Split

30 March 2008

Hans has come back to the camp today, bringing the first political map of the island. Here is a copy:

You can see why we are all outraged. When he told us he had given the peninsula, we though he meant the small one, not the entire southwest section of the island. He also threw in the southeast islands as a deal sweetener - totally unnecessary. Nearly everyone is about the revolt, and Hans had to hide away on his boat to escape being mobbed. Another concern this brings up is the the threat of other nations being encouraged to colonize the island. Seeing the vast amount of land Hans gave the Dutchmen right away, they might be tempted to try the same thing. I don't even know what we will do if they do.

On a bit brighter note, we have officially starter building permanent structures in the basecamp. Also Some have started building a new, permanent town further east along the coast, since that area seems very good to settle in.
- Ian Mindrim

-- Mindrim expedition records

Confrontation and Discovery

26 March 2008

Hans has called us this morning to tell us about the outcome of his visit to the southwest part of the Island. The news is not good. He met a group of 45 Dutchmen who have indeed settled on that part of the island. More over, they have officially claimed the island! Hans could not accept this, so he made a deal with them to let them keep the area around their camp (we will have to wait until he gets back for the precise map). He made this decision by himself because he feared that the Dutchmen would not accept his offer if it was made any later.

Everyone was shocked and outraged by this news. Some blamed Hans for not consulting everyone first, but I, for one, see his reasons. Frans Derzit is worried that his early prophecy about international war may be coming true. I dearly hope we can settle this peacefully.
- Ian Mindrim

-- Mindrim expedition records

28 March 2008
The search team for the lost submarine Manta Ray was found near the northern coast of the North Sea Island. When scientists first saw what looked like the tail end of a submarine on the sonar screen, they were in disbelief. The front end seemed not to be broken off, but buried in the ocean floor. Further investigation by a submersible identified that the submarine was swallowed up by a thick blanket of volcanic rock. Some say that this gives even more proof of the layer theory concerning the creation of the island. The United States authorities have not made a statement about the find, but one of their vessels was spotted near the spot. This has lead some to speculate that the U.S. had already known about the location for some time, just had not revealed it.

-- Norwegian newspaper excerpt