What would happen if I start a settlement in the antarctic peninsula?

Question

I am aware that there is an Antarctic Treaty which prohibits countries from claiming any part of Antarctica and that currently the only settlements there are research stations. The most hospitable area of the continent is the Antarctic Peninsula.

Now, my question is, what would actually happen if I sailed down there and started up a sustainable, ecologically friendly tiny settlement? Would any country seriously go through the effort of sending warships down there to bother me or otherwise remove me from the place? The settlement would consist of probably 10-20 people and would do everything possible to not taint the pristine environment.

Power would be provided by solar panels and would mostly go towards heating and running the greenhouses, which would be small, insulated, and should be able to provide adequate food- granted they are built and run properly.

The main idea here is not to start a new country per say, just to avoid being part of any existing one.

Answer 1

Well, first off, I have no idea as to any sort of preventitive measures that would be taken, although clearly warships would not come after you.  That would be a bit dramatic.  However, you would not legally be able to have this greenhouse as far as I understand.  No introduction of foreign f&f means nothing at all, not "as long as it's in a greenhouse or for food it's ok."  If you open the doors pollens and spores escape, and could potentially harm other lifeforms preexisting there.  And from a treaty standpoint, doing everything possible to not taint the environment is about as good as saying to someone with a new couch "I'll do my best not to spill anything on the couch" while holding ten cups of paint.  That does nothing to actually prevent the couch from being soiled, and to make the sublime ridiculous, Antarctica would be the new couch, and you and your 10-20 people would be then risky cups of paint.  Ten to twenty people is a large number to be expected to not impact the area.  Imagine if you only had one acre of campground for you and 10 people, for even only 3 weeks.  Where does all your trash go?  Your excrement?  And if you're not having foreign flora and fauna, what foods are you eating that also don't produce trash?  Within 3 weeks your campsite would be a pigsty.  Research stations have to take all this into consideration and incorporate it into their buildings and living while down there.  

My suggestion if you just want to be free from country (and I think everyone can relate sometimes!) is to sail down to Antarctica, and then sail back up, and then sail west, then east, and just keep sailing.  There's true freedom.  Of course you still have to follow marine law, and you would still technically be a citizen of whatever country you're from... but it would be a lot more enjoyable than being a prisoner in one spot in Antarctica (where you would still be a citizen of your original country despite having left)!  Good luck!