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The Claimant Letter is the founding document of Westarctica. The purpose of the letter was analogous to a Declaration of Independence, although Westarctica was not under the authority of any world government at the time it declared itself to be a sovereign nation.
Starting in August 2001, Travis McHenry began researching the feasibility of making a legal claim to the previously unclaimed sector of Antarctica known as Marie Byrd Land. After closely studying the articles of the Antarctic Treaty, Travis determined that the terms of the treaty would only prevent a country from making a claim to Antarctica territory, but it would not prevent an individual from doing the same.
Travis decided to register a legal claim to the entirety of Marie Byrd Land by sending formal letters to the polar affairs offices of the seven countries with territorial claims in Antarctica as well as the United States and Russia.