The Republic of Minerva was the brainchild of Nevada businessman Michael Oliver, who in the early 1970s announced plans to reclaim land from the southern Pacific Ocean and build a libertarian-inspired city-state capable of sustaining a population of 30,000.

The site chosen was at Latitude 23.40 S, Longitude 179.00 W - about 400 miles south of Fiji and 260 miles west of Tonga - and was the location of a group of hitherto-unclaimed underwater reefs. Construction commenced in 1971, and Minerva was declared independent on January 19, 1972.

Unfortunately, the only nation that responded to Minerva's calls for recognition was Tonga. Various reports claim that the Tongan government reacted to a neighbour it viewed as an unwelcome threat by sending (a) a naval gunboat, (b) a convict work detail, or (c) a rowboat populated by King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and a brass band, to Minerva. The outcome, in any case, was that on 21 June 1972, the Minervan flag was hauled down, and the atoll was later formally annexed to the Kingdom of Tonga.

To date, Minerva is one of only a tiny handful of  new country projects involving construction of a purpose-built artificial island that have come anywhere close to being realised.