The Phoenix Foundation is a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

foundation that has supported numerous attempts to create independent libertarian states through freebooting. The foundation was created by US-based real estate millionaire Michael Oliver (1928-2024), his friend James Murt McKeever, and investment advisor

Harry D. Schultz Harry Donald Schultz (September 11, 1923 – February 22, 2023) was an American investment adviser and author who published ''The International Harry Schultz Letter'' for 45 years. He learned to trade while serving in the United States Army in Shan ...

In 1972 the Foundation began to construct a platform in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Part of a reef, normally a metre below sea level at high tide, was piled high with sand and a small stone platform was erected carrying the flag of the

Republic of Minerva The Republic of Minerva was a micronation consisting of the Minerva Reefs. It was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972. The architect was Las Vegas, Nevada, Las V ...

—a golden torch on a blue background. The 'President of Minerva', Morris Davis, declared at the time: "People will be free to do as they damn well please. Nothing will be illegal so long it does not infringe on the rights of others. If a citizen wishes to open a tavern, set up gambling or make pornographic films, the government will not interfere."

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

's claim to the reef was recognized by the

South Pacific Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an intergovernmentalism, inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. ...

in September 1972. A Tongan expedition was sent to enforce the claim, arriving on 18 June 1972. The Flag of Tonga was raised on 19 June 1972 on North Minerva and on South Minerva on 21 June 1972. The Foundation's next attempt to establish a libertarian state was in 1973 on the island of Abaco in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. In the period approaching Bahamian independence, a number of white residents objected to living under black rule. In June 1973, one month before the intended independence, the Foundation financed Chuck Hall and Bert Williams' Abaco Independence Movement (AIM), which sought to make Abaco independent of the Bahamas. With the financial support of the Phoenix Foundation the AIM published a newsletter, ''The Abaco Independent''. Flag of Vemerana

In 1980, Michael Oliver allied with Jimmy Stevens of the New Hebrides Autonomy Movement in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, which had been unsuccessful in recent elections. NHAM (or MANH) declared an independent Republic of Vemerana in the island of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

. The government of Vanuatu appealed for aid from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, which sent a battalion of soldiers to stop the rebellion. During the attempt in Vanuatu,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

described the Phoenix Foundation as "a sinister

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

organization".

Instituto del Tercer Mundo ''Instituto del Tercer Mundo'' (ITeM, or the Third World Institute) is a Non-Governmental Organization that performs information, communication and education activities. ITeM, which was established in 1989, shares the same secretariat and coordin ...

(Third World Institute), alleged "Jimmy Stevens received $250,000, arms and a radio from the Phoenix Foundation, an ultra-right US organization, in return for concessions to install a casino and, allegedly, cover for illicit activities from Stevens' Republic of Vemarana."

References

{{Reflist Foundations based in the Netherlands Libertarian organizations based in the United States Micronational organizations