In the 30-plus years I’ve been in the publishing business, I’ve seen my share of “new countries.”
Some are scams, such as the Dominion of Melchizedek, which I exposed as a fraud nearly two decades ago. But most new countries are never fully realized simply because their promoters suffer from the delusion that their claims of sovereignty will magically be recognized, without anyone putting together a clear plan for getting there.
There are two almost insurmountable obstacles:
Getting anyone to take you seriously (diplomatic recognition, etc.)
Defending your territory from incursions by more powerful neighbors
A great example of a claim that hasn’t been taken seriously is the Principality of Sealand, a “country” founded on an abandoned World War II gun platform in the North Sea off the English coast. In 1967, Roy and Joan Bates took up residence there. “Prince Roy” proclaimed a Sealand constitution and introduced a national flag and national anthem and began selling passports.
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Now that Prince Roy and Princess Joan have died, their son, Prince Michael, is Sealand’s caretaker. Sealand passports are not formally recognized, and in 1997, 150,000 were revoked. But you can still buy one for only €244.99 and even become a Lord, Lady, Baron, Baroness, Count, or Countess of Sealand. Just don’t try using your Sealand passport to cross an actual international border.
Still, viable efforts to establish new countries that could actually be taken seriously are everywhere. Separatist groups in Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Spain want to create their own independent states, to name just a few movements across Europe. The most advanced efforts are in Catalonia, which in October voted overwhelmingly to separate from Spain. But its efforts to b>ecome independent were put down by force by the Spanish government.
But perhaps the most successful new country is one that you may have never heard about. It’s called Somaliland, and it’s carved out of the territory of the war-torn nation of Somalia.
Here’s what it looks like:
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