SECOND REPUBLIC OF NEW ATLANTIS

Learn information about the Second Republic of New Atlantis, a succession to the lost Republic of New Atlantis, a micronation originally formed by Leicester Hemingway, the brother of Ernest Hemingway, and reclaimed as a Dominion of the Principality of Woodlandia by HRH Sovereign Prince Shawn of Woodlandia.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE SECOND REPUBLIC OF NEW ATLANTIS

Motto: N/A

Capital: Coconut Grove, Florida, United States

Population: N/A

Proclamation of Independence: Jamaica (January, 12, 2022)

United States (January, 12, 2022)

Area Claimed: 0.00002 km2 (7.7×10−6 sq mi)

Official National Flag of the (Second) Republic of New Atlantis (2022)

Etymology

The name New Atlantis is taken from the lost city of Atlantis, which according to popular myths & legend, is said to have been destroyed and sank into the ocean in a single day and night.

The idea of the nation of New Atlantis likely derives from the book of the same title, New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon, which proposes an ideal society where all inhabitants share a type of functional and harmonious happiness. In this sense, understanding the natural rhythms through culture, embracing its patterns and guidelines, results in a society that is guided towards evolution, self-awareness and respect.

The Second Republic of New Atlantis takes its name from the original Republic of New Atlantis, considered the first. Therefore, when the Republic was reinstated, it was called the Second Republic.

Government: Semi Constitutional Monarchy

Monarch: HRH Sovereign Prince of the Principality Of Woodlandia, President Shawn Stoner (2022)

Currency: New Scruple (2022)

Scruple (1964-1965)

Demonym(s): Atlantean, New Atlantean

Time Zone: EST

Date Format: mm-dd-yyyy

Driving Side: Left

National Anthem: N/A

1. History of New Atlantis

Independence Claim

On July 4, 1964, the "island", 240 sq ft (22 m²) raft off the coast of Jamaica, was declared a constitutional republic by its founder Leicester Hemingway.

Hemingway also claimed the area around his raft. He argued that his raft was technically an island, basing his claim of sovereignty on the Guano Islands Act of 1856. At the time, Guano, or bird excrement, was considered a valuable commercial fertilizer. According to the Act, in order for a claim to be legitimate, the claimant must be a US citizen and is required to declare half of the claim in the name of the United States. Therefore, the unoccupied half of his raft he declared United States territory, while the other half he proclaimed as the nation of New Atlantis.

The initial plan was to expand the domain considerably. Hemingway claimed the seafloor 50 feet below the raft, and intended to create his own artificial island by piling up rocks.

Leicester Hemingway on New Atlantis

[Courtesy of Anne and Hilary Hemingway]

Location

The Republic of New Atlantis was located on a shallow ocean bank six and a half miles off the southwest coast of Jamaica in international waters, beyond the then-customary three-mile limit of Jamaica’s territorial sea, in an area where the sea floor normally runs to a depth of 1,000 feet. Its exact coordinates were latitude 18 degrees, 1 minute north and longitude 78 degrees, 4 minutes west.

In a press release declaring the micronations sovereignty, Les wrote, "Right now the capital city of New Atlantis is Coconut Grove, Florida, a section of Miami that considers the entire remainder of Dade County as one vast, philistine suburb."

Map of Jamaica depicting the former location of New Atlantis

Law

Hemingway wrote an official constitution for the republic using a manual typewriter. The constitution reads like a near-exact duplicate of the seven articles forming the main body of the United States Constitution, as Hemingway copied it almost verbatim. The Harry Ransom Center in which the document was donated to, appears to hold the only “original” draft of the New Atlantis Constitution, for which no known copies exist.

Flag

The flag of New Atlantis, was sewn by Hemingway’s wife, Doris – "The Betsy Ross of New Atlantis," as he called her. It was navy blue with a golden triangle pointed downward. The triangle was outlined in a thin white line, and featured a blue hole in the center, also outlined in a thin white line.

The final flag was the third flag to fly over the bamboo platform. The first two were stolen by fisherman, and the fourth was carried away in a storm.

After its destruction, the flag, along with other New Atlantis memorabilia, was donated to the Harry Ransom Center in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin.

Official National Flag of the Republic of New Atlantis.

Purpose

His goal was to experiment with democracy and to research marine life in the Caribbean Sea. He formed the International Marine Research Society, an organization headquartered on the raft with the aim of funding and furthering the study of marine biology. Ultimately, Hemingway sought to build a research aquarium in Jamaica.

Population

By 1965, New Atlantis had a population of six inhabitants. This included Leicester Hemingway, his wife Doris, and their two daughters Anne (age 7) and Hilary (age 3). Joining them was public relations specialist Edward K. Moss, and his assistant Julia Cellini.

Additionally, he had gained a majority of non-resident citizens for New Atlantis in a variety of now-closed Miami bars. In exchange for an investment in his nation, he offered up official titles to anyone interested.

Official Flag of the Republic of New Atlantis

Presidency

The group unanimously elected Leicester as President. His wife Doris, was proclaimed First Lady, and their daughters, Anne and Hilary, received ladyships as well.

His election saw significant press coverage, and made front-page headlines in neighboring Jamaica. Leicester seems to have shared some of this brother’s genius for publicity and reveled in his role as head-of-state for what he liked to call “the world’s smallest political entity.”

Stamps

Currency

During the time of the first republic, Hemingway authorized his own currency, called "scruple". It consisted of trinkets such as fish hooks, carob beans, shark teeth, and other miscellany. When the republic was later reinstated, its currency was named the "New Scruple" by HRH President Shawn, Prince of Woodlandia, and founder of the Second Republic.

The scruple is sometimes referred to as a scrupe, scrupes, or the more modern "new scrupe".

Recognition

The formal election of the republic’s first government incited another round of press notices, including a six-column front-page headline in the leading Kingston, Jamaica, newspaper. Leicester solemnly told the paper that his new Republic “would be a peaceful power and would not threaten” its Caribbean neighbors. In September 1964, a spokesman for the Jamaican Embassy in Washington told the New York Herald Tribune that Leicester was a “decent, well-meaning soul,” and variously described the project as “good” or “sound.”

Additionally, the ocean bank chosen as the site for New Atlantis was in international waters and did not lie on a continental shelf, which eliminated several legal objections to the project.

2. Restoration

The Principality of Woodlandia has held dominion over the newly restored Republic of New Atlantis, officially the Second Republic of New Atlantis since January 12, 2022, when HRH Sovereign Prince Shawn of Woodlandia proclaimed himself as the second President of the Republic after Leicester Hemingway.

In January 2022, letters were sent to The United States, United Nations, Jamaican Government, Queen Elizabeth, & the Hemingway family indicating the restoration of the Republic and the proclamations and intentions made by Prince Shawn regarding the land claim.

Official National Flag of the Second Republic of New Atlantis (2022)

3. Did You Know? - Republic of New Atlantis

The Second Republic of New Atlantis was the first overseas dominion adopted by the Principality of Woodlandia.
The official flag from the original Republic is featured on the flag of the newly restored Second Republic of New Atlantis.
The Second Republic of New Atlantis was the first overseas dominion to sign a Treaty of Mutual Recognition with the Principality of Woodlandia.