?We can?t have people setting up empires on our doorstep,? the prince of Tonga once said about the Republic of Minerva Fantasies of escaping society?s problems often fuel utopian movements, but one bizarre?and mysterious?effort from the ?70s to create a nation free of government intervention caused nothing but trouble and sparked an international relations dispute.
In 1972, the ?utopian? Republic of Minerva made its first appearance in the New York Times in a story headlined ?South Sea Reef Proclaimed a Republic by 3 Americans.? Michael Oliver, one of the three founders, explained that he wanted to create an ?escape from high taxes, riots, drugs, and crime? and did it through an old-fashioned colonial land grab.
Oliver and his partners chose the Minerva Reef?named after a ship that was wrecked on it in the 1820s?which is about 450 miles south of Fiji and 260 miles east of Tonga. During low tide, it?s only partially submerged. They intended to build a 400-acre artificial island over the reef and turn it into a resort that would ?sparkle like a jewel in the blue South Pacific,? according to one of the Republic of Minerva?s self-published newspapers. They hoped to attract tens of thousands of residents and base their governance structure on zero taxes, no welfare, no subsidies, and no economic intervention. A coin collector and real estate investor, Oliver used much of his own wealth to establish the Republic of Minerva. Soon after sending a ?declaration of independence...