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Revision as of 07:03, 2 November 2006 by 65.54.97.186 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about entities that are not recognized by any world governments or major international organizations. For information on countries that are generally recognized but geographically tiny, such as Monaco, Andorra, Vatican City, or San Marino, see microstate.Micronations – sometimes also referred to as cybernations, fantasy countries, model countries, and new country projects – are entities that resemble independent nations or states, but which are unrecognized by them, and for the most part exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators.
Micronations also differ from secession and self-determination movements in that they are largely viewed as being eccentric and ephemeral in nature, and are often created and maintained by a single person or family group.
Some micronations have managed to extend some of their operations into the physical world by issuing coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals and other items. Such trappings of "real" sovereign states are created as a way of seeking to legitimize the micronations that produce them.
The term "micronation" was coined in the 1990s to describe the many thousands of small, unrecognised, state-like entities that have mostly arisen since that time. The term has since also come to be used retroactively to refer to earlier ephemeral unrecognised entities, some of which date as far back as the early 19th century.
Definition
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Micronations generally have a number of common features:
- They often assert that they wish to be widely recognised as sovereign states, but are not.
- They are small; those that claim to control physical territories are mostly of very limited extent - however the majority exist exclusively in the online world. While several micronations claim hundreds or even thousands of members, the vast majority have no more than one or two active participants.
- Some issue government instruments such as passports, stamps, and currency, and confer titles and awards; these are rarely recognised outside of their own communities of interest.
These criteria distinguish micronations from imaginary countries, eco-villages, campuses, tribes, clans, sects, residential community associations, and Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZs), which do not usually seek to be recognised as sovereign. Micronations are also distinguishable from entities that have diplomatic relations with other recognized nation-states of the world without being formally recognized themselves by many nation-states or accepted by major international bodies (such as the UN), for example the Republic of China (Taiwan). By contrast, micronations do not have diplomatic relations with recognized nation-states of the world or major international bodies (such as the UN).
The term "micropatrology" is sometimes used to describe the study of both micronations and microstates by micronational hobbyists, some of whom refer to sovereign nation-states as "macronations".
Legitimacy
In international law, the two most common schools of thought for the creation of statehood are the constitutive and declaratory theories of state creation. The constitutive theory was the standard nineteenth-century model of statehood, and the declaratory theory was developed in the twentieth century to address shortcomings of the constitutive theory. In the constitutive theory, a state exists exclusively via recognition by other states. The theory splits on whether this recognition requires "diplomatic recognition" or merely "recognition of existence." In the declaratory theory of statehood, an entity becomes a state as soon as it meets the minimal criteria for statehood.
As micronations do not meet either criterion, they cannot be considered sovereign states, and have no legitimacy in international law.
Early history and evolution
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The micronation phenomenon is tied closely to the development of the nation-state concept in the 19th century, and the earliest recognisable micronations can be dated to that period. Most were founded by eccentric adventurers or business speculators, and several were remarkably successful. These include the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, ruled by the Clunies-Ross family, and Sarawak, ruled by the "White Rajahs" of the Brooke family; both were independent personal fiefdoms in all but name, and survived until well into the 20th century. Author Peter L. Wilson has suggested that so-called pirate utopias located on the Barbary Coast during the Sixteenth Century were also a type of early micronation.
Less successful micronations are the Long Republic (1819–1820), in what is now the U.S. state of Texas, the Republic of Indian Stream (1828–1835), which is now the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia (1860–62) in southern Chile and Argentina, and the Kingdom of Sedang (1888–90) in French Indochina. The oldest extant micronation to arise in modern times is the Kingdom of Redonda, founded in 1865 in the Caribbean. It failed to establish itself as a real country, but has nonetheless managed to survive into the present day as a unique literary foundation with its own king and aristocracy — although it is not without its controversies: there are presently at least four competing claimants to the Redondan throne.
Martin Coles Harman, owner of the U.K. island of Lundy in the early decades of the 20th century, declared himself King and issued private coinage and postage stamps for local use. Although the island was ruled as a virtual fiefdom, its owner never claimed to be independent of the United Kingdom, so Lundy can at best be described as a precursor to later territorial micronations. Another example is the Principality of Outer Baldonia, a 16-acre rocky island off the coast of Nova Scotia, founded by Russel Arundel, chairman of the Pepsi Cola Company (later: PepsiCo), in 1945 and consisting of a population of 69 fishermen.
History during 1960 to 1980
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The 1960s and 1970s witnessed the foundation of a number of territorial micronations. The first of these, Sealand, was established in 1967 on an abandoned World War II gun platform in the North Sea just off the East Anglian coast of England, and has survived into the present day. Others were founded on libertarian principles and involved schemes to construct artificial islands, but only three are known to have had even limited success in realising that goal.
Republic of Rose Island was a 400-m platform built in 1968 in Italian national waters in the Adriatic Sea, 7 miles off the Italian town of Rimini. It is known to have issued stamps, and to have declared Esperanto to be its official language. Shortly after completion, however, it was seized and destroyed by the Italian Navy.
In the late 1960s, Leicester Hemingway (aka Lester Hemingway), brother of author Ernest, was involved in another such project — a small timber platform in international waters off the west coast of Jamaica. This territory, consisting of an 8 foot by 30 foot barge, he called "New Atlantis". Hemingway was an honorary citizen and President; however, the structure was damaged by storms and finally pillaged by Mexican fishermen. In 1973, Hemingway was reported to have moved on from New Atlantis to promoting a 1,000-square-yard platform near the Bahamas. The new country was called "Tierra del Mar" (Sea Land). (Ernest Hemingway's adopted hometown of Key West would itself be part of another micronation, see Conch Republic)
The Republic of Minerva was set up in 1972 as a libertarian new-country project by Nevada businessman Michael Oliver. Oliver's group conducted dredging operations at the Minerva Reefs, a shoal located in the Pacific Ocean south of Fiji. They succeeded in creating a small artificial island, but their efforts at securing international recognition met with little success, and near-neighbour Tonga sent a military force to the area and annexed it.
On April 1 1977, bibliophile Richard George William Pitt Booth declared the United Kingdom town of Hay-on-Wye an independent kingdom with himself as its monarch. The town has subsequently developed a healthy tourism industry based on literary interests, and "King Richard" (whose sceptre consists of a recycled toilet plunger) continues to award Hay-on-Wye peerages and honours to anyone prepared to pay for them.
Australian developments
Micronational activities were disproportionately common throughout Australia in the final three decades of the 20th century.
- The Hutt River Province Principality was founded in 1970, when a farmer declared his property independent after a dispute over wheat quotas.
- 1976 witnessed the creation of the Province of Bumbunga on a rural property near Snowtown, South Australia, by an eccentric British monarchist.
- The Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina was created in a hamlet on the New South Wales north coast in 1978.
- An anti-taxation campaigner founded the Duchy of Avram in western Tasmania in the late 1970s; "His Grace the Duke of Avram" was later elected to the Tasmanian Parliament.
- In Victoria, a long-running dispute over flood damage to farm properties led to the creation of the Independent State of Rainbow Creek in 1979.
- The Empire of Atlantium was established in Sydney, in 1981.
- A mortgage foreclosure dispute led George and Stephanie Muirhead of Rockhampton, Queensland, to briefly and abortively secede as the Principality of Marlborough in 1993.
- Another Australian farm tried to establish itself as secessionist micronation on 1 May 2003 as the Principality of United Oceania.
- The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands was established in 2004 as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in southeast Queensland.
- The United Federation of Koronis, based in Australia, claims the Koronis family of asteroids as its territory.
Impact of Internet
Micronationalism shed much of its traditionally eccentric anti-establishment mantle and took on a distinctly hobbyist perspective in the mid-1990s, when the emerging popularity of the Internet made it possible to create and promote statelike entities in an entirely electronic medium with relative ease. As a result the number of exclusively online, fantasy or simulation-based micronations expanded dramatically.
The activities of these types of micronations are almost exclusively limited to simulations of diplomatic activity (including the signing of "treaties" and participation in "supra-micronational" forums such as the League of Micronations and the Micronational News Network), the conduct and operation of simulated elections and parliaments, and participation in simulated wars — all of which are carried out through online bulletin boards, mailing lists and blogs. Some micronations also make use of online wikis.
A number of older-style territorial micronations, including the Hutt River Province, Seborga, and Sealand, maintain websites that serve largely to promote their claims and sell merchandise.
Categories
In the present day, seven main types of micronations are prevalent:
- Social, economic, or political simulations.
- Exercises in personal entertainment or self-aggrandisement.
- Exercises in fantasy or creative fiction.
- Vehicles for the promotion of an agenda.
- Entities created for fraudulent purposes.
- Historical anomalies and aspirant states.
- New-country projects.
Social, economic, or political simulations
These micronations tend to have a reasonably serious intent, and often involve significant numbers of people interested in recreating the past or simulating political or social processes. Examples include:
- Talossa (Kingdom of Talossa and the Republic of Talossa), a political simulation founded in 1979, with more than 130 members ("citizens") and an invented culture and language.
- Holy Empire of Reunion (Sacro Imperio de Reuniao) — a Brazilian micronation founded in 1996 as an online constitutional monarchy simulation. It claims several dozen members around the world.
- Nova Roma, a group claiming a worldwide membership of several thousand that has minted its own coins , maintains its own Wiki , and which engages in real-life Roman-themed re-enactments.
Exercises in personal entertainment or self-aggrandisement
With literally thousands in existence, micronations of the second type are by far the most common. They exist "for fun", have few participants, are ephemeral, Internet-based, and rarely survive more than a few months — although there are notable exceptions. They are usually concerned solely with arrogating to their founders the outward symbols of statehood. The use of grand-sounding titles, awards, honours, and heraldic symbols derived from European feudal traditions, the conduct of "wars" and "diplomacy" with other micronations, and claims of being located on fantasy continents or planets are common manifestations of their activities. Examples include:
- The Aerican Empire, a Monty Pythonesque micronation founded in 1987 and known for its tongue-in-cheek interplanetary land claims, smiley-faced flag and a range of national holidays that includes "Topin Wagglegammon" amongst others.
- Tarsicia, a project that has undergone a mind-boggling series of reinventions by its teenage creator, including claims to be a proto-undersea kingdom.
- Project Alphistia, developed by New York based librarian Tony Skaggs.
- Republic of Molossia, a desert-based micronation located near Reno, Nevada.
- The Kingdom of Lovely is a attempt by King Danny I (Danny Wallace) to create an internet nation based in his flat in London.
Exercises in fantasy or creative fiction
Micronations of the third type include stand-alone artistic projects, deliberate exercises in creative online fiction, and artistamp creations. Examples include:
- Lizbekistan, a popular Internet-based project created by Australian artist Liz Stirling.
- Upper Yafa and Oecussi-Ambeno, two micronations using the names of real territories within Yemen and East Timor repectively. Part of an extraordinarily diverse and entertaining array of micronations invented by prolific New Zealand-based artistamp producer Bruce Henderson since the early 1970s.
- The Republic of Howland, Baker and Jarvis, a highly developed web-based alternative reality project developed by Stephen Abbott named for three uninhabited US minor outlying islands.
- The Grand Duchy of the Lagoan Isles is 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. These islands have been the subject of a book 'Micronations' by Lonely Planet and website.
- The nation of NSK - Neue Slowenische Kunst, a nation created by a number of Slovene artists who satirically claim to be part of a voluntary totalitarian collective, among them Laibach.
- Aristasia, the Feminine Empire, is an all-female State in which the two legal 'sexes' are Blonde and Brunette. Aristasia exists both as a virtual reality and in physical households in Britain, America and elsewhere. It has both virtual and physical embassies.
- In the 1948 Margaret Rutherford / Stanley Holloway movie Passport to Pimlico, the then-London Borough of Pimlico supposedly declares independence from Britain and becomes a micronation.
- The Republic of Kugelmugel, founded by an Austrian artist and based in a ball-shaped house in Vienna, which quickly became a tourist attraction.
- The Copeman Empire, 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. He and his empire are the subject of a book (ISBN 0-09-189920-6 ) and a website.
- Petoria, a fictitious micronation in the episode E. Peterbus Unum of Family Guy
- La Republique de Rêves, a combined exercise in fiction and art by G. Garfield Crimmins.
- San Serriffe, an April Fool's Day hoax created by the British newspaper The Guardian, in its April 1, 1977 edition. The fictional island nation was described in an elaborate seven-page supplement and has been revisited by the newspaper several times.
- Republic of Saugeais (République du Saugeais), a fifty-year-old "republic" in the French département of Doubs, bordering Switzerland.The republic is made of the 11 municipalities of Les Allies, Arcon, Bugny, La Chaux-de-Gilley, Gilley, Hauterive-la-Fresne, La Longeville, Montflovin, Maisons-du-Bois-Lievremont, Ville-du-Pont, and its capital Montbenoit. It had a "president" - Georgette Bertin-Pourchet, elected in 2006 - a "prime minister" and numerous "citizens". It was born from a joke between a Sauget resident and the local Préfet.
- Jorge Luis Borges wrote a short story about an attempt to create an entire encyclopedia about the fictional Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.
Vehicles for agenda promotion
These types of micronation are typically associated with a political or social reform agenda. Some are maintained as media and public relations exercises, and examples of this type include:
- The "global state" of Waveland, established on the North Atlantic island of Rockall by Greenpeace protesters in 1997.
- The Conch Republic, which began in 1982 as a protest by residents and business owners in the Florida Keys against a United States Border Patrol roadblock. It has since been maintained as a tourism booster, though the group has engaged in other protests.
- The Kingdom of Anse-Saint-Jean, started to promote tourism in a small Quebec town.
- The Republik Freies Wendland, founded 1980 as part of a campaign to prevent the construction of a nuclear waste disposal facility in Gorleben, in the Wendland (northern Germany).
- The Independent State of Aramoana, a secessionist state founded in 1980 to oppose the proposed construction of an aluminium smelter in an environmentally sensitive area of New Zealand.
- The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, founded in June 2004 on the uninhabited Coral Sea Islands off the coast of Queensland, in response to the Australian government's refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.
- The Republic of New Africa, a controversial separatist group seeking the creation of an independent black nationalist state across much of the southern USA.
- The "conceptual country" of Nutopia, declared by John Lennon in 1973, a "state" designed to uphold Lennon's ideals such as those portrayed in "Imagine". This declaration was done to advocate Lennon's philosophies, and is believed to also be intended partly to protest the trouble Lennon was having emigrating to the United States.
- The Maritime Republic of Eastport, a part of the City of Annapolis, Maryland, that "seceded" from the rest of the city. It still exists as a charitable and publicity vehicle, and runs a unique fund-raiser in the form of a cross-bridge Tug of War.
- Proposed demolition and redevelopment of the Freston Road area in north Kensington in 1977 prompted the local residents to declare independence as Frestonia (see ). This delayed the redevelopment scheme and forced the Greater London Council to renegotiate.
- Protesters against the M11 motorway link road through Wanstead in north-east London in 1994 proclaimed two areas of squatted homes to be the Republics of Wanstonia and Euphoria.
Entities created for allegedly fraudulent purposes
A number of micronations have been established for fraudulent purposes, by seeking to link questionable or illegal financial actions with seemingly legitimate nations.
By far the most successful of these was the Territory of Poyais, invented by Scottish adventurer and South American independence hero Gregor MacGregor in the early 19th century. On the basis of a land grant made to him by the Anglophile native King of the Mosquito people in what is present-day Honduras, MacGregor wove one of history's most elaborate hoaxes, managing to charm the highest levels of London's political and financial establishment with tales of the bucolic, resource-rich country he claimed to rule as a benevolent sovereign prince, or "Cazique", when he arrived in the UK in 1822. MacGregor's appointed diplomatic representatives were even received at the Court of St. James, and thousands of investors subsequently parted with hundreds of thousands of pounds (equivalent to many millions today) in exchange for Poyaisian bonds, land grants, and official government appointments and commissions. The hoax was exposed when several shiploads of immigrants arrived at "Poyais" to find a fetid, uninhabited swamp instead of the thriving European-style metropolis that MacGregor's guidebooks and maps had led them to expect. Hundreds died of disease, and the remainder relocated to Belize - yet amazingly, MacGregor escaped prosecution, lived out his days in Venezuela, and was honoured with a state funeral upon his demise.
The best-known modern example is the Dominion of Melchizedek, which has been widely condemned for promoting fraudulent banking activities and other financial scams, and for the involvement by one of its founders in the attempted secession of the Fijian island of Rotuma.
Another micronation called New Utopia, operated by an Oklahoma City longevity promoter named Prince Lazarus R. Long (b. Howard Turney; the "Long" name clearly drawn from the character "Lazarus Long" from several stories by Robert A. Heinlein, most notably Time Enough For Love) - and ostensibly a libertarian new country project - was stopped by a United States federal court temporary restraining order from selling bonds and bank licenses. New Utopia has claimed for a number of years to be on the verge of commencing construction of an artificial island territory located approximately midway between Honduras and Cuba; however, the selected location remains submerged by the waters of the Caribbean.
The Kingdom of EnenKio, which claims Wake Atoll in the Marshall Islands belonging to the US minor outlying islands, has been deemed a scam for selling passports and diplomatic papers by the governments of the Marshall Islands and of the United States.
On April 23, 1998, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands issued an official Circular Note, denouncing both "EnenKio" and "Melchizedek" as frauds. .
Another micronation associated with fraudulent activities was the United Kingdom of Atlantis, which operated a website that ceased to function in 2005, and which claimed to be located in the Pacific Ocean near Australia. The "kingdom" published maps of its alleged location; however, the islands shown did not exist. Atlantis' leader, the self-styled Sheikh Yakub Al-Sheikh Ibrahim, was wanted in the US for various crimes including fraud and money laundering. At one point, Atlantis sent a delegation to Palau to offer a low interest loan of $100 million. (also contains an image of the flag)
Historical anomalies and aspirant states
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A small number of micronations are founded on historical anomalies or eccentric interpretations of law. This category includes:
- Seborga, a town in the Italian region of Liguria, near the southern end of the border with France, which traces its history back to the middle ages.
- the Hutt River Province, a farm in Western Australia which claims to have seceded from Australia to become an independent principality with a worldwide population numbered in the tens of thousands.
- Sealand, a World War II-era anti-aircraft platform built in the North Sea beyond Britain's then territorial limit, seized by a pirate radio group in 1967 as a base for their operations, and currently used as the site of a secure web-hosting facility. Sealand has continued to promote its independence by issuing stamps, money, and appointing an official national athlete.
- Llanrwst, a town in North Wales declared a "free borough" by a Welsh "prince" which unsuccessfully applied to the United Nations in 1947 and has the motto "Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst" (English: Wales, England and Llanrwst) as testament to its apparent independence.
- Republic of Indian Stream, now the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire - a geographic anomaly left unresolved by Treaty of Paris that ended the U.S. Revolutionary War, and claimed by both the U.S. and Canada. Between 1832 and 1835, the area's residents refused to acknowledge either claimant.
- The splinter group Republic of Texas claims that the original Republic of Texas was never properly annexed by the United States.
These types of micronations are usually located on small (usually disputed) territorial enclaves, generate limited economic activity founded on tourism and philatelic and numismatic sales, and are at best tolerated or at worst ignored by the nations from which they claim to have seceded.
New-country projects
New-country projects are attempts to found completely new nation-states. They typically involve plans to construct artificial islands (few of which are ever realized), and a large percentage have embraced or purported to embrace libertarian or democratic principles. Examples include:
- Operation Atlantis, an early 1970s New York-based libertarian group that built a concrete-hulled ship called Freedom, which they sailed to the Caribbean, intending to anchor it permanently there as their "territory". The ship sank in a hurricane and the project foundered with it.
- Republic of Minerva, another libertarian project that succeeded in building a small man-made island on the Minerva Reefs south of Fiji in 1972 before being ejected by troops from Tonga, who later formally annexed it.
- Principality of Freedonia, a libertarian project that tried to lease territory from the Sultan of Awdal in Somaliland in 2001. Resulting public dissatisfaction led to rioting, and the deaths of several Somalis.
- Oceania (also known as "The Atlantis Project", but unrelated to the 1970s project of the same name), another libertarian artificial island project that raised US $400,000 before going bankrupt in 1994.
Academic, literary and media attention
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There has been a small but growing amount of attention paid to the micronation phenomenon in recent years. Most interest in academic circles has been concerned with studying the apparently anomalous legal situations affecting such entities as Sealand and the Hutt River Province, in exploring how some micronations represent grassroots political ideas, and in the creation of role-playing entities for instructional purposes.
In his 1996 book, Peter Lamborn Wilson analysed 16th- to 19th-century pirate utopias located on the Barbary Coast, suggesting that they shared some characteristics of micronations.
In 2000, Professor Fabrice O'Driscoll, of the Aix-Marseille University, published a book about micronations: "Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU" ("They are not in the United Nations"), with more than 300 pages dedicated to the subject.
In May 2000, an article in the New York Times entitled "Utopian Rulers, and Spoofs, Stake Out Territory Online" brought the phenomenon to a wider audience for the first time. Similar articles were published by newspapers such as the French "La Liberation", Italian La Repubblica, Greek "Ta Nea", O Estado de São Paulo in Brazil and Portugal's Visão at around the same time.
Several recent publications have dealt with the subject of particular historic micronations, including Republic of Indian Stream (University Press), by Dartmouth College geographer Daniel Doan, and The Land that Never Was, about Gregor MacGregor and the Principality of Poyais, by David Sinclair (Review, 2003, ISBN 0-7553-1080-2 ).
In August 2003, a summit of micronations took place in Helsinki at Finlandia Hall, the site of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). The summit was attended by delegations of the Principality of Sealand, the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland, NSK-State in Time, Ladonia, the "Transnational Republic", the State of Sabotage and by scholars from various academic institutions.
From 7 November through 17 December 2004, the Reg Vardy Gallery at the University of Sunderland (UK) hosted an exhibition on the subject of micronational group identity and symbolism. The exhibition focused on numismatic, philatelic and vexillological artifacts, as well as other symbols and instruments created and used by a number of micronations from the 1950s through to the present day. A summit of micronations conducted as part of this exhibition was attended by representatives of Sealand, Elgaland-Vargaland, New Utopia, Atlantium, Frestonia and Fusa. The exhibition was reprised at the Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York City from 24 June - 29 July of the following year.
The Sunderland summit was later featured in a 5-part BBC light entertainment television series called How to Start Your Own Country presented by Danny Wallace. The series told the story of Wallace's experience of founding a micronation, Lovely, located in his London flat. It screened in the UK in August 2005.
Similar programmes have also aired on television networks in other parts of Europe. In France, several Canal+ programmes have centred around the satirical Presipality of Groland, while in Belgium a series by Rob Vanoudenhoven and broadcast on the Flemish commercial network VTM in April 2006 was reminiscent of Wallace's series, and centred around the producer's creation of Robland. Among other things Vanoudenhoven minted his own coins denominated in "Robbies".
In 2000, the TV show Family Guy featured an episode called E. Peterbus Unum, in which the main character Peter Griffin declared his house to be the new nation of "Petoria", as his house was absent from all maps of Quahog. He annexed his neighbor Joe Swanson's pool and spent a night violating numerous laws in Quahog, exploiting his diplomatic immunity. The USA, provoked by the invasion of Joe's pool, then shut off Petoria's water and electricity and established a military blockade. Peter surrendered when the army threatened to blow up his house with a missile.
On September 9th 2006, The Guardian newspaper reported that the travel guide company Lonely Planet had published the world's first travel guide devoted to micronations.
See also
General entries
- Simulation / Simulation game
- Ocean colonization
- Space colonization
- Pirate utopias
- Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ)
- Imaginary country — "countries" created mostly by artistamp producers.
Related concepts
- List of fictional countries — places that are locations for fictional stories in literature and film.
- Joshua A. Norton — San Francisco resident who proclaimed himself "Emperor of the United States".
- Partenia — a cyber-diocese with a real Roman Catholic bishop.
- Passport to Pimlico — a film in which the London neighbourhood of Pimlico proclaims itself independent.
- Cascadia — A regional Pacific Northwest (North America) secession movement.
- Fiume (now Rijeka), a seaport in Croatia that was ruled for a short time by Italian nationalist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio
- Christiania — a partially self-governing neighborhood in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Hartola — a small Finnish town with anomalous claim to being a royal parish of the Swedish monarchy.
- Jones County, Mississippi — rebelled against the Confederacy.
- Winston County, Alabama — rebelled against the Confederacy.
- Winn Parish, Louisiana Union enclave in Confederate state.
- Bantustan — quasi-independent homelands in South Africa.
- Akhzivland — a self-declared and officially tolerated "independent republic" established by Israeli hippy and former sailor Eli Avivi on the Mediterranean beach at Akhziv in Israel.
References
- Ref United Oceania: Australian Daily Telegraph, Thursday, 24 July 2003, page 20, "Prince finds if all else fails, secede".
- E. S. Strauss: How to start your own country, ISBN 0-915179-01-6 , ISBN 1-893626-15-6.
- Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Republics of the Reefs": Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans, California Western International Law Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, Fall, 1994, pp. 81-111.
- It's Good to Be King Wired 8.03 March 2000.
- Kochta/Kalleinen (Ed.): Amorph!03 Summit of Micronations – Documents/Asiakirjoja, 2003, ISBN 3-936919-45-3.
- The Sydney Morning Herald — Good Weekend, "If at first you don't secede..." by Mark Dapin, , 12 February 2005, pp 47-50.
- The Daily Telegraph (UK), "Mini-states Down Under are sure they can secede" by Nick Squires, 24 February 2005.
- iberkshires.com "Bite-sized sovereignties offer worlds of fun", by Kathy Ceceri, 2 February 2005.
- * Ref Republic of Saugeais: Office du Tourisme du canton de Montbenoît, 25 November 2004.
- Autopia, Saya de Malha Bank.
- Nations Come Together at Sunderland - Sunderland, UK exhibition.
- Andrew Kreps Gallery - New York City exhibition.
- Peter Needham (2006-09-26). "Born to rule". The Australian.
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External links
- Micronations: An Introduction Overview of the Micronation Phenomenon, taken from Lonely Planet's new book, 'Micronations: A Guide to Home-Made Nations'.
- DIY Sovereignty and the Popular Right in Australia — University paper discussing the prevalence of right wing political ideologies among Australian micronations.
- Footnotes to History — list of failed secessionist states, alternative governments and other historical oddities
- Imperial Collection — Comprehensive online catalogue of stamps, coins, banknotes, awards and ephemera issued by various secessionist states and micronations.
- The Microfreedom Index On-line directory of micronation, independence and seditionist websites
- Micronations in the media - A selection of newspaper reports about micronations, scanned from the original publications.
- Micronations.net — Online micronational portal and resources
- The Micronations Page
- Micro-Net — Online micronational forum
- #micronations — IRC chatroom associated with online micronations (this link is for Java-based page)
- Microwiki — Wiki focused on online micronations
- The Micronations Wikia aka MicroWiki
- Numismondo website with information about various micronation banknotes.
- Unrecognised States Numismatic Society — coin club specialising in coins and banknotes from micronations.
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Cc: tony@quatloos.com From: Robert Moore Subject: www.kingstrust.net - www.enenkio.org Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2006 2:19 AM
THANKS INTERNET TRUTH FACTS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LIES FRAUD DISINFORMATION EXPOSED TO WORLDS NATIONS . . . HAWAIIAN ENENKIO NATIONS
From: enenkio@webtv.net (ROBERT MOORE M P) Robert Moore, Minister Plenipotentiary, Kingdom of EnenKio Foreign Trade Mission DO-MO-CO Manager, Remios Hermios Eleemosynary Trust, Majuro, Marshall Islands http://www.enenkio.org From: enenkio@webtv.net (ROBERT MOORE M P) WWW.ENENKIO..ORG ENENKIO BY STATE DEPT. OVER ??/ posted by ROBERT MOORE M P: - Present Status - EnenKio is a sovereign state The government of the Kingdom of EnenKio was established in 1994 under authority and by direction of Head of State and the hereditary Iroijlaplap (Paramount Chief) of the Northern Ratak atolls of the Marshall Islands.. The Constitution of EnenKio established and set forth the authority and responsibility of the government and established duties and succession protocol of the Monarch and Royal Family. EnenKio is a Limited Constitutional Monarchy. Representative citizens, acting as Founding Fathers, ratified the Constitution, recognized His Majesty King Murjel Hermios as Head of State, affirmed their resolve in the Declaration of Sovereignty and determined the boundaries of the new Kingdom of EnenKio. Notice that EnenKio was a new sovereign state was sent to representatives of the Republic of the Marshall islands, United States, United Nations General Assembly, UN Security Council, South Pacific Commission, NATO, world media, Pacific Island nations and other nations. Legal action was then taken to set forth the claim against the foreign occupational forces of the United States, which failed to ever answer any actions and now stands in default with respect to demands for compensation and for illegally occupying of the king's ancestral lands. The effect of legal demands filed in U.S. federal court, unanswered complaints and failure to reply now have the force of law in commerce, under national and international laws and conventions. EnenKio is an "offshore haven for criminals and money launderers" Actually, the United States did reply €” not directly to EnenKio, but with an insidious merciless campaign of disinformation broadly dispersed across the Internet and to its trading partners. One glaring example is a U.S. Department of State Report which compares EnenKio to the likes of Thailand, Colombia and Russia under the topic of "Money Laundering and Financial Crimes". This official report €” International Narcotics Control Strategy, 1998 €” categorizes EnenKio as an Offshore Financial Center. This is a curious label as EnenKio has no bank, no financial center and no money to launder. It goes on to refer to another state and "Enenkio" (sic) as "...mere figments of fertile imaginations...", and as "...entirely fraudulent in intent and practice." The United States offers NO proof nor is it known to have ever found any. In fact, in February 2001, the Securities & Exchange Commission, together with other federal agencies of the United States, concluded an exhaustive investigation that failed to turn up even one shred (or hanging chad) of evidence of impropriety €” in intent or practice. EnenKio exists "only in cyberspace" Such a claim might be made for Yahoo„, Windows Magazine„ or any number of "dot.coms". Why, the United States itself claims over 25,000 web sites hosting millions of pages. Is this not a criteria for existence in cyberspace? EnenKio as a state has its roots in a 1987 document, but really, it is founded upon more than 2000 years of historical lineage preceding the ascendancy of the Hermios Marshallese family to their rightful, recognized traditional post. The EnenKio web site did not appear until 1998. It is a mystery how any reasonable person could examine the few dozens of posted documents, laws and letters €” thousands of pages are not posted €” and then say: EnenKio exists only in cyberspace. Today's Challenge for Tomorrow's Future Every avenue is being explored to raise capital for projects described in the development plan. Bond, stamp and shipbuilding programs have commenced. Applications are invited for passports, business licenses and ship registration. For those qualified individuals who wish to join this effort or encourage us to gain recognition among states of the first order, we have a need for Consuls and Diplomatic representatives in foreign offices, Trade Missions and other diplomatic posts. Additional human resources and people knowledgeable in international policy, diplomatic protocol, spaceport and aircraft operations, telecommunications, shipping, manufacturing, chemical engineering and a host of other disciplines will be required to design and attract development projects and implement envisioned programs. Contractual arrangements for professional consultation and services in law, finance, commerce, economics and others are being actively sought. All who have an interest and are so moved, you are encouraged to submit a Personal Involvement form. By submitting the form, you will be advised of the latest developments, provided an outline of needs and may at some point be invited to actively participate in development and promotion of EnenKio and to become a citizen of the fledgling nation. Salutation On behalf of the Second Monarch, His Majesty King Remios Hermios, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Lobadreo Hermios and all representatives and citizens of EnenKio, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sincerely acknowledges your involvement, interest, prayers and support. See also: Political Status Under Illegal Occupation by the United States STOP BUSH CREWS LIES, FRAUD and DISINFORMATION WORLD WIDE www.enenkio.org (HAWAII & ENENKIO NATION KINGDOMS) - Government Bond Program - The EnenKio Gold Bond Program Overview The Kingdom of EnenKio has implemented distribution of government development bonds, as bearer's instruments in friendly nations, backed by gold reserves, guarantees, real property or other assets. Use of bond capital, US$200 million per atoll, is to begin developing each of 5 King's atolls in the Marshall Islands, by way of joint ventures with the Remios Hermios Eleemosynary Trust (RHET), which will provide free or subsidized services to both residents and consumers, as briefly outlined below: Atoll Infrastructure Land €“ Atolls to be developed are subdivided into wetos or segments radiating from a central point in the lagoon and further into plots. Each plot sold or leased is delivered with title and title insurance. Landowners receive proportional compensation for use of land developed within their weto. (Based on 10,000 units) Systems - All systems will employ affordable innovative technologies for simplicity, environmental sustainability and efficiency. The utmost care is exercised to preserve the current pristine nature of the landscape. Building systems shall make use of custom prefab wall systems, recycled materials and coconut lumber laminates made on site. Water retrieval involves numerous drilled wells and pumps linked on all islands to a circular underground distribution and processing system. Sewage systems are buried in the lagoon, have access to every island and terminate in 4 deep ocean out falls. Selective management on the basis of ocean currents and tides controls discharge of residue. Treatment is minimal accomplished primarily at points of origination using "dry" toilets and subsequent pulverization. Gray water is treated and used in agriculture. Power systems incorporate electricity, cable and phone lines bundled and accessible to every island. (Based on 20,000 units) Transportation €“100 electric trucks mobilize land transport without a fee. Both high-speed surface watercraft and amphibian Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft are employed for passengers and cargo; larger craft serve inter-atoll and international needs. 5 ocean tugs and barges provide service and support, such as container off-loading and towing duties. Medical €“ Professional services, remedial care, emergency medical services, paramedic training and search and rescue are provided by 5 hospital ships and 5 air ambulances (VTOL aircraft). Projects Floating Hotel €“ A turnkey 200-suite hotel ("Embassy Suites" quality) is moored in the lagoon of the atoll where the King resides. Services include restaurants, casino, ballrooms, shopping and craft shops. The lower level provides for parking, storage, mechanical and maintenance spaces. A dock system accommodating 200 boats and yachts to 100 feet is attached. Visiting yachts receive use of an electric car, power, TV, phone cable and security for a respectable well-below-market price. The whole structure rides on the tides. Fishing Fleet €“ A fleet of 100 fishing boats will offload their catch at 5 shore-based processing plants, each with a different end product. Fuel Oil Production €“ 25 portable copra gins will produce oils, fuels and other products for consumption, power, filtration and storage, such as barrels, using existing natural raw materials. Coconut Lumber €“ 25 semi-portable mills will produce laminate lumber, chips and wood for construction. Harvesting older non-productive trees will require planting new-variety coconut trees on a one-for-one basis. Docks €“ An average of 20 floating dock systems will be placed in each of 5 lagoons., residential or business units may be attached to dock for access to land and water transports. These dock systems form central distribution points for services and are linked by intra-atoll electric transports. 5 municipal centers will facilitate access to administrative services and provide chambers for local council meetings. Communications €“ Wherever power is supplied, cable and lines will permit electronic data and voice access to the global community. A satellite telecommunications station for each of 5 atolls will provide around-the-clock connectivity. Bond Sample Disclaimer and Notice to Bearer (printed on the reverse face of bonds) This instrument is issued under authority of the Executive Council, by Royal Commission, Government of the Kingdom of EnenKio. Bearer, by lawful possession, agrees to and accepts all conditions, risks, provisions and terms, whether expressed or implied, that apply to acquisition, possession and redemption hereof. Bearer is advised that laws of the country in which bearer takes or negotiates possession hereof may apply to this instrument or to any subsequent transaction herewith; such laws of any said country, whether expressed or implied, shall not subject issuer to its jurisdiction thereby. All lawful exchanges hereof are considered by issuer to be "offshore transactions", as such term is generally understood in the international marketplace. Issuer does not warrant merchantability or market value hereof. Issuer does not insure this instrument or indemnify bearer hereof. Issuer keeps no record respecting identity of original purchaser. Bearer is advised to take every appropriate action necessary to protect or safeguard this instrument. Bearer is further advised that, respecting this printed instrument, the (1) actual value is negligible; (2) market value is not set or determined by issuer and may fluctuate without notice; (3) face (par) value is set as a fixed denomination of the prescribed precious metal bullion, in the measure inscribed, whereupon bearer assumes all risk as to trading or merchantable value, if any. Other conditions or terms may apply hereto without notice; bearer hereby acknowledges the responsibility to contact issuer for the most current information respecting obligations and duties of issuer, any authorized distributor or trustee of this instrument or the particulars of any program or project for which proceeds of this issue are designated. Interest €“ the nominal yield of this zero-coupon instrument is fixed at TEN PERCENT per annum, non-prorated, compounded and computed upon face (par) value. The Periodic Net Value (PNV) is determined only at each respective anniversary date subsequent to date of issuance affixed hereto. The chart below shows computed yield of Periodic Net Value per 100 units of par value. Each calculation of interest is rounded to TWO decimal places prior to compounding any subsequent anniversary PNV. Year Interest Rate (%) Interest per 100 units Periodic Net Value 1 10.0 10.00 110.00 2 10.0 11..00 121.00 3 10.0 12.10 133.10 4 10.0 13.31 146.41 5 10.0 14.64 161.05 Calculations: Compounded Par Value (CPV) is determined by multiplying the product of par value divided by 100, times Periodic Net Value. To find actual value, use the formula CPV x gold (Au) price. For example, if bond's par value is 300 Troy oz. gold, CPV (year 4) is 3 x 146.41 = 439.23 Troy oz. gold. Additional Terms of Indenture This instrument matures and becomes fully redeemable by issuer at a place to be designated thereby on the FIFTH anniversary date subsequent to date of issuance affixed hereto, which date is permanently inscribed in the space provided below. No redemption prior to that date is authorized by issuer and NO interest shall be payable by issuer at any time prior to the FIFTH anniversary date hereof. Interest shall continue to accrue in the manner described above until redemption by bearer or until issuer calls for redemption of all outstanding instruments issued in the series. Bearer, by possession hereof, accepts all and full responsibility to contact issuer or obtain the most current information from issuer, or authorized agent thereof, respecting redemption policies, schedules and locations. Bearer upon redemption must surrender this instrument in marketable condition and is entitled to be paid, in units of any internationally traded currency of choice or in precious metal bullion, in the amount of Compounded Par Value, less applicable exchange fees. Payment of interest is not prorated over any interval between anniversary dates; only the accrued amount, calculated as of the anniversary date immediately prior to redemption shall be the Redemption Value upon which payment is computed. Additional terms or conditions may become applicable during the term to enhance the value hereof; however, bearer is advised that this instrument, at issuance, is not rated. Also see: National Liberation Program ----------- STOP LIES, FRAUD AND DIS-INFORMATION BY UNITED STATES, U N SHAME ? MAD AS HELL AND DOING SOMTHING ABOUT IT ! GOLD FOR SECURTY TO ENFORCE KINGDOM OF HAWAII LAW...GOLD AND OVER TWO BILLION IN AMERICAN GOLD JUDGMENTS TO STAND AS BACK UP FOR KALA.........FOR SALE TAONGI ATOLL 50 MILLION IN GOLD. We are a land trust we own aprox. 40% of RMI 11 Atolls over 300 islands. All info at http://www.enenkio.org Welcome to the EnenKio Online Network These pages, this website, the former web host (NetNation), the government of the Kingdom of EnenKio and the people loyal to the king of Eneen-Kio Atoll have been subjected to a wide assortment of deliberate disruptive actions by persons and agencies of the federal government of the United States. These attacks continue to this day. The reasons for these attacks are unknown, as EnenKio seeks only peace and the freedom to express the fundamental rights of the people of EnenKio, its monarch and the imperatives bestowed upon us by our loving Creator. This site has been restored to acquaint you with history, claims and challenges we face as a people striving for equality in a world of antagonistic nations with egocentric goals seeking to "save" (dominate) lesser nations. ENTER NOW Send questions about this site to Administrator Copyright 1995-2002 -- All Rights Reserved. Background Photo: Courtesy EnenKio Archives "Peacock Point, Wake Island" TREATY OF PEACE, FRIENDSHIP AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF HAWAI'I AND THE KINGDOM OF ENENKIO WHEREAS, the Kingdom of EnenKio and the Kingdom of Hawai'i, equally animated with the desire of maintaining the relations of good understanding which have hitherto so happily subsisted between their respective states, Robert Moore M P
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