List of micronations

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 organization. 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 may have legitimate claim to sovereign state status.^[1]:5

Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity.^[1]:4 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		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.[1]:102	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.[2]	Paul Baron Neuman
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		1981	A global sovereignty group based in Australia that was founded in Sydney by George Francis Cruickshank.[1]:102	George Cruickshank
Austenasia		2008	A constitutional monarchy comprising three privately owned properties that have declared themselves independent under the leadership of a house in south London. It is recognised by Vikesland.[3][4][5][6][7]	Jonathan Austen
Avram		1980 !1980s	A non-territorial micronation founded by an eccentric self-proclaimed duke who was later elected to the Tasmanian state parliament.[1]:144	John Charlton Rudge
Akhzivland		1970 !declared independence 1970[8][9]	A non-territorial micronation founded by Eli Avivi in response to the Israeli government's sending two bulldozers to demolish his illegally inhabited house.[8] As a result of a lawsuit brought against Avivi by the State of Israel (which was subsequently rejected by the judge hearing the case), the micronation's legal status has remained ambiguous.	El Avivi
British West Florida		2005	A micronation intending to revive the former British colony of the same name.[1]:139	Bo Register
BjornSocialist Republic		2005	A self-proclaimed Marxist state, based also on the religious but atheist Bjorn principles, of about 6 square metres (7.18 sq yd) located on a stone "that looks like a tractor" in Lake Immeln, Scania, Sweden. It is recognised by Ladonia.[10][11][12][13]
Celestia		1949	A defunct micronation claiming all of outer space.	James Thomas Mangan
Conch Republic		1982	A group claiming tongue-in-cheek independence from the United States of America in protest at a blockade established by the US Border Patrol at the upper end of the Florida Keys.[1]:130	Dennis 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.[1]:70-73	Nick Copeman
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.[1]:38	Dale Anderson
Dubeldeka		2000	Created by the Khandekars in 2000, in response to a dispute with the New South Wales Department of Public Works and Wingecarribee Shire Council, over plans to connect their property to mains sewerage.[14]	Vasudeo Khandekar
Elleore		1944	A tongue-in-cheek micronation founded by a group of school teachers as a summer camp on the island of Elleore, Denmark.[1]:42
EnenKio		1994	Claims Wake Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and has been deemed a scam for selling passports and diplomatic papers.[15]
Filettino		2011	Mayor Luca Sellari, from the small town with a population around 550, declared the independence from Italy[16] in protest to austerity measures resulting from the European economic crisis. Filettino has printed its own currency, the fiorito.[17]
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.[18]	Stuart Hill
Freetown Christiania		1971	Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania (Danish: Fristaden Christiania) is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. [19]
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.[20]
Global Country of World Peace		2000	"A country without borders for peace loving people everywhere" created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with capitals at MERU, Holland and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa.[21]	Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam
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.[22]	Vinko Vukoja Lastvić
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.[23]	Richard Booth
Humanity		1878	A former micronation, occupying the Spratly Islands, which merged into the Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads in September 1963.[24]
Hutt River		1970	A large farming area 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.[1]:22	Leonard Casley
Republic of Jamtland		1963 !1963	A Swedish province, formerly a part of Norway	Ewert Ljusberg
Kugelmugel		1984	A ball-shaped house built by artist Edwin Lipburger, currently located in the Vienna Prater.[1]:82	Edwin Lipburger
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.[1]:136
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.[1]:86	Louis Stephans
L'Anse-Saint-Jean		1997	A micronation started to promote tourism in a small Quebec town.	Denys Tremblay
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
Kingdom of Lovely		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.[1]:28	Danny Wallace
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
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.[25]	George Muirhead
Melchizedek		1986	The Dominion of Melchizedek (DoM) is a micronation known largely for facilitating large scale banking fraud in many parts of the world.[26]	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.[1]:14	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.[1]:62	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.[24]
Naminara Republic		2006	An island in the Han River in Chuncheon city of Gangwon-do, South Korea. Issues its own passport, currency, phone cards. Part of the movie Winter Sonata was filmed here. The island received 1.5 million visitors yearly.
Neue Slowenische Kunst		1984	A nation created by a number of Slovene artists.[1]:128-129
New Utopia		1990 !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.[1]:15	Lazarus Long
Northern Forest Archipelago		1998	An environmentally focused micronation located in the northeastern United States of America consisting of multiple discontiguous privately owned properties in the Northern Forest area of New York State.[1]:52	James Sheffield
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.[27]
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.
Perloja		1918	Established in the aftermath of World War I, the Republic of Perloja had its own court, police, prison, currency (Perloja litas), and an army of 300 men.[28]	Jonas Česnulevičius[29]
Peščenica		1990 !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.[30]	Željko Malnar
Rainbow Creek		1979	Founded by a farmer who "seceded" from Victoria State, Australia, over damage to farmlands caused by flooding he claimed was exacerbated due to incompetence of the state government water management agency.[1]:145	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.[1]:108
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.[1]	Giorgio Rosa
Russian Empire		2011	Located on the coral atoll Suwarrow near the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, it was founded by Russian businessman Anton Bakov. By the Constitution of the Russian Empire, it is a federal constitutional monarchy and the successor of the Empire founded by Peter I.[31][32]	Anton Bakov
Saugeais		1947	An officially sanctioned tongue-in-cheek micronation located in eastern France, in the département of Doubs.[1]:122-124	Georgette Bertin-Pourchet
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.[1]:8-13	Paddy Roy Bates
Seborga		&10000000000000954000000954	A town in the Italian region of Liguria that claims never to have been a part of the modern Italian state.[1]:55	Marcello I
Talossa		1979	A micronation founded as a bedroom kingdom by Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America resident Robert Ben Madison. Madison claims to have coined the term "micronation".[nb 1][1]:101	John Woolley
Užupis		1997	Užupis is a neighborhood in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, largely located in Vilnius' old town. In 1997, the residents of the area declared a Republic of Užupis, with its own flag, currency, president, and constitution.[33]
Valtio		2006	50,000 square metres (59,799.50 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.[34]	Ari Peltonen
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. It is recognised by Austenasia.[1]:90-93
Wanstonia		1994	Wanstonia was created by protesters against the M11 motorway link road through Wanstead in north-east London.[35]
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.[36]
Wendland		1980	A German anti-nuclear protest in the Wendland, reoccupied by thousands of policemen after a few weeks.[37]
Westarctica		1989	Micronation founded by Travis McHenry, subsequently dubbed the Grand Duchy of Westarctica, claiming a piece of Marie Byrd Land, the last slice in Antarctica unclaimed by any nation.[38]	Travis McHenry
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.[1]:34-37	Murt Kennard
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.[39]
Wy		2004	Established by Paul Delprat[40] after a dispute with the local council of Mosman Municipality in Sydney[41] over the construction of a drive-way into his property.	Prince Paul of Wy

See also

• Grand Fenwick, a fictional country
• Fictional country

Micronations portal

Notes

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

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac} Ryan, John; Dunford, George; Sellars, Simon (2006). Micronations. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1741047307. http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZRrwrlIPSYC&pg=PA139&dq=%22Dominion+of+British+West+Florida%22&num=100&sig=YhBcJM7aMT3_lGOnBxpfyobMMOs. 
2. ^ Dean, Anabel (20 June 1989). ""Bleyer's Honours Outlined"". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 7. 
3. ^ Your Local Guardian: Carshalton home declares itself independent state Retrieved on 22.01.2009
4. ^ Join the List of 5 Weirdest Micronations by Starting Your Own Country - Asylum.com Retrieved 25.12.2010
5. ^ Chosun Ilbo 16 March 2010 Retrieved 22.12.2010
6. ^ City - Summer 2009 (Page 97) Retrieved 22.12.2010
7. ^ Tom Cutler (3 May 2011). The Gentleman's Bedside Companion: A Compendium of Manly Information for the Last Fifteen Minutes of the Day. Penguin. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-399-53669-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=yH1mE6_oQQMC&pg=PT137. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
8. ^ ^{a b} A World of His Own: Former Seafarer Eli Avivi Rules His Own Kingdom - Go World Travel
9. ^ Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations (Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 2006)
10. ^ Sørdal, Kristin (6 March 2008). "Verdens rareste steder". Dinside. http://www.dinside.no/php/art.php?id=511927. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
11. ^ Fordham, Alice (2007-12-17). ""Stone me–you two aren't married"". London: Times Online. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3054540.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
12. ^ ""Court denies couple marriage: 'your country does not exist'"". The Local. 10 December 2007. http://www.thelocal.se/9365/. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
13. ^ [ladonia.net/new_herald/?p=951 "Ladonia recognises BjornSocialist Republic"]. New Herald. June 2, 2008. ladonia.net/new_herald/?p=951. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
14. ^ http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Australians-Fed-Up-with-Government-Create-Their-Own-Micronations-93098649.html
15. ^ "Kingdom of EnenKio". Flags of the World. http://flagspot.net/flags/um!wake.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
16. ^ "Italian town Filettino declares independence". BBC News. 3 September 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14774526. Retrieved 3 September 2011. 
17. ^ "In an Italian Town, Dreams of Freedom On a Princely Scale". The New York Times. 29 August 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/world/europe/30italy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss. Retrieved 3 September 2011. 
18. ^ Carrell, Severin (2008-06-19). "Captain Calamity leads breakaway of Shetland islet from UK". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/19/scotland.britishidentity. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 
19. ^ Farewell to Freetown
20. ^ "The Eddie Woods Archive". American Literary Studies. Stanford University Library. 2007-08-06. http://library.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/ablit/amerlit/EWGeneral.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-14. 
21. ^ McGirk, Jan (June 8, 2001). The Independent (London (UK)): p. 17. 
22. ^ (Serbian) "Hajduci na Vranu ljude samo po očima pamte". Nezavisne. http://www.nezavisne.com/nedjeljne/vijesti/17757/Hajduci-na-Vranu-ljude-samo-po-ocima-pamte.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
23. ^ "Richard Booth". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/halloffame/arts/richard_booth.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 
24. ^ ^{a b} Marwyn S. Samuels, Contest for the South China Sea (1982)
25. ^ ""Defiant Graziers Under Arrest"". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 June 1993. 
26. ^ "Fantasy Island". CBS News (CBS Worldwide Inc.). 2000-04-10. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/10/60II/main182244.shtml. 
27. ^ "Interactive Corporative Services Information on Nova Roma". Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions. https://icrs.informe.org/nei-sos-icrs/ICRS?CorpSumm=20010268ND. Retrieved 2007-11-27. 
28. ^ McLachlan, Gordon (2008). Bradt Lithuania (5th ed.). Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 123–124. ISBN 9781841622286. http://books.google.com/books?id=pDdqGoXvSvYC&pg=PA241. 
29. ^ Semaška, Algimantas (2006). Kelionių vadovas po Lietuvą: 1000 lankytinų vietovių norintiems geriau pažinti gimtąjį kraštą (4th ed. ed.). Vilnius: Algimantas. p. 420. ISBN 9986-506-90-4.  (Lithuanian)
30. ^ Malnar, Željko. Filozofija Republike Peščenice. Birotisak. ISBN 953-6156-31-8. 
31. ^ http://gazeta.babr.ru/?IDE=96948
32. ^ http://www.izvestia.ru/news/499236
33. ^ "Zappa lives in Lithuania". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5934313/zappa_lives_on_in_lithuania. 
34. ^ (Finnish)"Mäkäräisten Valtio". Ruotuväki. http://www.mil.fi/ruotuvaki/?action=read_page&pid=96&aid=1556. Retrieved 2008-07-21. 
35. ^ "Tenth anniversary of the siege of Wanstonia M11 link rd". UK Indymedia. http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/02/285484.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
36. ^ Royle, Stephen (2001). A Geography of Islands. Routledge. pp. 10. ISBN 1857288653. http://books.google.com/books?id=MdegEr1pHGYC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=Waveland+rockall&source=web&ots=39dec-KNO6&sig=DaC7iJlJc0HUWfZApTrk-rUG4bI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=27&ct=result. 
37. ^ "The Anti-Nuclear "Free Republic of Wendland". German History Docs. http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1117. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
38. ^ The Grand Duchy of Westarctica (West-Antarctica) Columbus Magazine. By Mariska van Brederode, June 2010
39. ^ Fox 45 Morning News, Wirtland on FOX News, Fox 45 Morning News (USA), January 20, 2009.
40. ^ Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 10-10-2010.
41. ^ History of Mosman Council - from the Mosman Council official website, which lists the year of secession as 2004.

External links

Micronations portal

• Micronations at the Open Directory Project