The Shetland country

Stuart Hill owns Forvik, an island of 2.5 acres off Scotland. On Saturday, citing a 15th-century dowry arrangement between the Norwegian and Scottish kings of the time, he declared independence from the United Kingdom. He plans to issue his own currency, print his own stamps, and raise his own flag (shown). “Forvik owes no allegiance to any United Kingdom government, central or local, and is not bound by any of its statutes,” he wrote on his web site.

Call it romantic, silly, delusional, or whatever, but I carry a little baseline sadness that such isn’t really possible anymore. We have international agreements for everything and everywhere.

I suspect what will happen here is that the United Kingdom will stop short of recognizing Forvik, but will leave Hill alone. We’re talking about a 65-year-old guy who lives in a tent on the beach, so it would seem to be a self-limiting “problem” (though he’s actively soliciting residents).

However, I’d be curious to see what happened if he started clearing lots of money from a book, or decided to devote 2.25 acres of the island to growing a potent marijuana strain.

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