SUBJECT INDEX

Artificial Islands- For some reason, the late 1960s saw a rash of artificial islands declared independent nations. None of the platform nation projects were successful, and with the clarification of international law under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, it appears that individuals, corporations, and other non-state entities may never gain the right to erect new sovereign entities on unclaimed or artificial territory. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

See Abalonia, Atlantis, Minerva, New Atlantis, New Utopia, Isle of the Roses

Bantustans- South Africa's Homeland, or "Bantustan", policy was the logical endpoint of the apartheid mentality. Inaugurated in the early 1960s, it called for moving the existing Native Reserves, which comprised an impressive portion of South Africa's most worthless land, towards independence. This would satisfy African demands for greater political power, increase the isolation of South Africa's races, and leave the black population entirely dependent on the whites for economic survival. Nearly two million blacks, 600,000 "coloureds", and 40,000 whites were removed from their homes and reassigned to areas befitting their racial designation. Blacks living outside the homelands were designated "guest workers", and denied citizenship in South Africa proper. The seething tension in the homelands boiled over into violence in 1986, a wave of rioting and terrorism that triggered several coups and South African interventions in the late 1980s. Whatever meager support the Bantustan governments had gathered completely disappeared after the resurgence of the ANC in 1990, and all homelands were incorporated into South Africa on January 1, 1994.

See Bophutatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda.

Boer States- Throughout the Great Trek (and before), the Boers of South Africa organized a large number of provisional governments and nations. These are some of the governments that preceded the recognized Boer states of the 19th century.

See Afrikaner Republic, Graaff-Reinet, Republic of Natalia, Stellaland

Filibuster States- Adventurers from the United States tried to carve out many states in Latin America. The most successful, of course, was Texas. However, there were many others, throughout Mexico and the Caribbean.

See Caribbea, Le Champ d'Asile, East Florida, Florida Republic, Republic of Fredonia, Greytown, Republic of Lower California, Republic of Muskogee, Natchez Republic, Republic of Sonora (Count Gaston Raousset-Boulbon), Republic of Tejas, West Florida

Maroon Nations- Maroon was the name given by the Spanish to runaway slaves. It came to mean any slave or group of slaves who had rebelled against or escaped from their masters. Maroon settlements were scattered throughout the Western Hemisphere, from the Amazon to Florida and North Carolina. Many former Maroon communities today, especially in the Guyanas and Jamaica, retain a distinct identity. Several communities of escaped slaves also formed in Africa itself.

List under construction.

The Phoenix Foundation- The Phoenix Foundation was started by a Las Vegas businessman named Michael Oliver. Throughout the 1970s, Oliver attempted to begin several independent nations which would then subscribe to his libertarian philosophy. Oliver has dropped out of sight since his nation-building heyday.

See Abaco, Espiritu Santo, Minerva, Tanna.

Pirate States- The classic pirates of the seventeenth century established many safe harbors and semi-independent nations throughout the world. These are some of the more well-known.

See Beggars of the Sea, Galveston, Libertatia, Kingdom of Madagascar, Nassau, Port of St. Mary's, Tortuga

Prazero Kingdoms- The prazos of Portuguese Mozambique were large farming estates similar to Latin America's latifundia. The prazero landowners exercised considerably more power than their Latin American counterparts, though. Ruling far from Lisbon, they often followed fiercely independent paths. The prazeros enlisted Africans in their armies, took African wives, and although they always took pride in their Portuguese roots and sent their children to Portuguese schools, they were in virtually all respects African warlords. When their interests clashed with those of the metropole, they were not averse to fighting the colonial authorities. The final end to the prazero system came when the First World War brought modern export companies to Mozambique.

See Gorongosa, Macanga, Maganja de Costa, Massangano, Massingire, Zoutpansberg