Category Archives: Micronations

Admit it you've thought about what life would be like if you ruled your own country. I would make an awesome Queen, just for the record. Diet Coke would flow from kitchen faucets, scientists would put all of the vitamins and minerals you need into low-calorie mint-chocolate chip ice cream and the Killers would sing our national anthem.

OK, so maybe not everyone would want to live in Conradtia, but that's fine. I'll declare myself a micronation.

Micronations usually exist only on paper or in the minds of their creators and aren't recognized by governments or organizations or anything like that (so maybe Conradtia already exists?!). Although some micronations actually have their own currency, stamps, passports, flags and other "national" memorabilia, none of it is considered valid except to the people who, well, consider it valid. If that makes any sense. It's different than an imaginary country, because in this case the "rulers" of the micronations actively seek to be recognized by world governments.

Now that we've established that, let's take a look at a few micronations.

Roy Bates and his wife, Joan, call themselves the Prince and Princess of Sealand (why not King and Queen, I wonder?). Their son is "His Royal Highness Prince Michael", but the Bates family refers to him as the "Prince Regent". Following a fire in 1999, the Bates' moved back to England but still retain "ownership" of Sealand. Oddly, Sealand citizens have competed at various sporting events and have even taken home medals in honor of the micronation. Mountaineer Slader Oviatt carried the Sealandic flag to the top of Muztagh Ata in 2004 and in 2007, Michael Martelle represented Sealand in the World Cup of Kung Fu, held in Quebec City, Canada, where he won two silver medals.

It's really more in good fun than anything else, though the residents of Seborga still pay Italian taxes and vote in Italian elections.

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Six Micronations You Can Join (Petoria, anyone?) - Neatorama

La liste de micronations ci-dessous indique des micronations notables, existantes ou ayant exist. Une micronation[1] est une entit cre par un petit nombre de personnes, qui prtend au statut de nation indpendante ou qui en prsente des caractristiques, mais n'est pas formellement reconnue comme telle par des nations officielles ou par des organismes transnationaux[2]. En 2014, on estime prs de 400 le nombre de celles-ci[3].

Aujourd'hui, certaines personnes[Qui?] tentent de faire revivre cette micronation en se proclamant exiles de l'tat libre de Counani et revendiquent encore ce territoire.

Le prsident, nomm vie, est Egrgore le Virtuel, tandis que Jean-Claude Mayo en devient le ministre convoyeur du verbe. La petite Rpublique dite sa propre monnaie, la polymonnaie qui n'a cours lgal que dans la Rpublique.

Lorsque la mine de la Vieille-Montagne y fut puise en 1885, lexistence mme de Moresnet neutre fut remise en question. Plusieurs propositions furent avances pour y amener de nouvelles activits conomiques, telle la cration dun casino ou dun service postal mettant ses propres timbres, bien que cette dernire ide fut repousse par le gouvernement local. Linitiative la plus remarquable fut avance par le docteur Wilhelm Molly, qui proposait de faire de Moresnet une micronation sous forme du premier tat utilisant officiellement lespranto, sous le nom dAmikejo (lieu damiti).

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Liste de micronations Wikipdia

The beginning.

So you get up one morning and you do like I did, you watch the movie "The Mouse That Roared" or "Moon Over Parador", or "The Prisoner of Zenda", and you say to yourself, "Self, I wish I could have my own country. That way I could avoid that situation the other day where I almost ran over Mrs. MacGillicuddy in my rush to get my income taxes into the mail on time." Well, that's one reason. Maybe a bad one. Or maybe you're twelve and tired of having your mom compare the condition of your room to Berlin after the war. "Mom," you say, "This room is no longer your concern, because it is now an independent country. The Kingdom of Bob's Room. And I am King. So enough with harassing me about my socks on the floor." And so, as you gaze around your domain, your new nation, you say to yourself, "Now what?".

Like most people, you now abandon the idea of your own country in favor of the latest Nintendo game (for minors) or beer (for adults). But a few imaginative individuals instead forge ahead and seek to make their own path, creating their own nation, a personal Lilliput in a world of Brobdingnags.

And having decided this, you must now ask yourself, what exactly is your goal? There are many different types of micronations. Erwin S. Strauss broke down efforts to start a new country into five different categories in his book, How to Start Your Own Country:

Traditional sovereignty: Having status as a sovereign nation, including exchanging ambassadors, acceptance of passports, membership in international organizations. This usually includes possession of actual territory (land). Ship under flag of convenience: Ships off the coast of sovereign nations, usually as part of a money-making scheme. Litigation: Using macronational law to press your claim to independence. Vonu (out of sight out of mind): Establishing your "nation" in a remote area, far from macronational authority. Model country: A project nation designed to resemble most aspects of nationhood, without actually seeking sovereignty. Generally the definition of an on-line nation.

That is one way to look at it. Lars Erik Bryld, from the Sovereign Principality of Corvinia breaks it down thus, with an eye toward the seriousness of your micronational effort:

Statehood means acquisition and complete control over a territory, and the acceptance of this sovereignty by the international society. Nationhood means a condition where a group of persons achieve a common identity as a people and the will to be identified as such. A Political Exercise means the attempt to create a plausible and internally consistent simulation of a governmental mechanism. Though the ultimate purpose might be recreational, emphasis is on the realism. Community means a society of like-minded individuals, which in some respects does not possess the attributes of a nation as defined above. Mostly Fun means a completely spurious vehicle of interacting as a way of entertainment. Though a governmental structure may exist, the prime purpose is to have fun.

Your Goal

So now you know the types of micronations. Now you must ask yourself, again, what is my goal with this country? Bear in mind, most micronations start out just for fun. This can change, of course, and sometimes does. All nations evolve. It is good though to think ahead just a little. If you want your nation to be taken seriously humorous elements will have to be toned down, at least to some extent. So, if you start your nation out as the Republic of Buttwind, and at some point decide that you would prefer to be taken seriously, a name change might be in order. So think ahead, as you build your country, no matter what your current goals might be.

Micronational Seriousness

On the matter of micronational seriousness, a few notes. This is a subject that can be quite vexing for the new micronationalist. There are several serious micronational efforts out there, and they take themselves very seriously. They tend to avoid elements in their nations that are not mostly grounded in reality; no fictional histories, actual possession or at least claims of real places, not fictional, never any "fake" citizens, all real. Their goal, in many cases, is actual independence, on some scale or another. Most will not open diplomatic relations with less than serious micronations, feeling that to have open communications with less serious nations may damage their micronation's reputation and endanger their goal of sovereignty.

It varies from micronation to micronation, but seriousness can be a real sticking point in micronational relations. As a new micronationalist, it is important not to get too annoyed when certain nations refuse to recognize yours, or even reply to your e-mails. That is their way of doing things, and you have yours. Seek nations that are at your level of seriousness, and open relations with them.

The Basics

Ok, so you have decided to start your country. While you think about where you want to go with it, we'll start with the basics. You need citizens. You need a website. For many micronations, this is most, if not all that their country ever is, a website and a few dedicated citizens. Some micronations start without any citizens, build a website and try to lure citizens in. This is hard, since most micronationalists want their own country and don't want to share. So, I suggest you cast about among your friends and family and find your citizens first. Or, if you wish start without citizens, build a nice website and see where it goes. Like the movie said, "if you build it, they will come", and they will. But you must have something interesting, new and exciting. There are a plethora of one-man kingdoms out there, make your nation spark interest.

As a note, your website should not be your nation. If your nation is just a website, it will not last very long and never be taken seriously. It should represent your nation, and be used if you want as a tool for communicating your nation to the world. It is important that your nation be something beyond your website, otherwise you will have a hard time developing your nation into something interesting that will last a while.

So, now you have the idea. Get a website through one of the free hosting places, like Freewebs or Tripod. This will start you on the right track. I advise that you visit some of the websites of real nations (we call them "macronations") and see how they are designed, and what elements are included. Look at their national symbols, descriptions of their government, culture, people and so on. Get ideas from them and take your nation's website from there. You may also want to visit existing micronations, and draw ideas from them. Be careful that only draw ideas from them, and not specific items, images, text or formats. Plagiarizing from another nation's website (or any website) is very bad, and you will end up regretting it. Trust me. Sometimes, however, the owner of another website will allow you to "borrow" with permission, and usually with credit given where due. By the way, a message board or a social networking site is not acceptable for your nation's website, not if you wish to be taken seriously. The U.S. Government doesn't conduct it's business via Facebook, does it? Neither should you. Get a real dedicated website.

Once you have a website, and you have ideas of what to put on it, what's next? Well, you need a flag. I chose my nation's flag from among those that already exist, in this case Sierra Leone, and then turned it upside down. I did this so that I would have a real flag to fly outside when ever I wish,
without having to sew one from scratch. What flag you choose, though, is really up to you. Your flag should represent your nation. If you never plan on actually flying it, it can look like anything. It is one of many important aspects of your nation, so think about it carefully. Of course, if you're the Grand Poobah of your nation, you can change it at will, but be careful of making too many changes, too often or else you will appear to be a flake. Rapid, frequent changes should be avoided studiously. This will require planning for the future some, but it will pay off diplomatically as your nation appears more stable and doesn't change on a whim.

On to arms. A coat of arms is nice to have, although not essential. If you have limited graphic capability, you may wish to postpone this, but you will need to think of it eventually. Let your arms represent your nation, symbolically. Again, look at other nation's arms and glean your ideas from there.

Other symbols. You can have a national anthem, national bird, national animal, national food, etc. Whatever you think best represents your nation. Look around at other macro- and micronations, get some ideas. You may wish to develop a coherent "theme" for your nation, such as medieval, German or something like that. Your type of government and your culture will reflect that theme. While not essential, a theme for your nation gives it more character and style, and makes it more interesting.

Land. Your nation should possess or at least claim land. I know, not everyone can buy land, but everyone can claim land. It doesn't need to be solely yours, claim land that is publicly owned, like a local park, a nature reserve, that sort of thing. Go there, plant your flag, and claim the land in the name of your nation. Take some pictures and go home and load those pictures onto your website. With a few photos and a land claim you just gave your nation and its website depth and you made it interesting. It changes everything, makes you a nation to be noticed, so go do it!

Activities. Sure you just held the elections for the National Assembly, or you just had a splendid coronation of yourself as Emperor of Bob's Room - now what? More elections? Establish foreign relations with Bob's Bathroom? No, you need to get out in the sun. Go do something in name of your nation. A nation isn't just about it's government, it's about a world of other things, too. How about foreign trade? Make something and trade it for something else from your buddy down the street - voila! Foreign trade, announcement it on your website. How about sports? Go play football (either kind) and announce it on your website. Science? Go explore someplace and, you guessed it, announce it on your website. Here's a thought: That public land you claimed in the preceding paragraph? Get a trash bag and go tidy it up. Take a couple of pictures, and not only put it on your website, but also send the announcement in to your local newspaper. Not only is it good for the environment, it's good publicity for your nation in the real world. And hey, how about appearing in a local parade? Most towns have a parade sometime during the year, go ahead and get your imperial self into it! These are just some ideas, but the overriding concept is there - get away from the computer and your bedroom and get out in the world and do things with your nation!

The Government

So, now, to government. Having a government is often the point of a micronation, although not always. As you see from the definitions above, some micronations are political simulations for the purpose of practicing the workings of government. The other extreme would be an absolute monarchy, where the workings of government is in the hands of the king and how things work is based on how he wants things done. In the latter case, government plays a comparatively minor part, and your nation could compensate with an interesting culture or something like that. In the former case, government is all-important and the interaction of the government is the draw for new citizens. Culture, while present, may take a back seat.

Your type of government also reflects how others see your nation. Extreme governments, such as communist or fascist carry with them much psychological baggage. This can affect not only who and what kind of citizen becomes part of your nation. It can also affect the kind of nations that recognize yours and your overall standing in the micronational world. While communist nations can be accepted by the micronational community, for example, fascist nations generally are not, and your nation will almost certainly be an outcast from the beginning if you choose this type of government. Monarchies and republics tend to be more mainstream and garner fewer preconcieved notions.

Speaking of which, acceptance by the community is an often sought-after goal, although it can be very transitory and fickle. Design your nation in a manner that makes you happy, and do it well, and you will naturally make friends. You can't make everyone happy, and anyway, that is not the point.

Which brings us to:

Diplomacy

Diplomacy, defined by Webster, is the art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties and agreements. A second part to that is tact and skill in dealing with people. Diplomacy can be a very big issue for many micronations. Often, when a new nation emerges, while their internal workings are still being formalized, diplomatic relations are eagerly sought after. In this area it is important to take a close look at the nations you are seeking relations with. As I said above, serious nations may avoid relations with new nations, often refusing to open relations at all with those nations that are less serious than them. This can be very subjective. Seek relations with those nations that seem to share similar concepts and ideals with yours. Branch out to other nations as you learn more about the hobby.

When seeking diplomatic relations, begin formally. Do not assume that the person you are speaking to is as informal as you might be, instead, assume the opposite. Use standard mail formats, heading, salutation, body, closing, signature. Later, if an informal relationship develops between you and a micronationalist in another nation, informality is allowed. But communication between two nations should always be formal.

Remember, you represent your nation at all times. NATION. Not a cute little website that you call a nation. If you are going to play the game, play it right. Your purpose, whether serious or not, is to have your own country. Behave that way at all times, as if your nation were real. In this way, you will gain respect from your peers and gain greater standing in the micronational world.

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How to Start Your Own Micronation

What is a micronation? The term 'micronation' literally means "small nation". It is a neologism originating in the mid-1990s to describe the many thousands of small unrecognised state-like entities that have mostly arisen since that time. It is generally accepted that the term was invented by Robert Ben Madison. The term has since also come to be used retrospectively to refer to earlier unrecognised entities, some of which date to as far back as the 19th century. Supporters of micronations use the term "macronation" for any UN-recognized sovereign nation-state. What is Micronation.org? Micronation.org aims to be the most complete and most professional site about micronations on the Internet, as well as being home to a vibrant and diverse community of micronationalists. We have over one hundred active users at present, and that number is continuing to grow. Micronation.org at present contains MicroWiki, our professional micronational encyclopaedia, the Micronation.org Forum, and the Micronational News Agency, with plans for further content in the future. What are some notable micronations? Throughout recent history there have been many. The two that the wider world are likely most familiar with are the Republic of Molossia, and the Principality of Sealand. Molossia The Republic of Molossia, is a North American micronation located in Dayton, Nevada, and with an enclave Southern California. One of the oldest micronations, it is the successor state to the Grand Republic of Vuldstein, founded by James Spielman and Kevin Baugh in May 1977. Vuldstein, located in Portland, Oregon, was active for a short period which lasted until the end of that year, when its King moved to another city without renouncing to his throne, leading the Grand Republic to a state of inactivity. Baugh then took control of the nation, with it officially becoming Molossia in 1998. Appearing on the "Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations", Molossia is known outside micronationalism for the movie Kickassia, produced by That Guy with the Glasses, and receives several tourists every year. Read more Sealand The Principality of Sealand was officially established on September 2, 1967, claiming as its territory the artificial island of Roughs Tower, a World War II-era sea fort located in the North Sea ten kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, England. Sealand is currently occupied by family members and associates of the late Paddy Roy Bates, who styled himself as H.R.H. Prince Roy of Sealand. The population of the facility generally remains around five, and its inhabitable area is just over five hundred square metres. Read more

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Micronation.org - The Micronation Site

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Caption: Travis McHenry or Montague Ier, King of Calsahara. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: With a living area of 5,920 square feet, Sealand boasts multiple bedrooms, a chapel and a prison. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Princess Chirley of Sealand. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Prince Michael of Sealand. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: The Consul Philippon de la Boirie of the Consulate of la Boirie. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: The Consul Pascalux de la Boirie of the Consulate of la Boirie. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Frederikke Rose Holm, Julie Holstein, Nanna Gilsgaard, Christine Barnett and Bolette Winnerskjold Gjaldbk, The Butterflies of the Kingdom of Elleore. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: The people of Elleore waiting for their king. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Sir Peter Anderson, Secretary General of the Conch Republic. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: The airport of the Conch Republic. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: The border between Molossia and the United States. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Kevin Baugh, President of the Republic of Molossia. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Georgette Bertin-Pourchet, President of the Republic of Saugeais. Lo Delafontaine

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Caption: Jacques Vuillemin, customs officer of the Republic of Saugeais. Lo Delafontaine

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Never heard of the Imperial Kingdom of Calsahara? The Conch Republic? The Principality of Sealand? Youre not alone.Lo Delafontaine hadnt either until 2012, when he visited the Republic of Saugeais, a self-proclaimed micronation in eastern France. Hes since become fascinated with countries unrecognized by world governments and organizations. His bookMicronations documents independent states that are just as varied and interesting as their official counterparts.

Humankind likes discoveries and challenges. One solution is the creation of new countries, but not in order to persecute people or for religious reasons. The idea, rather, is to create new countries and territories for fun, to make people think, to re-enchant the world in a way, he says via email.

French writer and historian Bruno Fuligni, who wrote the introduction to Micronations, estimates there are more than 400 of these self-proclaimed entities.

Delfontaine visited 12 locationsthroughout the US, Europe, and Australia. They included monarchies, republics, funny dictatorships, and some with no government at all. He earned citizenship in threethe Principality of Sealand, the Principality of Seborga, and the Conch Republic.

ThePrincipality ofHutt Riverin Australia draws thousands of visitors annually, which is one reason it exists at all. Others serve as political satire.Conch Republic, for example, was created in 1982 after Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow symbolically began the Conch Republics Civil Rebellion by breaking a loaf of stale Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform according to the Conch Republics website. Some micronations are easily accessiblewhile others are difficult to get to.In Copenhagen, tourists can enter Christiania on foot, while visitors to thePrincipality of Sealand, a WWII island fortress six miles off the eastern shores of Britain, have to shell out over $2,000 for transport and a visa.

Regardless of their intention, these countries commit: They have national anthems and flags, passports and coins, militaries and laws. The Kingdomof Elleore hosts history classes for kids and created its own national sport.

Most of the people I met were really well educated, curious, ironic and completely aware of what they are doing. They are not crazy or greedy for power. But they like to dress up and make fun of their country of origin, he says.

Most of these micronations declared sovereignty between the 1970s and 1990s. But there have been some newcomers; the Imperial Kingdom of Calsahara in southern California declared its sovereignty in 2009. Delafontaine says most new micronations, like theKingdom of Talossa,exist primarily online.

I think that the golden age of micronations is almost over. The famous ones, like the Principality ofHutt River and the Republic ofSaugeais,are headed by very old people, he says. And after their death, their micronations will disappear with them. Young people interested in micronations dont seem to be interested in claiming a physical territory. They prefer to create new countries online. Its not better or worse, but its different.

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micronations! - WIRED