The Principality of Sealand- The world's smallest country

During the 1939-45 War, Great Britain established an artificial island on the High Seas. This island was equipped with radar and heavy armaments and occupied by some two hundred servicemen. The task of the island and its inhabitants was to guard the approaches to the Thames Estuary, where large and vulnerable convoys of shipping were assembled.

Sometime after the cessation of hostilities, the island was derelicted and abandoned by the British Government.

Sealand is located in the southern part of the North Sea some six miles off the coast of Britain and from sixty-five to one hundred miles from the coasts of France, Belgium, Holland and Germany; Latitude 51.53 N, Longitude 01.28 E

But after being abandoned by the Royal Navy in 1956, this artificial island on the high seas has been the site of a pirate radio landing pad, a takeover, a controversial declaration of independence, a coup, and its own miniature war.

In the winter of 1966, a British family took possession and commenced the task of equipping and restoring the island. On 2 September 1967, they hoisted their own flag and declared the existence of a new state - the Principality of Sealand.

In 1967, retired British Army major Paddy Roy Bates occupied the abandoned Rough's Tower in the North Sea, northeast of London and opposite the mouth of the Orwell River and Felixstowe.

Roy Bates had previously operated a low-power station called Radio Essex from another sea barge, but it had been within the 3-mile area of British legal control, and he had been caught and fined. So he and his 15-year-old son Michael gathered up the equipment, hauled it out to the Roughs Tower, and after a prolonged fight, took over control. But the tower never did become home to pirate radio, as English laws changed soon thereafter to make seaborne pirate transmissions illegal even outside of the 3-mile radius.

Nonetheless, Roy Bates maintained his control of Roughs Tower, and declared it the Principality of Sealand; a sovereign, independent state. This was after consulting with an attorney who found a loophole allowing Roy to claim the fort due to fact that it was in international waters, and that it was up for grabs due to "dereliction of sovereignty." Since it was outside of England's legally controlled area there was nothing the Royal Navy could do about this, but they did demolish another fort that stood beyond the 3-mile boundary, to prevent a similar takeover there.

The following year, the legitimacy of this self-declared state would be put to the test when Michael Bates fired a warning shot at a British Trinity House vessel which approached the tower. This led to Roy Bates' arrest when he next arrived on the mainland. The case against Roy and Michael Bates was brought to court, where the judge ruled that Sealand was outside of British jurisdiction, therefore no ruling could be made against the Bates boys for their actions. The authorities decided not to appeal this ruling, as it may have led to an undesirable precedent.

In 1978 there was a hostage incident on Sealand when a German lawyer named Alexander Achenbach, claiming to be the Prime Minister of Sealand, stormed the sea fort with German and Dutch mercenaries and took Roy Bates’ son Michael hostage. Not long after, Bates was able to retake the tower and captured Achenbach and the mercenaries. Achenbach, a holder of a Sealand passport, was charged with treason by Sealand and was held unless he paid over $35,000 in restitution. The event was important enough to get the German government involved; they had sent a diplomat to Sealand to negotiate a release of Achenbach with Bates. Once freed, Achenbach and his associates returned to Germany and established a “government in exile” of Sealand, still claiming to this day they are the legitimate ruling authority.

Not much exciting has happened there since the miniature war of '78, though Roy was approached by a group of Argentineans during the Falklands War in 1982; they wanted to buy Sealand and set up camp "right on Britain's doorstep." He sent them away.

Why the demand for a dump of a 70 year-old radar station? The international water rights are the key, and it’s the laissez-faire attitude most governments take regarding Sealand that drives its appeal: no established government wants to be bothered with the responsibility of servicing and controlling Sealand.

Sealand has been out there ever since, gloriously proclaiming its sovereignty and offering noble titles for $316.54 apiece. Sealand is planning to start its own "multiversity," with a curriculum that would teach how to live on an artificial island. It has a national anthem, "E Mare Libertas", which is really quite a catchy tune.

Perhaps even more bizarre is that Sealand has “national” athletes based all over the world. Sealand has a marathon runner based in Canada, a U-20 soccer team in Kentucky, a competition airsoft team based out of Yorkshire, and a Kung Fu specialist that recently won two silver medals at the World Cup of Kung Fu.

Sealand has a Destination Imagination team in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a fencing team at UC Irvine, and in 2008 they hosted a Red Bull skateboarding event. They have founded a football association (soccer league). Also in 2008 the Sealand egg throwing team won the world championship. But not a single athlete competing for Sealand has ever set foot on Sealand, and the current population is estimated to be around 4.

One problem with Sealand is that, as far as artificial islands go, it's kind of, well, what you would expect from a 60-year-old abandoned platform on a couple of concrete pillars out in the middle of the sea -- a bit shabby.

Today, Sealand's sovereignty and legitimacy is not recognized by any traditional States, however it is perhaps the best-known micronation in the world even though its inhabitable area is only 550 square meters. It is quietly tolerated by the UK, which still claims ownership and control of the sandbar upon which Sealand sits.

Sealand's electrical generators are now tasked with powering the servers for HavenCo, a data hosting servicescompany which was started on Sealand in the year 2000. The Bates is leasing the country exclusively to HavenCo Limited, which offers "unparalleled security and independence to users who wish to take advantage of its Internet colocation services."

In 2006, Sealand experienced a fire that quickly consumed the deck. Luckly no one was hurt and the citizens were safely evacuated from the country by the Royal Air Force. Since then, Prince Roy and his wife decided to do what most Royal families do and retire in a foreign country, England. After the move Prince Roy commissioned the Church and East Ltd. with the task of rebuilding their country. 

In 2007 the principality was rumored to be for sale for €750 million. But, nothing happened.

If you want to become a citizen of Sealand, you can send your application to-

Principality of Sealand

Diplomatic Mission in the German Reich/Consulate

Postfach 2366

D-14956 Trebbin

Also has its own website- http://www.sealandgov.org/

How to travel to Sealand?

Unless you're planning to swim your way, you'll travel: By helicopter.

Do-

With panoramic views of the Ocean, in Sea land staring at the ocean is a major past time. You could also engage in the famous walking "The Perimeter" or even take part in the ancient ritual of drinking "Tea" which was bought to Sea Land in around 3000 BC by the Ancient Egyptians. Walk, the entire habitable area of the fort is 550 sq.m.

Eat-

Often flounder can be found beached on the platform, this serves as a magnificent feast for the locals. They also engage in the consumption of "microwave dinners"

**There is electricity but no phone connectivity. No smoking or drinking is allowed in the Principality, and no one is allowed more than three five-minute showers per week in the interest of conserving freshwater; much of which is collected from rain. Its population rarely exceeds five people, and in the sake of security, visitors are unwelcome.

Recent development:

Paddy Roy Bates, who occupied an abandoned fort in the North Sea and declared it the sovereign Principality of Sealand with himself as its prince, passed away aged 91 on Oct 9th, 2012.

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A great setting for a novel, eh!