Shetland pensioner to declare “independence” for tiny isle
19th June 2008
A UK newspaper has reported that on June 21st, a former castaway will declare himself to be the head of the new state of Forvik, a breakaway from the United Kingdom and the European Union. The newspaper reports that Stuart Hill, originally from Suffolk, plans to mint his own currency and raise his own flag.
Forvik, which contains only one building (with a tarpaulin roof) is all of 2.5 acres in size and Hill is its only inhabitant, and he will doubtless be seen as the latest in a line of secessionist UK eccentrics which includes King Michael of Sealand (a former WW2 gun platform in the North Sea which was declared “independent” in the 1960s), and Richard Booth, who declared himself to be King of the town of Hay on Wye, which sits on the English Welsh border.
Hill, however, believes his claim to be well founded – and to raise genuine and urgent issues regarding the use of natural resources by the UK government. His claim rests on the existence of a leasing+ arrangement between King Christian of Denmark and the Scottish crown in the mid 1500s which, he says, has left the Shetland Islands in a state of constitutional limbo.
Many Shetlanders feel strongly that the islands should have greater say over the exploitation of their resources. On June 18th, the Shetland News reported that a grouping of local authorities, MPs and MSPs would be “rallying together to push the Crown Estate Commission [which claims an ancient right of ownership of the marine environment as far as the 12 mile limit of the territorial seas] into handing over control of the seabed to Scotland.”
Were the Commission to do so, Scotland and the Shetlands would gain greater control over activities including harbours, marinas, fishfarms and power schemes. The group’s demands fall short, however, of calling for independence.
A UK newspaper has reported that on June 21st, a former castaway will declare himself to be the head of the new state of Forvik, a breakaway from the United Kingdom and the European Union. The newspaper reports that Stuart Hill, originally from Suffolk, plans to mint his own currency and raise his own flag.
Forvik, which contains only one building (with a tarpaulin roof) is all of 2.5 acres in size and Hill is its only inhabitant, and he will doubtless be seen as the latest in a line of secessionist UK eccentrics which includes King Michael of Sealand (a former WW2 gun platform in the North Sea which was declared “independent” in the 1960s), and Richard Booth, who declared himself to be King of the town of Hay on Wye, which sits on the English Welsh border.
Hill, however, believes his claim to be well founded – and to raise genuine and urgent issues regarding the use of natural resources by the UK government. His claim rests on the existence of a leasing+ arrangement between King Christian of Denmark and the Scottish crown in the mid 1500s which, he says, has left the Shetland Islands in a state of constitutional limbo.
Many Shetlanders feel strongly that the islands should have greater say over the exploitation of their resources. On June 18th, the Shetland News reported that a grouping of local authorities, MPs and MSPs would be “rallying together to push the Crown Estate Commission [which claims an ancient right of ownership of the marine environment as far as the 12 mile limit of the territorial seas] into handing over control of the seabed to Scotland.”
Were the Commission to do so, Scotland and the Shetlands would gain greater control over activities including harbours, marinas, fishfarms and power schemes. The group’s demands fall short, however, of calling for independence.