There’s something special about a private island. An isolated piece of paradise, its beaches and forests yours alone to enjoy. A virtual private kingdom under the sun. While this is enough for most of us, for some, only a real kingdom (or republic, or principality, or …) will suffice. For these folks, a private island is but a means to an end - the establishment of a new, independent country. But is such a thing really possible?

The short answer is a pretty conclusive ‘ no’. Since the early 20th century, every square foot of dry land on Earth has been claimed by at least one country or another, which pretty much rules out discovering an unmapped tropical paradise, planting your flag, and setting yourself up as the local sovereign. Similarly, existing countries are more than a little reluctant to part with pieces of their national territory, no matter the financial incentives offered. However, 30 years ago one man hatched an enterprising (if a little bizarre) scheme at getting around these little details.
In the early 1970s a Las Vegas real estate millionaire by the name of Michael Oliver decided to set up his own South Pacific island nation. Given the tragic shortage of unclaimed private islands, Mr. Oliver planned to do the next best thing: build one. This wasn’t as crazy as it may at first sound. Under international law, a country may only claim sovereignty over islands which lie outside its territorial waters if the islands are at least a foot above the high tide point (no part-time islands need apply). Mr. Oliver located a submerged coral atoll called the Minerva Reefs, lying 260 miles (420 km) southwest of the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga. At low tide, the Minerva Reefs were exposed to the open air, but at high tide, they were submerged. The reefs lay outside the territorial waters of all nearby states, and as they were submerged at high tide, no country could claim them as an extension of their national territory.

The plan was this: build up the Minerva Reefs until they remained above the waterline at high tide, thereby officially becoming a new island, outside the jurisdiction of any existing country. Initially, two 7.5 acre (3 ha) islands were to be created, and once the new country was declared, investment dollars would flood in, funding the expansion of the islands to 2,500 acres (1011 ha), or more than twice the size Monaco. Simple enough on paper.

Filed under: Island Industry, Islanders