Tiny Shetland island declares independence.
By Kate Kelland
Sat Jun 21, 12:19 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The owner of a tiny island in off Scotland declared its independence from the United Kingdom on Saturday, saying he wanted the territory, population one, to be a crown dependency like the Channel Islands.
In a declaration on his Web site, Stuart Hill, who owns the 2.5 acre island of Forvik in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, said he no longer recognised the authority of the government or the European Union, and cited a centuries-old royal marriage dowry deal as the basis for his claim.
"Forvik owes no allegiance to any United Kingdom government, central or local, and is not bound by any of its statutes," Hill wrote.
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.
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.
Hill's claim dates back to a 15th century arrangement between the Norwegian King Christian and King James III of Scotland when the Shetland Islands were effectively pawned to King James in lieu of a marriage dowry.
According to Hill's studies of the history of the island, in 1669 King Charles II re-confirmed Shetland's status at the time of the pawning, meaning the islands remained directly answerable to the crown -- represented today by the Queen.
"The monarchs and governments of Scotland, and Great Britain and the United Kingdom have for many years assumed powers over these islands of Shetland to which they were not entitled," he wrote.
"By declaring Forvik a crown dependency I am simply re-establishing the correct legal relationship between this part of Shetland and the crown.
Hill said he had written to the Queen offering his services as "steward" and recognising her as head of state.
"I also invite anyone from any country in the world, who supports these aims, namely to become free of liars, thieves and tyrants in government, to become a citizen of Forvik," he added.
Alright, guys, let's all move to Forvik, where true freedom awaits us!
Posts
What a fucking awesome existence.
No friends.
No utilities.
What does he do for fun, count pebbles?
stickin' it to the man
awesome bastard
Terribly awesome?
Edit: No. No it's not as good. I'm sorry.
you should be
Are you going to like, hit me or something?
updates his website apparently
just like the good old days
Two chicks at the same time.
not like that prick zaphod beeblebrox
There's no phone, no lights, no motorcars
Not a single luxury
Like Robinson Caruso
It's as primitive as can be
I wish I had a better picture, but I really wanted to respond to this.
How come you're always such a fussy young man?
Don't want no Captain Crunch.
Don't want no Raisin Bran.
This is a completely amazing image
I am going to beat you senseless through the internet.
bring a gun, just go hey I'm taking over
boot him off the island
I laughed pretty hard at this
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
But what happens when he appeals to the British government for aide and they send in a commando team to bust your shit up?
"We regret to inform you that the Crown is not in the habit of interfering with the internal affairs of sovereign nations. Have fun getting raped by Swedes."
That's really gay. I'm not a gay.
I don't think the British government is going to really care about a man living in a tent who just basically stole some of their land
You can pretty much bring a friend and a gun and invade successfully.