Mar 12 2009
Top ten bizarre Micronations and Micro-states - Part one
Admit it, at one point or another we’ve all dreamed of running the country. For most of us, however, it’s a goal that’s completely unachievable given the fact positions of authority are generally given out based on who you know rather than what you know (not naming any names).
The next best option, it would seem, is to create your very own country to make yourself King/Prime Minister/President/Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer of.
Yeah… if you had your own country you could do what you want, when you want because you’d make the rules. You could announce an official Ice Cream Day or introduce a Brussels sprout tax, and get your loyal subjects to build you a throne made entirely of gold…
There is no official criteria that defines a micronation, but recruiting ‘residents’ and producing insignia such as a national flag and coinage will earn your country recognition, albeit unofficial, as an established micronation or microstate.
For the purposes of this post, Retro Yakking shall define a micronation as a country that is notable enough for its own entry on Wikipedia.
► The Province of Bumbunga
South Australia, Australia
Founded by a former circus master and monkey trainer, this secessionist micronation was an attempt to ensure that a small part of Australia would remain loyal to the Royal Crown. To this end, Governor Brackstone (one of less than five permanent residents of the nation) fashioned a scale model of Great Britain out of a strawberry patch in his back garden (pictured). Short of actually living in Britain, you can’t get more British than that.
Commercial operations in Bumbunga ended in 1987.
► Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
South Pacific Ocean, Australia
The Coral Sea islands, a group of over fifty islands off the coast of Queensland, were claimed by gay rights activists in 2004 as a protest against the decision to ban same-sex marriages in Australia. Though uninhabited, the kingdom issued a set of stamps in 1996, and even had a website declaring the country’s main exports to be tourism and fishing.
The capital, Heaven, is named after the world-famous London nightclub of the same name.
► The Kingdom of Lovely
Bow Quarter, London, UK
This mainly internet-based micronation was created by comedian Danny Wallace just to see if he could start a country from his flat. Its creation was the subject of a 2005 BBC television show, in which he was shown attempting to enter the Eurovision Song Contest with Stop the Mugging and Start the Hugging.
Wallace no longer lives in the flat and currently rents it out to tenants, so now’s your chance to live in Lovely!
► The Aerican Empire
Earth, Mars and Pluto (amongst others)
An originally aggressive country, The Aerican Empire fought numerous other Micronations and laid claim to land on other planets including 720 Acres of Mars. Now largely pacifist, it is home to over 200 people, including a number of Star Wars and Hitchhiker’s Guide fans and online war gamers.
The Aerican Empire is currently “celebrating more than two decades of… killer penguin death squads” and encourages would-be residents to “be part of something megalomaniacal”.
► The Kingdom of Elleore
Denmark
This peculiar micronation located in the Rosklide Fjord has a number of strange traditions, including a ban on Robinson Crusoe novels and the use of “Elleore Standard Time”, 12 minutes behind Danish time. Well, what would you expect from a country founded by Copenhagen schoolteachers?
It is uninhabited save for one week in the year when citizens take part in the annual enthroning of the reigning monarch.
Whatchoo waitin’ for? Check out part two of this post now.
