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List of micronations

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The Principality of Sealand, a micronation.

Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign state, or by any supranational organisation. They should not be confused with microstates, which are recognised independent states of a small size, nor should they be confused with unrecognised states, which have indisputably real claims to sovereign state status.[1]

Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment or the conduct of criminal activity.[2] Micronations can also exist in various forms, including in the physical world (on land, at sea and in outer space), online, in the minds of their creators—or some combination of these. Some micronations issue coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals, and other items.

List of micronations

Official title Flag Founded Description Leader
Aerican Empire Aerican Empire 1987 An eccentric tongue-in-cheek micronation founded by Canadian Eric Lis as a child, and maintained for the several decades since. It claims various terrestrial and interplanetary territories as Aerican land.[3]
Eric Lis (born May 8, 1982)

Title: Emperor (His Imperial Majesty Emperor Eric Lis)

Aeterna Lucina 1978 An Australian micronation founded by a self-proclaimed baron, who claimed properties he owned in New South Wales as its territory. Several associated businessmen were charged in 1990 with land and visa fraud.[4] Paul Baron Neuman

Title: Supreme Lord (Supreme Lord Baron Neuman of Kara Bagh)

Aramoana 1980 A small New Zealand community that declared itself independent to protest the building of an aluminium smelter on nearby land.[citation needed]
Atlantium Empire of Atlantium 1981 A global sovereignty group based in Australia that was founded in Sydney by George Francis Cruickshank.[5]
File:George 2003 bw.JPG
George Cruickshank (born December 7, 1966)

Title: Emperor (His Imperial Majesty George II, Imperator et Primvs inter Pares)

Avram 1980s A non-territorial micronation founded by an eccentric self-proclaimed "duke" who was later elected to the Tasmanian state parliament.[6] John Charlton Rudge

Title: Grand Duke (John Charlton His Grace the Most Noble the Duke of Avram)

British West Florida 2005 A micronation intending to revive the former British colony of the same name.[7] Bo Register

Title: Acting Governor-General (Acting Governor-General Bo Register)

Barony of Caux 2001 Caux claims lands in Shropshire, England and in Normandy, France, and is an absolute feudal barony. Caux has had about 80 subjects worldwide. The self-proclaimed Baron resides at the "Ambassorial Enclave" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[8] John V. Corbett (born 1954)

Title: Baron (John I)

Celestia 1949 A defunct micronation claiming all of outer space. James Thomas Mangan

Title: Founder & First Representative (Founder & First Representative James Thomas Mangan)

Conch Republic 1982 A group claiming tongue-in-cheek independence from the US in protest at a blockade established by the US Border Patrol at the upper end of the Florida Keys.[9] Dennis Wardlow (born 1954)

Title: Prime Minister (Prime Minister Wardlow)

Copeman Empire 2003 The Copeman Empire is run from a caravan park in Norfolk, England, by its founder Nick Copeman, who changed his name by deed poll to HM King Nicholas I.[10] Nick Copeman (born January 6, 1979)

Title: King (HM King Nicholas I)

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands 2004 Established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists, the Coral Sea Islands is a micronation based in southeast Queensland, Australia.[11] Dale Anderson (born ?)

Title: Emperor (Emperor Dale I)

Elleore 1944 A tongue-in-cheek micronation founded by a group of school teachers as a summer camp on the island of Elleore, Denmark.[12] King Leo I ("born: ?)

Title: King (King Leo I)

EnenKio 1994 Claims Wake Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and has been deemed a scam for selling passports and diplomatic papers.[13]
Forvik 2008 An islet in Shetland, Scotland, declared an independent Crown dependency by Stuart Hill, who claims that the United Kingdom has breached the 1469 deal with Denmark, which transferred the Shetland Islands to the Scottish crown.[14] Stuart Hill (born 1943)
Frestonia 1977 Freston Road in West London staged a "secession" from the United Kingdom as Frestonia. In a legal dispute regarding the unauthorised performance of his play The Immortalist, Heathcote Williams won a ruling from the UK courts that Frestonia was for this purpose not part of the UK.[15]
Hajdučka Republika Mijata Tomića 2002 A protest project (based on Vran mountain, in Blidinje Nature Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina) started by a local because of inefficiency of problems with the local electricity supply.[16] Vinko Vukoja Lastvić (born ?)

Title: ?

Hay-on-Wye 1977 A town in Wales which was declared independent by bibliophile Richard Booth as a publicity stunt. Booth's success in promoting Hay as a "town of books" was recognised with the award of an MBE in the 2004 Queen's New Year Honours.[17]
Richard Booth (born September 12, 1938)

Title: King (King of Hay)

Humanity 1878 A former micronation, occupying the Spratly Islands, which merged into the Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads in September 1963.[18]
Hutt River 1970 A large farm in Western Australia that unilaterally seceded from the Commonwealth and declared itself to be a sovereign nation. It was known as the Hutt River Province until 2007.[19] Leonard Casley(born ?)

Title: Prince (His Royal Highness Leonard I)

Kugelmugel 1984 A ball-shaped house built by artist Edwin Lipburger, currently located in the Vienna Prater.[20] Edwin Lipburger (born ?)

Title: ?

Ladonia 1980 A micronation created by Swedish artist Lars Vilks as the home to sculptures created by him in the Kullaberg nature reserve in north-west Skåne.[21]
Lagoan Isles 2005 The creation of a self-styled Grand Duke Louis, who claims that three tiny islands in a Portsmouth pond are not owned by the local council, and so has declared them an independent state.[22] Louis Stephans (born ?)

Title: Grand Duke (Grand Duke Louis)

L'Anse-Saint-Jean 1997 A micronation started to promote tourism in a small Quebec town. Denys Tremblay

Title: King (King Denys I)

Llanrwst 1276 A town in North Wales declared a "free borough" by a Welsh prince which unsuccessfully applied to the United Nations in 1947. Llywelyn the Last (born c. 1223
Lovely File:Flag of Lovely.png 2004 An Internet-based micronation founded by Danny Wallace as part of the BBC TV series How to Start Your Own Country, claiming the flat of its creator as sovereign territory.[23]
Danny Wallace (born November 16, 1976)

Title: King (King Danny I)

Lundy 1925 An island off the west coast of England, which historically (1100–1200s AD) had semi-independent status or claimed independence from England under various warlords. Between 1925 and 1931 its owner declared himself King and minted coins but did not declare formal independence. Martin Coles Harman

Title: King

Marlborough 1993 A short lived micronation in Australia whose creator declared his farm an independent country to try to avoid eviction after bankruptcy. He was evicted less than a week later by police, was later prosecuted and has since abandoned any claim of independence.[24] George Muirhead

Title: Prince (Prince George)

Melchizdek 1986 The Dominion of Melchizedek (DoM) is a micronation known largely for facilitating large scale banking fraud in many parts of the world.[25] Richard James McDonald

Title: President (President Richard James McDonald)

Minerva 1973 An attempt to build an artificial island and form a new libertarian country. The new land was located on Minerva Reef, south of Fiji, but the island was seized and annexed by Tonga shortly afterwards.[26] Morris C. Davis

Title: President (President Morris C Davis)

Molossia 1977 A micronation founded by Kevin Baugh, occupying his semi-rural residential acreage in Nevada. It is run semi-humorously as a dictatorial banana-republic.[27]
Kevin Baugh (born July 30, 1963)

Title: President (dictator) (His Excellency, President Kevin Baugh)

Morac-Songhrati-Meads 1959 A present day micronation, claimed to occupy the Spratly Islands. The territory is currently under de facto military control by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, since the discovery of oil in 1968.[18]
Neue Slowenische Kunst 1984 A nation created by a number of Slovene artists.[28]
New Utopia 1990s A proposed micronation based on libertarian principles to be built on platforms in the Caribbean Sea. It was founded by American entrepreneur Lazarus Long. The project's current status is questionable.[29] Lazarus Long (a.k.a. Howard Turney)

Title: Prince (Prince Lazarus I)

Northern Forest Archipelago 1998 An environmentally-focused micronation located in the northeastern US consisting of multiple discontiguous privately-owned properties in the Northern Forest area of New York State.[30] James Sheffield

Title: King (King James III)

Nova Roma 1998 An international organisation of Roman revivalists who claim to be a modern Roman nation and have the administrative structure of the ancient Roman Republic. Nova Roma explicitly states that they aren't a micronation but a "civitas" or "res publica"; their organisation, however, fits all the requirements for being classified as such.[31]
Nutopia[citation needed] 1973 Nutopia was an imaginary country founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono inspired by their song Imagine.
Other World Kingdom[citation needed] 1996 An absolute monarchy/matriarchy with strong BDSM themes, in which women rule over all men. It is located in the Czech Republic. Queen Patricia I
Peščenica 1990s Peščenica is a satirical-parodical project of a dictator-ruled republic by famous Croatian maverick traveller Željko Malnar. It is located in Zagreb, Croatia.[32]
Željko Malnar (born April 12, 1944)

Title: President (dictator)

Rainbow Creek 1979 Founded by a farmer who "seceded" from Victoria over damage to farmlands caused by flooding he claimed was exacerbated due to incompetence of the state government water management agency.[33] Thomas Barnes

Title: Governor (Governor Thomas Barnes)

Redonda 1865 A small uninhabited island in the Caribbean sea, now legally part of Antigua and Barbuda. In 1865, a citizen of Montserrat was supposedly permitted by Queen Victoria to claim the title of King of Redonda, as long as he did not incite any revolt against colonial authority.[34] Various competing claimants
Rose Island 1968 An attempt to create a sovereign state on an offshore platform in international waters near the Italian city of Rimini. It was completed, but shortly afterwards seized by the Italian government and destroyed with explosives.[26] Giorgio Rosa

Title: President (President Giorgio Rosa)

Saugeais File:Saugeais flag.svg 1947 An officially-sanctioned tongue-in-cheek micronation located in eastern France, in the département of Doubs.[35] Georgette Bertin-Pourchet (born ?)

Title: President

Sealand Principality of Sealand 1967 A World War II military facility consisting of a man-made structure located off the English coast which was occupied and declared to be an independent state by Paddy Roy Bates.[36] Paddy Roy Bates (born 1922)

Title: Prince (His Royal Highness Prince Roy I)

Seborga 954 A town in the Italian region of Liguria that claims never to have been a part of the modern Italian state.[37] Giorgio Carbone (born 1936)

Title: Prince (His Royal Highness Giorgio I )

Talossa 1979 A micronation founded as a bedroom kingdom by Milwaukee, Wisconsin resident Robert Ben Madison. Madison claims to have coined the term "micronation".[nb 1][38] John Woolley (born ?)

Title: King

Valtio 2006 50 square metres (59.80 sq yd) of land in a forest located at Posio, Finland, founded by Ari Peltonen as a joke. Radio Helsinki and Helsingin Sanomat followed what happens in the state.[39] Ari Peltonen (born April 7, 1967)
Vikesland 2005 A micronation located in Manitoba, Canada that was founded for the purposes of a TV documentary about micronations. It claims two properties in and near the town of Brandon.[40] King Christopher (born ?)

Title: King

Wanstonia 1994 Wanstonia was created by protesters against the M11 motorway link road through Wanstead in north-east London.[41]
Waveland 1997 A micronation sited on a rocky islet in the North Atlantic, known as Rockall. Greenpeace occupied Rockall, declaring it an independent nation, to protest oil drilling in the area.[42]
Wendland 1980 A German anti-nuclear protest in the Wendland, reoccupied by thousands of policemen after a few weeks.[43]
Westarctica 1989 Micronation claiming a large chunk of unclaimed land in Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. Jon-Lawrence Langer (born February 09, 1974)

Title: Grand Duke (His Royal Highness, Jon-Lawrence the Grand Duke of Westarctica and the Byrdlands)

Whangamomona Republic 1989 A tongue-in-cheek micronation created as a tourism booster, and based in the rural New Zealand town of the same name. A goat has been elected as its president.[44] Murt Kennard (born ?)

Title: President

Wirtland 2008 Wirtland is an experiment into legitimacy and self-sustainability of a country without its own soil, which transcends national borders without breaching or lessening the sovereignty of any involved.[45] Alexander (born January 31, 1966)

Title: Chancellor of Wirtland

Notes

  1. ^ Prior to Madison's departure in 2005 the group split into a separate "Kingdom of Talossa" and "Republic of Talossa".

References

General references
  • Ryan, John (2006). Micronations. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1741047307. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Specific references
  1. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 5.
  2. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 4.
  3. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 102.
  4. ^ Dean, Anabel (20 June, 1989). ""Bleyer's Honours Outlined"". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 7. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 102.
  6. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 144.
  7. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 139.
  8. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 125.
  9. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 130.
  10. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 70–73.
  11. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 38.
  12. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 42.
  13. ^ "Kingdom of EnenKio". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Carrell, Severin (2008-06-19). "Captain Calamity leads breakaway of Shetland islet from UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  15. ^ "The Eddie Woods Archive". American Literary Studies. Stanford University Library. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  16. ^ Template:Sr icon "Hajduci na Vranu ljude samo po očima pamte". Nezavisne. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  17. ^ "Richard Booth". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  18. ^ a b Marwyn S. Samuels, Contest for the South China Sea (1982)
  19. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 22.
  20. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 82.
  21. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 136.
  22. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 86.
  23. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 28.
  24. ^ ""Defiant Graziers Under Arrest"". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 June 1993. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  25. ^ "Fantasy Island". CBS News. CBS Worldwide Inc. 2000-04-10.
  26. ^ a b Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 14.
  27. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 62.
  28. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 128–9.
  29. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 15.
  30. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 52.
  31. ^ "Interactive Corporative Services Information on Nova Roma". Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
  32. ^ Malnar, Željko. Filozofija Republike Peščenice. Birotisak. ISBN 953-6156-31-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  33. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 145.
  34. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 108.
  35. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 122–124.
  36. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 8–13.
  37. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 55.
  38. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. p. 101.
  39. ^ Template:Fi icon"Mäkäräisten Valtio". Ruotuväki. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  40. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 90–93.
  41. ^ "Tenth anniversary of the siege of Wanstonia M11 link rd". UK Indymedia. Retrieved 2008-09-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  42. ^ Royle, Stephen (2001). A Geography of Islands. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 1857288653.
  43. ^ "The Anti-Nuclear "Free Republic of Wendland". German History Docs. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  44. ^ Ryan, John. Micronations. pp. 34–37.
  45. ^ Fox 45 Morning News, Wirtland on FOX News, Fox 45 Morning News (USA), January 20, 2009.
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