Issue 245

If you nurture a secret desire to wear a spectacular uniform and hear liveried flunkeys announce your presence and play fanfares as you arrive at ceremonial events, you need help. Help, that is, to establish your own nation. Set up your own state. Make yourself king (or queen) and transform your world into a delightful comic opera.

Creating your own country is less difficult than it might seem. The 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States holds that a nation needs four things to exist: permanent population, defined territory, government, and a capacity to enter into relations with other nations. No matter if your kingdom is small; the city-state of Seborga in the Italian Alps (founded in AD954) occupies less than 5sqkm.

Other nations consist of just a courtyard or caravan, or even a pile of sand. In 1971, a Las Vegas real-estate developer ordered several barges of sand dumped on a reef near Tonga, creating a low island. The developer then took formal possession, named it Minerva, declared independence and issued a currency. Tonga, unamused, sent troops to seize Minerva before it could compose a national anthem or attempt world conquest.

If you're considering becoming a backyard emperor (or even if you're not), Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-made Nations provides plenty of information. This amusing, 160-page book takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the world's oddest little countries: some created as intricate pranks, others born of discontent, to avoid paying tax or just for fun.

Australia is particularly well represented. The Hutt River Province Principality, surrounded by Western Australia and run by His Royal Highness Leonard I and Her Royal Highness Princess Shirley, is widely known. But have you heard of the Duchy of Avram, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, the Empire of Atlantium, the Province of Bumbunga, the Independent State of Rainbow Creek, the Principality of United Oceania, Ponderosa or Snake Hill?

Serious contenders for nation status – Palestine, Kurdistan and Somaliland, for instance – are omitted intentionally from Micronations. Heavy politics and anguish are not in keeping with the book's light-hearted tone. Internationally recognized small nations (Liechtenstein, Tuvalu, San Marino) are likewise passed over. The book focuses squarely on people who have decided, for various reasons, to create their own countries.

Lonely Planet, in its typical style, includes information on places to eat and things to see and do. The prospect of a listing in future editions is an added incentive to those contemplating creating countries. M&M's Cafe on New Zealand's North Island is listed because it stands in the town of Whangamomona, which declared itself an independent republic and appointed a goat as president. The goat is now dead but Whangamomona lives on.

Panels throughout the pages provide historic context. Learn about Norton I, Emperor of the US and Protector of Mexico in the latter half of the 19th century. Acquaint yourself with the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM for short), dating from the 11th century and run by a Prince and Grand Master. Confusion persists over whether the order's 15,540 sq km headquarters in Rome is a country or an organization, but it's a permanent observer at the UN.

SMOM has achieved official recognition beyond the dreams of other micronations, who crave it desperately and often in vain. They mint coins, fly flags and issue postage stamps. The currency of the Republic of Molossia is the valora, divided into 100 futtrus. Coins look suspiciously like poker chips, which is perhaps appropriate, as Molossia (population four) is surrounded by the casino-rich US state of Nevada.

National mottos are important too. "All Are Welcome, None May Leave" is the motto of Lovely, a nation that consists entirely of a small flat in the London suburb of Bow. Enter at your peril. Deus Pascit Corvus ("God Feeds the Raven") is a more cryptic example, that of the Barony of Caux in Canada.

The engaging and often eccentric personalities behind the microstates can be gauged from their photos. Style note for aspiring heads of state: epaulettes, monocles and cockaded hats are out; sashes, medals and dark glasses are in.

Musical genius Frank Zappa once observed: "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline – it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." These days, any self-respecting micro-state possesses a website as well. They come in handy for downloading applications for citizenship. Who knows, your application could even gain you a passport.

Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-made Nations ($24.95).

Article from:

Source: NEWS.com.au, Australia

Australia's own ... Prince Leonard & Princess Shirley on their 'principality' in Hutt River Province in WA. Lenny Casley declared his succession from Australia 30 years ago / Swanborough

King Nicholas I, rules the Copeman Empire, population one, from a small caravan in Sheringham, England

Why not ... a stamp commemorating the silver jubilee of the Empire of Atlantium, from Lonely Planet's Micronations

Self-made rulers ... Westarctica Grand Duke Travis (left) meets President Kevin Baugh of Molossia from Lonely PLant's Micronations

Greetings ... "All are welcome, none may leave" is the motto of Lovely, a nation that consists entirely of a small flat in the London suburb of Bow, from Lonely Planet's Micronations

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