Starting Your Own Country?

By Jeffrey H. Corbett
Published In C&K Magazine: Vol. #1 – Issue #1 – Date: 2006

Have you ever thought about starting your own country? It sounds far-fetched but some have tried. You could establish your own legal system, currency, stock exchange, license corporations, insurance companies and banking entities. You could make a fortune. There is only one problem. What if you were not recognized by other countries? What if you had no physical location, or gross national product? Many might be inclined to charge fraud.

Welcome to the ecclesiastical sovereignty of Melchizedek. This self-proclaimed nation has been attempting to establish itself as an international financial center for years. The United Nations, however, and most of the world’s countries do not recognize the so-called “Dominion of Melchizedek.” In response, Melchizedek claims to have received something identified as “dejure recognition.” This statuswas apparently extended by a single third world UN member on June 3, 1993.

The terms of this recognition are as unclear as its significance. What is apparent is that Melchizedek controls no borders and fails to meet some of the most basic necessities to be called a state. Their lack of geography, notwithstanding, sovereignty is the ultimate goal. If the “Dominion” were successful in becoming an accredited nation, it would enjoy potential tax benefits and profit from the interaction of business and commerce.

Conflicting reports make it difficult to capture the entire and extremely colorful history of the Dominion of Melchizedek. For now, in addition to asserting Antarctica as their possession, the Dominion has recorded territorial claims to the island of Malpelo, which is a few hundred miles off the coast of Colombia, and the island of Clipperton, which is several hundred miles off the Pacific coast of Southern Mexico.

The governments of Mexico and Colombia seem to feel differently about these declarations having considered each a possession of their respective States. Even more intriguing, Malpelo is part of an under water mountain range and Clipperton is a coral island. Both locations are virtually uninhabitable.

Melchizedek has not gone unnoticed by US authorities. In September of 1996, an incident occurred involving the Texas Department of Insurance. A cease-and-desist order was issued, halting what was termed an “illegal bond business” by an unlicensed Houston guaranty bond company. Insurance Commissioner Elton Bomer was quoted as saying, “Investigators for the Texas Department of Insurance’s Fraud Unit have been unable to locate any legitimate country under the title Dominion of Melchizedek.” In addition, federal officials, including the fraud unit of the US Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities Exchange Commission have had numerous reports filed claiming this to be a sham.

For more information, take a look at their website at Melchizedek.com. You can decide for yourself whether or not this is a scam or a real country. Personally, we tend to agree with the US government since our travel agent is having a heck of a time booking arrangements to their capitol.