Grand Capri Republic
From Kook Science
The Grand Capri Republic was a planned island state that Louis M. Ray, president of Acme General Contractors, proposed in the 1960s to raise by dredging and building up the Triumph and Long Reefs off the Florida coast. The plans were contested in the courts by the United States government, which claimed the reefs as U.S. territory and designated it for the Biscayne National Monument, as well as William T. Anderson and his Atlantis Development Corp. Ltd., which had a similar plan for the same reefs; ultimately, the courts settled the case in favor of the government.
Reading
- Menefee, Samuel Pyeatt (1994), "'Republics of the Reefs:' Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans", California Western International Law Journal 25 (1): 81-111, https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=cwilj
Press Coverage
Dredging (1964-'65)
- Greene, Juanita (20 Dec. 1964), "Scramble Picks Up for New 'Nation'", Miami Herald (Miami, FL): 1, 6, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/620239875
- Jones, Clarence (29 Jan. 1965), "Birth of a Nation Starts Civil War: U.S. to Dig Into Sandpile", Miami Herald (Miami, FL): C-1, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/620608699/, "They pumped up a little mound of sand off Islandia Wednesday, on the same reef where an island nation devoted to gambling has been proposed. The dredging by a mysterious new corporation put the men who have previously laid claim to the reef in a fighting mood[...] At least three other men lay claim to the string of four reefs that lie just outside the three-mile U.S. territorial limit."
- Buchanan, James (14 Apr. 1965), "'Ocean Homesteader' Builds House at Sea", Miami Herald (Miami, FL): 2-B, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/620848322/
After the initial dredging and placement of a prefab building at the site, Hurricane Betsy rolled in during 1965, blowing away the sands and sending the reefs back underwater.
Court Battles (1967-'70)
- Carroll, Margaret (13 July 1967), "Bahamians Join 'Emerging Nations' Fight: Court to Hear Feud Over Reefs", Miami Herald (Miami, FL): 2-C, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/621469034/
- Tucker, William (12 Jan. 1968), "Island Builders May Get Stuck On A Reef", Miami News (Miami, FL): 1, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/301996841/
- MN (3 Jan. 1969), "'GRAND CAPRI REPUBLIC' - Judge Nixes 'Nation' Off Elliott Island", Miami News (Miami, FL): 3, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/300174162/
- Carroll, Margaret (3 Jan. 1969), "Plan for Reef 'Nation' Flounders in Court: Issue Is 'of Great Public Interest'", Miami Herald (Miami, FL): 2-B, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/621729180/
- NYT (23 Jan. 1970), "Appeals Court Blocks A Coral‐Reefs Nation", New York Times (New York, NY): 30, https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/23/archives/appeals-court-blocks-a-coralreefs-nation.html, "A Federal appeals court upheld today a decision dashing 'fantastic' plans to set up a sovereign nation on two coral reefs four miles off Florida's coast. The Grand Capri Republic was to have risen on Triumph Reef and Long Reef. However, a United States District Court found that the reefs, both submerged except at low tides, were part of the continental shelf and therefore were 'natural resources' and subject to United States jurisdiction."
Court Documents
Analysis
- Lattimer, Gregory M. (1970), "LAW OF THE SEA - The Continental Shelf-United States Proprietary Claim To The Continental Shelf Gives Rise To A New Public Domain. United States v. Ray, 294 F. Supp. 532 (S.D. Fla. 1969).", Land & Water Law Review 5 (2): 509-516, https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=land_water