WebUrbanist » Small, Strange and Surreal: 3 of the Most Bizarre Micronations in the World

Small, Strange and Surreal: 3 of the Most Bizarre Micronations in the World

Have you ever wanted to rule your very own country? A micronation is an area of land claimed by one or more persons to be independent from any major recognized nation in the world. Some of these have incredible histories of war, triumph and independence and still survive today, while others have long since been abandoned, annexed or destroyed.

Controversial Sealand Micronation Ocean Platform

Above: Sealand inside and out after the fire of 2006

Above: A brief history of Sealand and information on its sale

Sealand was established in the 1960s an Englishman and his family took possession of an abandoned anti-aircraft platform off the coast of Britain and declared it to be the Principality of Sealand. In the1970s a coup attempt was made and the island was taken over by one citizen of Sealand with outside assistance. Sealand was retaken with armed forces and its overthrowers were held for a time as prisoners of war until negotiations with foreign nations secured their release. More recently, Sealand caught fire though no one was seriously injured. Sealand has since been of international news interest in relationship to its controversial status as a data haven.

Molossia Funny Micronation in Nevada

Above: bizarre silent film: Molossia propaganda spoof

Above: a brief and humorous interview with the president of Molossia

Molossia was founded in the 1970s on a small stretch of land in rural Nevada. The population of four claims to be an independent nation-state though it is completely encompassed by the United States of America. In theory, the country has a constitution. In practice, there has been “political unrest” which has given rise to a state of martial law in which the president (Kevin Baugh) has full authority. In Molossia, incandescent light bulbs, cat fish and tobacco have all been outlawed. Molossia was even host to the first ever intromicronational olympics.

Redonda Uninhabited Micronation Island

Redonda was first claimed by Christopher Columbus in 1493, though many have claimed to be the king of this strange uninhabited rock ever since. With steep cliffs and just one square mile of land, Redonda is essentially empty save for some feral goats. Redonda’s biggest natural resource has historically been bird excrement, which was mined at a rate of 7,000 tons per year around the turn of the 20th Century. More recently, a pub in England claimed to be an embassy from Redonda in an attempt to be exempted from the English smoking ban on workspace. They were denied such status.

Above: the Empire of Atlanteum and other Australian micronations

Other micronations have not fared so well. The Republic of Rose Island, for instance, was a short-lived pursuit that was demolished by the Italian navy for not paying taxes. Another would-be micronation founder, Leicester Hemingway (brother of author Ernest Hemmingway) attempted to found his own such settlement known as New Atlantis only to be pillaged by Mexican fishermen. The island Republic of Minerva also did not last long, being quickly invaded and annexed by the neighboring Tonga. The bizarre Empire of Atlanteum, located in Sydney, Australia and founded with some interesting and bizarre ideals, still survives, though its international political and legal status is questionable. For more on the weird micronations of the world and how to visit them, you can check out the Lonely Planet awesome travel guide to the world’s micronations.

Our thanks to G@ttoGillao of the ParisPointGriset for the tip on Sealand, and Happy Holidays from us to each and every WebUrbanist reader!

Want More? Check Out These Great Related Articles:

Posted by Urbanist December 24th, 2007
Guerilla Action, Travel, Urban Images, Urban Videos, Various
Comments: 34

Comments

Comment from Lee Kennedy
Time: December 24, 2007, 2:04 pm

Left out was one of the most recent micronations, Lovely which was set up by comedian and writer Danny Wallace on the BBC show How to Start Your Own Country

wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovely_%28micronation%29

Comment from g nation
Time: December 24, 2007, 4:33 pm

When I was a kid I had my own nation and would issue visa etc and delight in inventing new forms of beaurocracy.

Comment from TechDune
Time: December 24, 2007, 11:35 pm

I will get one of these for Christmas :)

Comment from Anglictina
Time: December 25, 2007, 6:23 am

Really interesting

Comment from ben
Time: December 25, 2007, 4:45 pm

the best nation is an invisible nation within a nation

Comment from roman
Time: December 25, 2007, 4:54 pm

There’s another weird one in Vienna, Austria called “Kugel Mugel”, which consists of nothing more than a large sphere surrounded by a wire fence. It has it’s own passports, stamps and currency. There’s a pic on my website http://www.romanvirdi.com (Vienna section). Could it be tiniest micronation of them all?

Comment from Tom Schulte
Time: December 25, 2007, 5:28 pm

Fascinating reading. I once read that an inventor of key ATM technology took his wealth and purchased and retired to a small “private island”. Are such cases micronations?

Comment from Friedbeef
Time: December 25, 2007, 6:07 pm

Awesome post, I gotta get myself an island soon :)

Comment from Al Ebaster
Time: December 25, 2007, 6:18 pm

I wouldn’t mind taking over one of those abandoned wonders and starting a little nation in Pripyat or something =P

Comment from Theorymastter
Time: December 25, 2007, 6:53 pm

Great Article. I am seriously thinking of making a trip to sealand.

Comment from Sealander
Time: December 25, 2007, 7:38 pm

All I need is one cohort to take over sealand. 2 v 1 we can take him down. we will split it 50/50…anyone?

Comment from Anonymous
Time: December 25, 2007, 9:55 pm

You forgot the Hutt River Principality (Australia’s oldest and greatest Micronation)

Comment from Forum For The Lulz
Time: December 26, 2007, 2:23 am

These nations are not really nations until recognized as such by the FN now are they?

Only one coming close to a political acceptance must be sealand.

Comment from subcorpus
Time: December 26, 2007, 3:55 am

not only by FN … but UN as well … i think …
heard that torrent guys wanted to set up shop in one these nations …

Comment from sheherazahde
Time: December 26, 2007, 7:57 am

I’m friends with the King and Queen of Bermania

Comment from Joe
Time: December 26, 2007, 8:36 am

We should take these small nations and form them into a powerful union for Jesus!

Comment from neil
Time: December 26, 2007, 12:09 pm

I wonder how many more micronations are in the world?

Comment from G@ttoGiallo
Time: December 27, 2007, 8:27 pm

Thanks for the SeaLand post folks !

Comment from Lameland
Time: December 29, 2007, 9:54 am

Sealand is not a micronation

Again, contrary to popular opinion, the question of international legal jurisdiction over this sunken vessel has already been determined by a USA Administrative Court which ruled in 1990 and reaffirmed in 1991 at the behest and intervention by the UK Secretary of State for the Department of Trade and Industry through the office of the UK Official Solicitor, that Rough Tower is under the administrative jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. That ruling has never been challenged in any court of law in any country of the world. The governments of the USA and UK do not and never have recognized any jurisdiction over Rough Sands upon which the former HMS Roughs (Roughs Tower) is situated, other than the sovereign jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.

Combining the words “sealand” and “gov” as “sealandgov” because they are unable to use “sealand.gov” due to the basic fact that they lack a national designation of their own. This is because Rough Tower location is a part of the UK. Consequently they use “sealandgov.com” and variations thereof, just as they rely upon the British Post Office to bring them any mail.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/~freebornjohn/RADLON/SEALAND.html

I call the validity of your whole article into question, did you even check?

Comment from Mikey
Time: December 30, 2007, 9:01 am

Joe, I hope you’re kidding. You think its ok to force your religious beliefs on them? I’m sure most of these people have moved to these remote places to enjoy true freedom, including being told what to think or believe. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to have someone else’s archaic “convert by sword” religious beliefs cast upon me after relocating to some island in the middle of nowhere.

Comment from Joe
Time: December 26, 2007, 8:36 am

We should take these small nations and form them into a powerful union for Jesus!

Comment from Peter
Time: December 30, 2007, 3:43 pm

wow :) i will feel like a real king :)

Comment from Urbanist
Time: December 30, 2007, 5:26 pm

Indeed while their claim has been disputed, this article was vetted and sourced thoroughly. Sealand has a number of compelling arguments for its status as a micronation, not least of which is its past treatment as a nation by not only Great Britain but other countries including, but not limited to, France and Holland. Please read the sources linked in the article above for more information.

Comment from Sérgio
Time: December 30, 2007, 6:25 pm

Also in Portugal, Madeira, there’s a small island that claims to have its own rights as principality:
http://www.fortesaojose.com/ing/indexing.html

Comment from Pneumatiky
Time: February 29, 2008, 3:24 am

It means that i can create own country too?

Comment from AL
Time: March 3, 2008, 5:42 pm

Hey… what ever happened to the Lakota nation in the Northern US? There was a bunch of press when they declared their nationhood a few months ago, then… nothing.

Comment from JAVED JANJUA
Time: March 24, 2008, 3:23 am

I didn,t know before today why my son always like to play in a 3 X 3 ‘ circle. he might be thinking himself as a micronation’s king ruling over all his people.

Comment from DR,EDSON ANDRE’ JOHNSON D.D.ULC
Time: April 4, 2008, 4:04 pm

THE SO ALLED MIN NATION NT MENTIONED ABOVE THE U NITED SOCILAIST STATES OF BAUGNIA? WAS TAKEN OFF WIKIPEDIA AND YOU TUBE IT PROVED TO BE A RIP FF TRYNG T SELL CITIZENSHIPS AND TAX HAVENS FOR $15,000! ALL THESE SMALL “NATIONS:” MAY BE “CUTE” JUST REMBER TO BE CAREFUL!

Comment from pollux
Time: May 7, 2008, 3:54 am

Didn’t The Pirate Bay (torrent site and tracker) buy an old oil rig and declared sovereignty to avoid lawsuits?