Brenton
Micronations
November 26th 2007 09:51
Luke has discusses Micronations before in a number of his posts.
What is a Micronation? A Micronation is a small area that acts effectively acts as a country, but is not officially recognized as such. The best known example is Tibet.
Some other Micronations…
Sealand. 550 square metres of space, inhabited by the Bates family. The area has been claimed as an independent nation since the nineteen sixties, yet is still considered legally part of the United Kingdom.
Sealand’s history is very much in the making. 2007 makes the proposed sale of the principality (actually transference of custodianship for legal reasons). Word is offers of 8 digits are being considered. Jealous much?
The Hutt River Principality. You have to love an Aussie who just decides, nup, to hell with it, I don’t like these wheat Quotas – I’m going to secede and become my own country. This is pretty much the story behind the Hutt River Province. The line from the Australian Government is that the Province is just the business venture of an eccentric but talented individual.
Tibet. Tibet typically isn’t regarded as a micro nation, but it’s worth a mention. I think the situation is best articulated on Wikipedia here; “Tibet is today controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC). As an exclusive mandate, Tibet is also officially claimed by the Republic of China (Taiwan). However in the Tibetan sovereignty debate, the government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Tibet in Exile disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether this incorporation into China is legitimate according to international law.” For more info, follow the link.
LINK.
Image by Peter Vigier, Creative Commons with an Attribution License.
Transnistria. I first read about this place in the novel ‘The Game’ by Neil Strauss, who details some adventures in Transnistria while telling us all how to score with the ladies. The place is a leftover from Communisms heyday, who preferred to declare themselves independent than accept the decisions of their homeland Moldova. The Game promoted a fairly dark view of the Micronation. At one point the protagonist cracks it with the Guard and tells him to just ‘throw him in jail.’ Later on a local tells him that he should not have done that, as Transnestria doesn’t have jails. Asked where they keep prisoners, the local mimes a gunshot to the head.
Another individual has also given a first hand account of Transnestria. Simon Reeve of the BBC Presented a series entitles Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don’t Exist. He presents a much different view of the Micronation, as a small, friendly and fiercely proud nation. One car dealer offers him a free car if he can convince the Government of Morocco to legally recognize Transnestria as an independent nation. He also explores some of the more interesting aspects of Transnestria – namely that it is able to retain it’s independence thanks to Russian military support, including a ‘secret’ Russian Military base in it’s territory. Simon Reeve goes to find this base and is escorted back by guards… but safe, and alive and amazingly, without having any film confiscated.
Travel Warnings do exist for Transnestria, and it does have a record of violence.
Image by Monk, licensed under creative commons Attribution Share Alike License.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta – Honestly I would love to talk about this one but it’s actually quite fuzzy in my head still. Honestly the best you could do is read if for yourself – “Link to the Wikipedia page is HERE” What I can tell you is they are a religious knighthood from way back, whom have been granted permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Micronations are a major issue in today’s world, especially in regards to how the very process of international communication and co-operation can be managed. While the future of those I listed and many others, is uncertain, it is certain to be interesting.
What is a Micronation? A Micronation is a small area that acts effectively acts as a country, but is not officially recognized as such. The best known example is Tibet.
Some other Micronations…
Sealand. 550 square metres of space, inhabited by the Bates family. The area has been claimed as an independent nation since the nineteen sixties, yet is still considered legally part of the United Kingdom.
Sealand’s history is very much in the making. 2007 makes the proposed sale of the principality (actually transference of custodianship for legal reasons). Word is offers of 8 digits are being considered. Jealous much?
An Image of Sealand following a devastating Fire
The Hutt River Principality. You have to love an Aussie who just decides, nup, to hell with it, I don’t like these wheat Quotas – I’m going to secede and become my own country. This is pretty much the story behind the Hutt River Province. The line from the Australian Government is that the Province is just the business venture of an eccentric but talented individual.
Tibet. Tibet typically isn’t regarded as a micro nation, but it’s worth a mention. I think the situation is best articulated on Wikipedia here; “Tibet is today controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC). As an exclusive mandate, Tibet is also officially claimed by the Republic of China (Taiwan). However in the Tibetan sovereignty debate, the government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Tibet in Exile disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether this incorporation into China is legitimate according to international law.” For more info, follow the link.
The beauty hiding the brutality
Transnistria. I first read about this place in the novel ‘The Game’ by Neil Strauss, who details some adventures in Transnistria while telling us all how to score with the ladies. The place is a leftover from Communisms heyday, who preferred to declare themselves independent than accept the decisions of their homeland Moldova. The Game promoted a fairly dark view of the Micronation. At one point the protagonist cracks it with the Guard and tells him to just ‘throw him in jail.’ Later on a local tells him that he should not have done that, as Transnestria doesn’t have jails. Asked where they keep prisoners, the local mimes a gunshot to the head.
Another individual has also given a first hand account of Transnestria. Simon Reeve of the BBC Presented a series entitles Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don’t Exist. He presents a much different view of the Micronation, as a small, friendly and fiercely proud nation. One car dealer offers him a free car if he can convince the Government of Morocco to legally recognize Transnestria as an independent nation. He also explores some of the more interesting aspects of Transnestria – namely that it is able to retain it’s independence thanks to Russian military support, including a ‘secret’ Russian Military base in it’s territory. Simon Reeve goes to find this base and is escorted back by guards… but safe, and alive and amazingly, without having any film confiscated.
Travel Warnings do exist for Transnestria, and it does have a record of violence.
The Transnistrian parliament building in Tiraspol. In front is a statue of Lenin.
Image by Monk, licensed under creative commons Attribution Share Alike License.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta – Honestly I would love to talk about this one but it’s actually quite fuzzy in my head still. Honestly the best you could do is read if for yourself – “Link to the Wikipedia page is HERE” What I can tell you is they are a religious knighthood from way back, whom have been granted permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Micronations are a major issue in today’s world, especially in regards to how the very process of international communication and co-operation can be managed. While the future of those I listed and many others, is uncertain, it is certain to be interesting.
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