[1] The "island", a 240 sq ft (22 m2) bamboo raft off the coast of Jamaica, was established as a constitutional republic on July 4, 1964.

[2] In 1964, Hemingway constructed a raft and had it towed 6 mi (9.7 km) off the coast of Jamaica, near the community of Bluefields.

[3] Hemingway's goal was to experiment with democracy and to research marine life in the Caribbean Sea.

[3] Hemingway mailed a stamp featuring Lyndon B. Johnson to the White House and claimed international recognition when the reply letter from the U.S. State Department addressed him as "Acting President".

He claimed the seafloor 50 feet below the raft as his and intended to create his own artificial island by piling up rocks.

A flag was sewn by Doris Hemingway, which, along with other memorabilia, was donated to the Harry Ransom Center in 1966.