The smallest country on the water. The smallest country in the world is Sealand. Coins and stamps

offshore platform-state

There are many opinions about which state is the smallest in the world. An interesting fact is that this is not the Vatican and not even a home state somewhere in Italy, but only the former Roughs Tower offshore platform, which is located 10 kilometers from the coast of Great Britain. True, it should be noted that although this country, according to all the criteria specified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, corresponds to any other state formation, it is still considered an unrecognized state.

The state system of the Principality of Sealand is a constitutional monarchy. Today, the smallest state in the world is ruled by Princess Joanna Bates and Prince Roy Bates, although the actual leadership is carried out by Prince Regent Michael 1st. The country has a constitution adopted in 1995, which consists of only 7 articles and an introduction. Any order of the Prince Regent is issued in the form of a decree. British law is practiced in Sealand as the legal system of the state. The smallest state in the world has three ministries: foreign affairs, internal affairs and the ministry of technology and communications. The total number of citizens of the country is three hundred, although only five people live on the platform itself.

History of the Principality of Sealand

The history of Sealand begins in the second half of the 20th century. In 1966, two former British military friends decided to organize an amusement park on this platform. However, after a few months, Bates becomes the sole owner of the artificial island, and already on September 2, 1967, the brave retired major declares the proclamation of an independent state and calls himself Prince Roy. It is this autumn day that is still the main holiday in this dwarf country.

In 1968, the UK made an attempt to return the Roughs Tower under its jurisdiction. Patrol boats were sent to Sealand, which were met with warning shots in the air. Without bringing the matter to bloodshed, the troops retreated, and against Roy Bates, as a citizen of Great Britain, a criminal case was initiated. But a year later, one of the judges of Essex County recognized that this case does not fall under British jurisdiction.

In 1972, the smallest country in the world began to mint its own coins, and three years later it acquired its own coat of arms and flag. The religious cult on the territory of Sealand is represented by the Sealand Anglican Church, which was founded in October 2006.

Alexander Kurnakov, Samogo.Net

Never heard of this before, but the theme is cool)
It's not just a platform, it's a whole principality!
See photos and read.

Physically, the territory of Sealand arose during the Second World War. In 1942, the British Navy built a series of platforms on the approaches to the coast. One of them was Roughs Tower (Roughs Tower, lit. "hooligan tower"). During the war, anti-aircraft guns were stationed there and there was a garrison of 200 people. After the end of hostilities, most of the towers were destroyed, but Roughs Tower, being outside British territorial waters, remained intact. In 1966, retired British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates chose the site to base his pirate radio station, Britain's Better Music Station. To avoid prosecution by the British authorities, Bates declared the platform a sovereign state and proclaimed himself Prince Roy I. The proclamation of Sealand took place on September 2, 1967. This day is celebrated as a major public holiday.

In 1968, the British authorities tried to occupy the young state. Patrol boats approached the platform, and the princely family responded with warning shots in the air. It did not come to bloodshed, but a lawsuit was launched against Prince Roy as a British citizen. On September 2, 1968, an Essex judge issued a historic ruling: he recognized that the case was outside British jurisdiction.

In 1972, Sealand began minting coins. In 1975, Sealand's first constitution went into effect. There was a flag and coat of arms.

In August 1978, a putsch took place in the country. He was preceded by the emergence of tension between the prince and his closest associate, the country's prime minister Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach (Alexander Gottfried Achenbach). The parties differed in their views on attracting foreign investment to the country and accused each other of unconstitutional intentions. Taking advantage of the absence of the prince, who was negotiating with investors in Austria, Achenbach landed on the island with a group of Dutch citizens. The invaders locked the young Prince Michael in the basement and then took him to the Netherlands. But Michael escaped from captivity and met with his father. With the support of the country's loyal citizens, the deposed monarchs managed to defeat the usurper troops and return to power.

The government acted in strict accordance with international law. The captured foreign mercenaries were soon released, as the Geneva Convention on the Rights of Prisoners of War requires the release of prisoners after the end of hostilities. The organizer of the coup was removed from all posts and convicted of treason in accordance with Sealand laws, but he had a second - German - citizenship, so the authorities of the FRG became interested in his fate. The British Foreign Office refused to intervene in this matter, and the German diplomats had to negotiate directly with Sealand. The senior legal adviser of the German embassy in London, Dr. Niemüller, arrived on the island. Prince Roy demanded diplomatic recognition of Sealand, but in the end, given the bloodless nature of the failed putsch, he agreed to verbal assurances and generously released Achenbach.

The losers continued to insist on their rights. They formed the illegal government of Sealand in exile (FRG). Achenbach claimed to be the chairman of the Privy Council. In January 1989, he was arrested by the German authorities (naturally, they did not recognize his diplomatic status) and handed over his post to the Minister for Economic Cooperation, Johannes W. F. Seiger, who soon became Prime Minister. Re-elected in 1994 and 1999

September 30, 1987 Sealand announced the expansion of its territorial waters from 3 to 12 miles. The UK made a similar announcement the next day. Thus, in accordance with international norms, the maritime territory between the two countries should be divided equally. The absence of a bilateral agreement regulating this issue has led to dangerous incidents. So in 1990, Sealand fired warning shots at a British ship that approached its shore without authorization.

The name of Sealand, without the knowledge of the government, was involved in a grandiose criminal scam. In 1997, an extensive international syndicate came to the attention of Interpol, which established the trade in fake Sealand passports (Sealand itself never traded passports and did not provide political asylum). Over 150,000 false passports (including diplomatic ones), as well as driver's licenses, university diplomas and other fake documents were sold to citizens of Hong Kong (during its transfer to the control of the PRC) and Eastern Europe. In several European countries, attempts were made to open bank accounts and even purchase weapons using Sealand passports. The headquarters of malefactors was in Germany, the sphere of activity covered Spain, Great Britain, France, Slovenia, Romania and Russia. The “foreign minister” of the pseudo-state was a Russian citizen, Igor Popov. In the United States, the connection of this case with the murder of Gianni Versace was discovered (the killer committed suicide on a yacht whose owner had a fake Sealand diplomatic passport). The government of Sealand gave full cooperation to the investigation and after this tragic incident canceled the passports.

In 2000, the HavenCo company placed its hosting in Sealand, in return, the government undertook to guarantee the inviolability of freedom of information legislation (regarding the Internet in Sealand, everything is allowed except spam, hacker attacks and child pornography). HavenCo hopes that its location on sovereign territory will save it from being subject to the restrictions of British Internet law.

The position of Sealand favorably differs from that of other artificially created states. The Principality has a physical territory and has some legal grounds for international recognition. The requirement of independence is based on three arguments. The most fundamental of these is the fact that Sealand was founded in neutral waters before the entry into force of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which prohibited the construction of artificial structures on the high seas, and before the expansion of the sovereign maritime zone of Great Britain from 3 to 12 miles in 1987. Based on the fact that Roughs Tower was abandoned and struck off the lists of the British Admiralty, its occupation in 1966 is considered as colonization. The settlers who settled on it had every right to establish a state and establish a form of government at their discretion. Sealand meets all the criteria for statehood specified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. According to international norms, the size of the state cannot be an obstacle to recognition. For example, the recognized British possession of Pitcairn Island has only about 60 people.

The second important argument is the decision of the British court in 1968 on the absence of British jurisdiction over Sealand. No other country has also claimed Sealand.













Based on materials

Principality of Sealand, UK. Roughs Tower is located 10 kilometers from the coast of Great Britain - one of the coastal platforms of the British garrison during the Second World War. Since 1967, a metal platform (area 0.00055 km²) in the North Sea has been proclaimed a separate state of Sealand (literally "sea land"). The idea belonged to retired Major Paddy Roy Bates, who took over the platform in time before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force, which prohibits the construction of structures on the high seas. The founder of an unusual state arranged self-government and called himself a monarch. During its short history, the Principality survived an attack from Britain, a putsch and a fire. In 1975, it adopted a constitution, approved the flag, coat of arms and anthem. Over time, the "government" of the self-proclaimed country began to mint and sell coins, as well as issue passports and assign titles. Anyone can become a citizen of Sealand (25 pounds), as well as a duke or duchess (199.99 pounds). The state has about 70 thousand fans on Facebook, and more than 150 thousand people use fake passports of the principality. Principality of Seborga, Italy. In 1963, Italy became 15 km² smaller when the inhabitants of the village of the same name proclaimed themselves a separate principality. This mess was brewed by the flower merchant Giorgio Carbone, who supported the idea that Seborga was never documented as part of the Republic in 1946, which means that this territory is not legally part of Italy. Moreover, as an independent feudal principality of Seborga existed for more than a thousand years - since 954! Consequently, Giorgio I proclaimed a village in the Italian province an independent state, and himself its first prince. Seborga mints its own luigino coins and sells stamps, and has opened consulates in 10 countries around the world. However, only Burkina Faso officially recognized Seborga. Ladonia, Sweden. In 1996, a new state appeared on the map of Sweden, grabbing 1 km² from the Kullaberg Nature Reserve. It all started with art, namely, with the fact that the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, without consent, piled up on the site of the future country the sculpture "Nimis", and later "Arks". However, the authorities did not like his idea. The sculptor responded to the bureaucrats by proclaiming a virtual state, whose citizens were divided into nobles, ordinary inhabitants, honorable citizens and saints. It is noteworthy that Lars Vilks himself limited himself to the modest post of Secretary of State of Ladonia. Apparently, his duty is to count the profit from the sale of the titles of earls and baronesses to those who wish. By the way, there is no permanent population in Ladonia, but during the existence of the self-proclaimed state, more than 16 thousand received its citizenship. Their number wanted to be replenished by 3,000 Pakistanis who naively hoped to emigrate with the help of Ladonia. Republic of Conch, or Republic of the Shell, USA. Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlaw proclaimed the Florida Keys an independent nation in 1982 when he was tired of dealing with the inconvenience of the border crossing status (with Cuba) his hometown had been made into. He declared himself the first president and plucked up the courage to throw a piece of stale bread at the customs officer and declare war on the United States. True, he immediately capitulated and requested humanitarian aid in the amount of $1 billion! The media trumpeted the sensational news, and the US authorities removed the border outpost. The self-proclaimed republic sells its own passports for prices ranging from $100 (for Americans and Canadians) to $10,000 (diplomatic ambassador's passport). Republic of Užupis, Lithuania. In our opinion, the District is one of the districts of Vilnius. From an abandoned quarter, Uzupis turned into a Lithuanian Montmartre, sheltering local artists and artists. It was they who in the 90s proclaimed 0.6 km² of the territory of the capital as a new republic, invented a flag for it, concocted a constitution, drew money and elected a president. For fun, on April 1, Uzhupov people celebrate their independence day. In their creative country there is a place for the army and customs, and the ambassadors and consuls of the republic can be found in 200 places in the world. The republic specializes in good deeds: helping the homeless and the elderly, feeding cats, painting abandoned houses in bright colors. The symbol of the "state" is an angel with a trumpet. When the Dalai Lama, who received honorary citizenship of the republic, arrived in Uzhupis, he said that he would like the sound of this trumpet to be heard throughout the Earth. Grand Duchy of Vestarctica, Antarctica. On the southernmost continent in 2001, the first virtual state appeared. It lays claim to part of Antarctica, which the UN has called "the continent of international cooperation." The initiator of the idea is US infantryman Travis McHenry. The Westarctic has its own radio station, state news agency, army, issues currency and stamps. Anyone can become a citizen of the Westarctic by filling out the appropriate form on the site, as well as receive their own unique e-mail. And believe me, getting Vestarctic citizenship is much easier than seeing its natural attractions. Beautiful Kingdom (The Kingdom of Lovely). Comedian writer Danny Wallace collaborated with the BBC to produce a comic documentary series How to Create Your Own State. In the process of a television experiment, he created a new country, which was territorially based in his London apartment and united 58,165 citizens from all over the world. It happened on January 1, 2005. The designers of the Pentagram studio worked on the flag and coat of arms, and for advice, Wallace went to the prince of the Sealand microstate and the "owner" of the moon, Dennis Hope. The name of the kingdom was helped to come up with the audience by online voting. But the Beautiful State was not allowed to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The initial idea was to capture a no-man's sea platform and organize some kind of entertainment center on it, like an amusement park. The adventure was interesting, albeit financially expensive, but two bosom buddies Paddy Roy Bates and Ronan O'Reilly decided to take a chance and secure a source of permanent income. Shortly after the landing, made in 1966, the friends disagreed and Bates sent O'Reilly "in the cold", declaring that from now on the platform belongs only to him. However, the retired major of the British Armed Forces did not have money for a complete re-equipment of the platform, and he decided on a breathtaking step - he declared the territory of the platform, equal to 1,300 square meters, the Principality of Sealand, and himself - the monarch and Prince Roy I. Do you think he is a potential patient of a psychiatric hospital? Everything is much more complicated...

The territory of the Principality of Sealand in its "youth" served in the army and was called "Fort Maunsell" - the offshore platform was created and installed by order of the British Navy in 1942. There were dozens of similar platforms along the coastline of England, each with a detachment of two hundred soldiers serving the anti-aircraft gun complex. With their help, Churchill and the British Admiralty hoped to seriously thin out the ranks of German bombers in the event of an air strike from Nazi Germany, to track the laying of minefields by enemy minelayers - gun and anti-aircraft platforms were something like the first line of defense of Great Britain.

The Second World War ended in victory for the Allies and the line of defense from offshore platforms was dismantled, but Fort Maunsell remained in its place - guns and other army equipment were removed from it, but they had no right to remove it (Nock John Fort remained, it is in the image below ). The fact is that under international law, the maritime territory along the perimeter of the British Isles, which is owned by Great Britain, is limited to three nautical miles from the coastline. All other anti-aircraft gun platforms were placed within it, but Fort Maunsell was set the farthest - six nautical miles from the coast, exactly opposite the mouth of the River Thames. Those. England had no right to it and therefore could not dismantle it - the platform became a no-man's land, located in neutral waters.

Another post-war platform and fellow Sealand - Knock John Fort

In the media of the middle of the last century, a no-man's offshore platform was nicknamed the "Hooligan Tower" or "Roughs Tower" - the platform exists, but it does not have an owner. And in 1966, this situation was changed by the British Bates and O'Reilly, they had reasons for that - both were in conflict with the law of Great Britain and were considered radio pirates for regularly airing illegal radio stations "Radio Essex" and "Radio Caroline" (lack of license, non-payment taxes, copyright infringement, etc.). Let's return to the former Major Roy Bates, who became the sole owner of the Roughs Tower - the first thing he did was start his Radio Essex again, enjoying the freedom from the jurisdiction of England. But the euphoria did not last long - the construction of the platform was in a deplorable state and required constant repairs, and Bates, who, moreover, England refused to pay a pension, had no money for this ... But he was found - after lengthy negotiations with lawyers and lawyers, a retired warrior declared himself prince and monarch of the Principality of Sealand, whose territory was the sea platform and the three-mile sea zone around it.

Two military conflicts immediately arose in the young principality - a former friend of O'Reilly tried to knock out a fellow radio pirate and appropriate the platform for himself, the British Navy made a similar attempt, also trying to return the platform to its jurisdiction and drive out the impudent invader, along with family and friends whom Bates by that time settled in the former army barracks of Sealand. We must pay tribute to the outstanding courage and determination of the retired major, his family and friends - both attacks were repulsed! In the first case, the population of the platform fought off the attackers with the help of rifles, machine guns and flamethrowers (!), In the second case, the boats of the coast guard of England turned to the shore as soon as rifle bullets whistled over their heads (Navy captains can be understood - getting injured just like that and fighting they didn’t want to deal with civilians, not the case).

Passport, coins and postage stamps of the Principality of Sealand

Now about the legal status of the Principality of Sealand. Having met armed resistance from the population of Sealand, representatives of the British Navy appealed to the Essex court with a demand to release the platform illegally occupied by an English citizen. But the Essex judge made the opposite decision - in early September 1968, he ruled that the Sealand offshore platform was outside the jurisdiction of the UK, i.e. The laws of a country have no power over its people. This was the first success of the young Principality, which Prince Roy I Bates immediately decided to consolidate by issuing his own postage stamps in 1969 (and demanding that the Universal Postal Union in Brussels accept the Principality of Sealand), starting to mint his own coin in 1972, and in 1975 - creating the Constitution of the Sealand Monarchy, its coat of arms, flag and anthem.

Those. According to the Montevideo International Convention, adopted in 1933 at the 7th Pan-American Conference, the principality of Sealand has all the features of an independent state, namely: it has its own territory, there is a permanent population, it has its own government and the principality is able (and has repeatedly tried!) to enter into diplomatic relations with other states.

So, since 1967 - for 45 years already - the Principality of Sealand has existed in good health, and the "August" family of a retired British major, who exchanged his homeland for a princely title, has accumulated a good fortune. I had a reasonable question - how much income can a principality located on the high seas and on an area the size of a football field bring? The first source of income was the pirated Radio Essex, then Roy I and his family switched to all sorts of promotional products - cups, T-shirts, posters, etc. Trade was greatly facilitated by the attempted coup d'état in Sealand in 1978, which brought incredible popularity to the microscopic principality and its population in the European media.

Crown Prince of Sealand Michael Bates

As the monarch of a sovereign state with all the necessary regalia, Roy I Bates, his wife, Princess Joan I Bates, the heir to the princely throne, Prince Regent Michael I and daughter Penelope are engaged in trading titles and other attributes of the Principality - to purchase a title and related documentation for 316 $ can anyone on the official website of the Principality of Sealand sealandgov.org. And the former putschist and Prime Minister of Sealand, Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach, a German citizen, declared himself a “government in exile” and actively traded in fake passports of the principality, selling about 150,000 documents at $ 1,000 each (at the request of Interpol, Prince Roy I canceled the action all Sealand passports a few years ago). From 2000 to 2008, the servers of the hosting company HavenCo were located on the platform of the principality, which made a bet on an offshore zone and paid a tidy sum for rent.

Which country is the smallest? Many will answer: the Vatican. However, ten kilometers from the coast of Great Britain is a tiny independent state - Sealand. The Principality is located on an abandoned offshore platform.

background

The Roughs Tower platform (“hooligan tower” in English) was built during World War II. To protect against fascist bombers, several such platforms were installed off the coast of Great Britain. An anti-aircraft gun complex was located on them, which was guarded and serviced by 200 soldiers.

The Roughs Tower platform, which later became the physical territory that the virtual state occupied, was located six miles from the mouth of the Thames. And the territorial waters of Britain ended three miles from the coast. Thus, the platform was in neutral waters. After the end of the war, the weapons from all the forts were dismantled, the platforms that were close to the coast were destroyed. And Roughs Tower remained abandoned.

In the 60s of the last century, radio pirates began to actively explore the coastal waters of England. Roy Bates, a retired major in the British Army, was one of them. He organized his first radio station, Radio Essex, on a different platform, displacing his colleagues from there. However, in 1965 he was fined for violating the Wireless Telegraph Act and had to find a new location for the radio station.

Together with his friend Ronan O'Rahilly, the major decided to occupy the Roughs Tower and create an amusement park on the platform. However, friends soon quarreled, and Roy Bates began to independently master the platform. He even had to defend the right to her with weapons in his hands.

History of creation

The amusement park idea failed. But Bates could no longer recreate the radio station, despite the fact that he had all the necessary equipment. The fact is that in 1967 a law began to operate that made broadcasting a crime, including from neutral waters. Now even the location of the platform could not save Bates from persecution by the state.

But what if the waters are no longer neutral? The retired major had a crazy, at first glance, idea - to proclaim the platform a separate state. On September 2, 1967, the former military man proclaimed the platform an independent state and named it Sealand, and declared himself the ruler of the new country, Prince Roy I Bates. Accordingly, his wife became Princess Joanna I.

Of course, Roy initially studied international law and spoke to lawyers. It turned out that the actions of the major would indeed be difficult to challenge in court. The newly minted state of Sealand had a physical territory, albeit a small one - only 0.004 square kilometers.

At the same time, the construction of the platform was quite legal. A document prohibiting such buildings appeared only in the 80s. And at the same time, the platform was outside the jurisdiction of Britain, and the authorities could not legally dismantle it.

Relations with Great Britain

Three more such platforms remained in the territorial waters of England. Just in case, the government decided to get rid of them. The platforms were blown up. One of the ships of the Navy, performing this task, sailed to Sealand. The ship's crew stated that this platform would soon be destroyed. To which the inhabitants of the principality responded with warning shots in the air.

Roy Bates was a British citizen. Therefore, as soon as the major stepped ashore, he was arrested on charges of illegal possession of weapons. A lawsuit began against Prince Bates. On September 2, 1968, an Essex judge made a historic decision: he ruled that the case was outside British jurisdiction. This fact became official evidence that the UK has waived its rights to the platform.

coup attempt

In August 1978, a coup d'état nearly took place in the country. Between the ruler of the state Roy Bates and his closest assistant, Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach, a conflict arose over the policy of attracting foreign investment to the country. The men accused each other of unconstitutional intentions.

When the prince went to Austria to negotiate with potential investors, the count decided to seize the platform by force. At that moment, only Michael (Michael) I Bates, son of Roy and heir to the throne, was in Sealand. Achenbach, along with several mercenaries, seized the platform, and the young prince was locked up in a windowless cabin for several days. After that, Michael was taken to the Netherlands, from where he was able to escape.

Roy and Michael were soon reunited and were able to regain power on the platform. Mercenaries and Achenbach were captured. What to do with the people who betrayed Sealand? The Principality fully complied with the norms of international law. on the rights of prisoners of war states that after the cessation of hostilities, all prisoners must be released.

The mercenaries were immediately released. But Achenbach was accused of attempting a coup d'etat according to the laws of the principality. He was convicted and removed from all government positions. Since the traitor was a citizen of Germany, the German authorities became interested in his fate. Britain refused to intervene in this conflict.

The German official came to Sealand to speak with Prince Roy. As a result of the intervention of a German diplomat, Achenbach was released.

illegal government

What did Achenbach do next after the failed attempt to capture Sealand? The principality was now inaccessible to him. But the former earl continued to insist on his rights and even organized the government of Sealand in exile. He also claimed to be the chairman of a secret council.

Germany diplomatic status of Achenbach, and in 1989 he was arrested. The post of head of the illegal government of Sealand was taken by Johannes Seiger, a former minister for economic cooperation.

Territory expansion

In 1987, Sealand (principality) expanded its territorial waters. He announced such a desire on September 30, and the next day the UK made the same statement. In accordance with international law, the disputed maritime territory is equally divided between the two states.

Since there are no agreements between the countries on this matter, and the UK has not made any statements, the Sealand government considered the disputed territory divided according to international standards.

This led to an unfortunate incident. In 1990, a British ship approached the shores of the principality without permission. The inhabitants of Sealand fired several warning shots into the air.

Passports

In 1975, the virtual state began to issue its own passports, including diplomatic ones. But the good name of Sealand was tarnished when the illegitimate government-in-exile became involved in a massive worldwide scam. In 1997, Interpol began to look for the source of the huge number of false documents allegedly issued in Sealand.

Passports, driver's licenses, higher education diplomas and other documents were sold to Russia, USA and European countries. According to these documents, people tried to cross the border, open a bank account, buy weapons. The Sealand government has cooperated with the investigation. After this incident, absolutely all passports, including those issued absolutely legally, were revoked and abolished.

Constitution, state symbols, form of government

After the United Kingdom recognized in 1968 that Sealand was outside its jurisdiction, the inhabitants decided that this was a de facto recognition of the country's independence. After 7 years, in 1975, state symbols were developed - the anthem, flag and coat of arms. At the same time, the Constitution was issued, including the preamble and 7 articles. New government decisions are issued in the form of decrees.

The flag of Sealand is a combination of three colors - red, black and white. In the upper left corner - a red triangle, in the lower right - a black triangle. Between them is a white stripe.

The flag and coat of arms are the official symbols of Sealand. The coat of arms of Sealand depicts two lions with fish tails holding a shield in the colors of the flag in their paws. Under the coat of arms is the motto, which reads: "Freedom - from the sea." The anthem of the state, written by the composer Vasily Simonenko, is also called.

According to the state system, Sealand is a monarchy. There are three ministries in the board structure - foreign affairs, internal affairs and telecommunications and technology.

Coins and stamps

Sealand coins have been issued since 1972. The first silver coin depicting Princess Joanna was issued in 1972. From 1972 to 1994, several types of coins were issued, predominantly in silver, gold and bronze, with portraits of Joanna and Roy or a dolphin on the obverse, and a sailboat or coat of arms on the reverse. The monetary unit of the Principality is the Sealand dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar.

Between 1969 and 1977, the state issued postage stamps. For some time they were accepted by Belgian post.

Population

The first ruler of Sealand was Prince Roy Bates. In 1990, he transferred all rights to his son and, together with the princess, went to live in Spain. Roy died in 2012, his wife Joanna in 2016. The current ruler is Prince Michael I Bates. He has an heir, James Bates, who is the Prince of Sealand. In 2014, James had a son, Freddie, who is the great-grandson of the first ruler of the principality.

Who lives in the state of Sealand today? The population of the principality at different times ranged from 3 to 27 people. Now there are about ten people on the platform every day.

Religion and sports

It operates on the territory of the principality. Also on the platform there is a small chapel named after St. Brendan the Navigator. Sealand does not stand aside from sporting achievements. Despite the fact that the population of the principality is not enough to form sports teams, some athletes represent the unrecognized state. There is even a football team.

Sealand and the Internet

With regard to the Internet, a simple law operates on the territory of the state - everything is allowed except spam, hacker attacks and child pornography. Therefore, Sealand, which began as a pirate radio station, is still an attractive territory for modern pirates. For 8 years, HavenCo's servers were located on the territory of the Principality. After the closure of the company, the Principality continues to provide server hosting services for various organizations.

Legal status

Unlike other self-proclaimed states, Sealand has little chance of gaining recognition. The Principality has a physical territory, it was founded before the expansion of the water borders of Britain. The platform was abandoned, which means that its settlement can be considered as colonization. Thus, Roy Bates could indeed establish a state in a free territory. However, in order for Sealand to receive full rights, it must be recognized by other states.

Selling Sealand

In 2006, a fire broke out on the platform. Significant funds were needed for the restoration. In 2007, the Principality was put up for sale for a price of 750 million euros. The Pirate Bay intended to acquire the platform, but the parties could not agree.

Sealand today

You can not only find out which country is the smallest, but also support the government of the rebellious platform in the quest for independence. Anyone can donate money to the treasury of the principality. In addition, on the official website you can buy various souvenirs, coins, stamps.

For only 6 euros, you can create a personal Sealand email address. For 25 euros order an official identity card. For those who have dreamed of a title all their lives, Sealand gives such an opportunity. Quite officially, according to the laws of the principality, anyone who pays 30 euros can become a baron, for 100 euros - a knight of the Sovereign Military Order, and for 200 - a real count or countess.

Today, the Principality of Sealand is ruled by Michael I Bates. Like his father, he advocates freedom of information, and the hooligan tower remains a stronghold of today's information pirates.