he plug in the computer?
Sealand declared independence before territorial waters were extended beyond three miles. At the time of declaration, Sealand was in international waters.
next:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_Islands
Anyone interested in forming a new nation atop a (slightly used) oil tanker? I've been thinking about using the vortex of trash in the pacific as both a natural resource, and method of staying sortof stationary. Think of it as a pre-waterworld new New York type of city. I figured in a couple of years, the oil tanker Condoleeza would be up for sale.
you know, I had that very thought. The plastic is meters thick, free, minable and covers square miles.
One thing about micronations though, you need a protector. A treaty with someone with a navy. Cut them in on the tax evasion profits, maybe expand to counterfeiting, drugs and guns. I know North Korea would be in like stink.
It would be more original and plausible if he declared independence from Scotland but wanted to recognise the sovereignty of the crown and maintain a relationship with the UK as a crown possession (Isle of Man, Channel Islands) or overseas territory (Bermuda, Caymans, Gibraltar). The world just doesn't have enough off-shore banking centres proudly flying the Union flag.
Anyone else remember the Futurama episode "Bend-Her" when Bender becomes a girl in order to keep the medals he won in the Olympics? In the opening ceremonies, there was the parade of nations, and one of them was "The Nation of Joe" with just one guy marching behind the flag: this reminded me of that.
how about an underground micronation? It declares itself, deals honestly in tax scams but never reveals its location. Like a multinational corporation.
Fundamentally, I think Max Moore was right about "Deep Anarchy"; it also happens to cut both ways (at least according to Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann).
For more about private islands and similar stories read the 'origina' Private Islands Blog ...
http://private-islands.blogspot.com
As far as franchise nation states go, I'm signing up for Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong just as soon as it's available.
if I form a tong within a state, it will adopt state-like qualities. "Sons of Takuan's Hatchet"?
Keumi,
Sorry, but no propaganda links in a news story. You can try Suggest A Link at the top of the page if you want.
The beautiful thing about this news story is that, after claiming independance, the guy then applied to the local authority for planning permission to build his shelter. That takes a special sort of mind.
For a local discussion on this go to the Shetlink forum
http://www.shetlink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5440