Republic of Minerva
The Republic of Minerva was an attempt to create an independent state on an atoll in the Pacific . The initiator of this project was Michael Oliver , a real estate entrepreneur and millionaire from Las Vegas . Oliver formed a company, the Ocean Life Research Foundation , which claims to have had several hundred million US dollars available for the project and which had offices in New York and London .
The uninhabited Minerva Reefs 500 km southwest of Tongatapu ( Tonga ) and 300 km south of Ono-i-Lau ( Fiji ) were selected as the area of the new state. In 1971 the construction of an artificial island started. Sand was transported by barge from Australia to Minerva in order to raise the level of the reef and create the conditions for the construction of a small tower. It was planned to build a city called Sea City for 30,000 residents. On January 19, 1972, the independence of the Republic of Minerva was proclaimed and the flag of the new state was hoisted on the Minerva Reef. The declaration of independence of the new state was sent to the neighboring states and their own currency was issued. In February 1972, Morris C. Davis was elected Provisional President of the Republic of Minerva.
On February 24, 1972, a conference of the neighboring states of Australia, New Zealand , Tonga, Fiji, Nauru , Western Samoa and the Cook Islands took place. Here Tonga laid claim to the Minerva Reef.
On June 15, 1972, the following notice was published in the Official Gazette of the Kingdom of Tonga:
" PROCLAMATION
His Majesty King . Taufa'ahau Tupou IV hereby announces:
Because the reefs, which are known as Northern Minerva Reef and Southern Minerva Reef, have long served as fishing grounds for fishermen from Tonga and has long been considered the Kingdom of Tonga to be considered belonging to the islands of Teleki Tokelau and Teleki Tonga; and because it is appropriate that we should now secure the rights of the Kingdom of Tonga to these islands; We hereby affirm and affirm that the islands, rocks, reefs, coasts and bodies of water which are within a twelve mile radius are part of our Kingdom of Tonga. "
The Tonga armed forces completed the construction work, took down the flag of the Republic of Minerva in the presence of the king and occupied the atoll. Tonga's claim to the land was recognized by the South Pacific Forum in September 1972 . The Provisional President Davis was fired by Michael Oliver and the project collapsed.
In 1982 a group of Americans , again led by Morris C. "Bud" Davis, tried to reoccupy the reef. However, after three weeks, Tongan troops forced them to leave the island.
In recent years, some groups have attempted to restore a state to Minerva. In October 2003, Prince Calvin of Charleston ( USA ) proclaimed the Principality of Minerva on the Internet . Other groups also claim to represent the former republic. To date, no one has attempted to repossess the Minerva Reef.
In November 2005, Fiji submitted a territorial claim to Minerva to the International Seabed Authority . Tonga has filed a counterclaim. The Principality of Minerva Group claims to have also filed a counterclaim.
literature
- Erwin S. Strauss: How to Start Your Own Country , 2nd ed. Port Townsend, WA: Breakout Productions, 1984. ISBN 1-893626-15-6
- Olaf Ruhen: Minerva Reef , Halstead Press, Sydney, 1963
- Samuel Pyeatt Menefee: Republics of the Reefs: Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans , California Western International Law Journal, Volume 25, No. 1, Fall 1994
- South Seas: The Minerva Ploy , Newsweek, October 23, 1972
- South Sea Reef Proclaimed a Republic by 3 Americans , New York Times, Jan. 30, 1972
- Micronations: Principality of Minerva , FHM Estonia, January 2005
- David Henley: Principality of Minerva , Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard, December 2004
Web links
- Minerva (Principality Of) ( Memento from June 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Homepage of the Principality of Minerva
- Minervan Coin coins of the Republic of Minerva.
- Michael Field: The Battle over Minerva Reef. The Islomaniac 2005 Tonga-Fiji conflict
Individual evidence
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↑ PROCLAMATION
His Majesty King Taufaʻahau Tupou IV in Council DOES HEREBY PROCLAIM:
WHEREAS the Reefs known as North Minerva Reef and South Minerva Reef have long served as fishing grounds for the Tongan people and have long been regarded as belonging to the Kingdom of Tonga has now created on these Reefs islands known as Teleki Tokelau and Teleki Tonga; AND WHEREAS it is expedient that we should now confirm the rights of the Kingdom of Tonga to these islands; THEREFORE we do hereby AFFIRM and PROCLAIM that the islands, rocks, reefs, foreshores and waters lying within a radius of twelve miles [19.31 km] thereof are part of our Kingdom of Tonga. - ↑ The Minervan Commission, the representative organization of the Government of the Principality of Minerva in exile ( Memento of August 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
Coordinates: 23 ° 39 ′ S , 178 ° 55 ′ W