Dominion of British West Florida

Dominion of British West Florida
Micronation
Flag	Coat of Arms
Motto: Dieu et mon Droit (English: God, and my Right) Anthem: God Save The Queen of the Dominion of British West Florida
Status	Current
Date of foundation	November 29, 2005[1]
Leadership	Acting Governor-General Bo Register
Language	English
Capital	Pensacola

The Dominion of British West Florida is a separatist micronation founded in 2005 "on an eccentric interpretation of actual historic events"^[1] and based in the Gulf coast region of the United States. It claims the territory of the 18th century colony of West Florida, which has since been subsumed into the US states of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.^[2]

The Dominion claims to be "striving for Commonwealth status".^[3] The organization is neither acknowledged by any government nor exercises any authority over its claimed territory, and activities are largely limited to the internet.

History

The micronation was founded in November 2005 in order to "reassert Britain's rights" over the region, by an individual identified on the micronation's website only as "Robert VII, Duke of Florida"^[4] The website asserts that Duke Robert "inherited the Peerage of the Dominion" in 1969, and "accepted the position of Governor General" in 1994. Since Duke Robert's retirement in 2007, the Acting Governor General has been Bo Register, a computer systems and networking consultant and former member of the US armed services. The micronation has issued cinderella stamps and has minted several base metal coins produced by Jorge Vidal and issued in denominations based on pre-decimal pounds.^[1][3]

The founders of the micronation assert that the US annexation was illegal, because control of the region had actually defaulted to the United Kingdom in 1808, upon the removal from office of King Charles IV of Spain, thus invalidating the Treaty of Paris and the US annexation to which it gave rise.^[4] This interpretation of historic events is not currently supported by any mainstream historian.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Unrecognised States Numismatic Society". http://www.usns.info/coin-britishwestflorida.html. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
2. ^ Ryan, John; Dunford, George; Sellars, Simon (2006). Micronations. Lonely Planet. pp. 139. ISBN 1741047307. http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZRrwrlIPSYC&pg=PA139&dq=%22Dominion+of+British+West+Florida%22&num=100&sig=YhBcJM7aMT3_lGOnBxpfyobMMOs. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Cheifa Coins". http://chiefacoins.com/Database/Micro-Nations/Dominion_of_British_West_Florida.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Dominion of British West Florida". http://www.dbwf.net. Retrieved 2008-07-25. 
5. ^ Mathson, S and Lorenzen, M.G. (2008). We Won't Be Fooled Again: Teaching Critical Thinking via Evaluation of Hoax and Historical Revisionist Websites in a Library Credit Course. College and Undergraduate Libraries, 15 (1/2): 211-230.

External links

• Official Website
• Official Blog
• World History Blog: The Dominion of British West Florida and Tips for Creating an American Separatist Cause
• East Florida Gazette Online: The Empire Strikes Back, UK loyalists seek to sever West Florida from USA
• British West Florida article at Encyclopedia of Alabama