I was just wondering if there were any countries willing to sell off a small island for me to make into an independent country? And if there are, about how much would one of these run me? I have plans that involve my own island country…
Dirty Dingus McGhee
You could buy yourself a small island, but if you want to make it an independent country, you better get ready to negotiate a treaty with the country you bought it from, or sponsor a revolution, declare independence, and hope that some big country recognizes you as sovereign.
Sure, I went researching for this once to fantasize about winning the lottery and what I would do with my winnings.
I found a few for just under one million US dollars.
As for starting your own country, not a chance. Like any government is going to let you skip out on those taxes. 
But, if you thought like me, you’d set up a rollover account with some money so that the interest accumulates and can pay the taxes for you (well, some executor or something would do it for you). In the mean time, you can make your own flags from hemp and call yourself king and nobody will care one way or the other. Look at Emporer Norton.
I took a boat trip around Victoria, B.C. last year, and the skipper pointed out a very small island (no phone, no lights, no motor car, no water) that was for sale for $1 million. I don’t know if that was Canadian or American dollars.
That would be one of the Gulf Islands. $1 million in either currency seems pretty cheap unless the place is uninhabitable.
I doubt that the Canadian government will grant you sovereignity. If you try, you may find yourself taken in by the Mounties, who seem to frown upon rebels.
Yes, but $1 million Canadian is, what, 87 cents US? 
Hasn’t somebody taken up residence on an abandoned coastal defense gun platform off Britain and declared themselves sovereign?
Gunslinger, yeah, that’s Sealand. Last I heard they want to be an ISP.
Well, here;s someone who did it:
http://www.sealandgov.com/
And here’s oen place where you can byu your own island:
http://www.privateislandsonline.com
so…
Wasn’t HavenCo supposed to open up additional havens in other independant principalities?
Dingus:
Are you planning to buy an island with an active volcano? If so, may I rent it out? My basement is getting a bit too crowded for hatching my evil schemes, what with the henchment and the giant lasers and the robot army and everything.
Find an island which has enough arable acreage and a decent climate and fresh water and most importantly, people living there, but not many. Learn their language–the Phillipines or Malay Peninsula is a good place to start–and set about improving their lives. Become the patrón. Build the school, fill the potholes and suborn the local power structure with lavish gifts. Offer them villas in the hills and generous pensions and explain to them what a golden parachute is. Replace them with efficient wonks. Be certain to chum up with the “president” of the country you plan to steal the island from. You will have a rapport when you tell him that he is now a neighbor and that you look forward to getting along.
Meanwhile, set up a hydroponicum big enough to feed the whole island. 20 or thirty acres ought to do it. Don’t buy an arid island. You’ll need to build a very expensive canopy for the hydro system. 30 acre roofs ain’t cheap and you are going to need lots of weaponry. Try to reduce exports as much as possible. You must simultaneously reduce exports so as to reduce strategic relevance to the hegemonic evil empire you wish to become unshackled from.
Also, since you control the educational system, you can indoctrinate the children into your new culture.
Cradle to grave medical care is a good plan. Free bus service (natural gas or electric) all over the island and no cars.
You’ll need an airstrip at least 11,000 feet long and you may have to set up a desalinization plant. The entire island’s power needs would be adequately served by an offshore wind turbine farm. Low flow toilets, centralized tertiary water treatment, no incandescent bulbs or old refrigerators and the stress on the infrastructure and enviroment is reduced.
Crime would immediately be greatly reduced since poverty is the major source of it. People convicted of most infractions could be put to work in the hydroponicum or be keelhauled in the harbor with a festival atmosphere.
When the time comes, when you have wagged the dog, hire the Ghurkas to come and defend the island. They are efficient and cheap. They also never lose.
A personal island fiefdom is well and good but there are some substantial logistical concerns to consider.
The trappings of eminence such as an entourage of fawning natives are fine, but to maintain the lifestyle of decadence usually requires obtaining substantial hard currency. This cash flow typically coming from tourists belonging to the sovereign nation you seceded from. This becomes problematic if your homeland is girt by seas, treacherous currents, reefs, rocks et al and aren’t large enough to support an airport.
Much more practical idea is to carve a piece off the mainland aka the Province Of Hutt River
Isn’t that sort-of what some militia groups have tried to do? Are any of them having much success?
Of course, I realise that starting my own country would require immense sums of money, and as such I was considering joining together with other similarly-minded individuals so as to disperse the cost between many people. Also, I’m sure there are some investors who wouldn’t mind giving some money to the cause. Chronolicht’s ideas are almost identical to how I was thinking. Mayhaps there is an alliance that we can work out?
Thanks, everybody, for yer help. This is more than I expected, amazingly. And thankee Scruff for the link to where I may purchase my own private island. I’ve found some nice places.
With respect, I disagree with Woolly’s assertions. Absolute power must be maintained at all times, in the intial stages. Media must be tightly controlled and outside radio and television must be jammed. Wire the whole island with cable serving up salubrious and highbrow fare. Any type of music and films on command via cable modem, except for American cheesy crap–no “relity” TV.
Treating your island nation like an IPO is a recipe for disaster. Power struggles and factionalism would immediately ensue, causing bad press, purges, identity politics. You’d have to assassinate the whole freakin’ board of directors eventually. Democracy can only be introduced when you have written an iron clad constitution (no “soft money” in Dindustachusetts).
You need an island WITHOUT a deep water port. Tourism should be discouraged, initially at least, maybe in perpetuity. You’d don’t want your Valhalla littered with camera toting, buffalo plaid wearing shmucks looking for golf courses. It is the very reason you want an island in the first place. I mean, what the hell. Is a McDonald’s franchise Ok, as long as it’s adobe? Hell no. There is no McDonalds in Shangrila.
You’re the main man, the big kahuna, Papa McGhee. The Glorious Emporer of Dingustan or Dinganau. You must be a contradiction. You are at once, loving, humble, omnipotent. No need goes unmet in The Isle of Dingus. You are the personification of tranquility, unseen but present everywhere. Yet any serious dissent must be met with rapid and severe punishment; almost always banishment.
Gotta start smallish. Begin with a few choice targets for kidnapping in South America. Good inexpensive way to raise a tidy sum. 15 or 20 million should do it. Find two companies with moderate size market caps in an industry experiencing a lot of volatility. The companies have to be small enough that your equity percentage in them has an effect on their price. Begin quietly buying shares in both of them under corporate fronts. With various schemes, spin control, rumor mongering on the floor, etc. there are many ways to manipulate these stocks. They both might go up, one could go up, the other down, with a positive sum left at the end of the day. Be creative. It would be cheeky to name one of your companies Blue Sky Corp. Kinda cheerful.
There is an island in SF Bay for sale for $10M. You’d have to get approval from three counties to do anything on it.
It’s been in the news recently - Red Rock Island (also called Molate Island), visible from the Richmond - San Rafael bridge near the Richmond end. About 6 acres. There was some mining done on it at one point, and somebody was going to build a hotel on it, but the plans fell through.
Only $10 million, better put your offer in quick:
http://www.kayaker.net/images/m/molate20.jpg
http://seakayaker.tripod.com/redrock.htm
There arer always a few islands for sale in Maine.
How do I go about starting my own country?
His four points were:[ul]* Defined territory.