The Principality of Sealand

[Plexus]

www.sealandgov.com

Sealand was founded as a sovereign Principality in 1967 in international waters, six miles off the eastern shores of Britain. The island fortress is conveniently situated from 65 to 100 miles from the coasts of France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. The official language of Sealand is English and the Sealand Dollar has a fixed exchange rate of one U.S. dollar. Passports and stamps have been in circulation since 1969, however, contrary to many misleading websites and news articles, Sealand passports are not for sale, and anyone offering such are selling forgeries. Within a radius of 500 miles of Sealand live more than 200 million people who enjoy some of the highest standards of living in the world. This area also encompasses the financial, industrial and cultural heart of Europe.

The history of Sealand is a story of a struggle for liberty. Sealand was founded on the principle that any group of people dissatisfied with the oppressive laws and restrictions of existing nation states may declare independence in any place not claimed to be under the jurisdiction of another sovereign entity. The location chosen was Roughs Tower, an island fortress created in World War II by Britain and subsequently abandoned to the jurisdiction of the High Seas. The independence of Sealand was upheld in a 1968 British court decision where the judge held that Roughs Tower stood in international waters and did not fall under the legal jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. This gave birth to Sealand's national motto of E Mare Libertas, or "From the Sea, Freedom".

If this guy gets his own nation, I want my own nation! I'm going to need a lot of concrete...

 

[anarchywrksbest]

Yeah I saw that on TV, apparently the family that owns it rents the gun tower out to businesses as a secure place to keep their servers. Very nice idea

 

[smalltalk]

I guess they draw their fundings from neurotic millionairs who pay graciously to be announced as a Consul or to carry any title of sorts available.

 

[EzInKy]

Originally posted by smalltalk
I guess they draw their fundings from neurotic millionairs who pay graciously to be announced as a Consul or to carry any title of sorts available.

Not to mention having computer servers outside of other nation's jurisdictions.

 

[goododa]

WOW!
I've always been dreaming of having my own nation too!
How can they accomplish this so easily!

 

[Yoda Power]

cool, does anyone have a map with the exact location?

 

[smalltalk]

@EzInKy:

originaly published by
http://thewhir.com/features/sealand.cfm

... of course, as a potential hosting client your first question will likely be: why should I put my servers in Sealand instead of downtown London? .... One reason is physical protection: Sealand itself, a former military installation, is protected with firearms, .... The other reason people choose Sealand is freedom. Sealand doesn't have any provisions regarding the government of traffic data, and has entered in to an agreement with HavenCo that says they never will. So long as a customer abides by the company's Acceptable Use Policy, which is designed to prevent illegal sites like child pornography and spam, clients are free to host whatever they like.

So far, most of HavenCo's clients are finance sites and online casinos, the latter being frowned upon throughout most of the United States. "We're supporting offshore gambling, and nobody cares about gambling," ...

 

[smalltalk]

Whether Sealand is really the world's only true free market environment is an oft-discussed topic with no definite answer. While Sealand was originally located outside British territorial boundaries, Britain extended its territorial water to 12 nautical miles in 1987, thereby encompassing Sealand. To date, however, the issue has not been formally challenged, although it is widely believed Sealand would not be able to withstand a concentrated effort by the British government to shut Sealand down should it ever decide to do so.

 

[Richard III]

I've always found these bastards annoying myself.

 

[WillJ]

Never knew, very interesting.

So, anyone here from Sealand?

 

[cgannon64]

Do they live there, or do they live in Great Britain? I'd hate to live in some towerisland...I'd rather be a citizen of Sealand but live and work in England...

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

I can't believe the idiots in this world. They keep saying there are more than 200 million Sealanders, but it's more like 200. The least they could do is come up with an original name. Sealand has been done far too many times through-out history and lacks imagination.

 

[Plexus]

@MC- "Within a radius of 500 miles of Sealand live more than 200 million people who enjoy some of the highest standards of living in the world. This area also encompasses the financial, industrial and cultural heart of Europe."

But I agree on the name point, I would pick something cool.

 

[puglover]

Originally posted by goododa
WOW!
I've always been dreaming of having my own nation too!
How can they accomplish this so easily!

Same here! Bring the wood and concrete!

 

[Lord_Vetinari]

I don't think I'd like living there, looks a tad boring:

 

[phoenix_night]

okay, have any of you actually seen Sealand? it's just a tiny piece of metal in the sea. that's it.

i mean, they have their own currency and that (though from what i can remember i believe a Sealand dollar is just the same as a us dollar in value), but it's not much of a nation.

though i remember reading a funny story about how prince roy of sealand beat off an enemy invasion and liberated sealand from its attackers.



also: i remember reading a while ago at their official site that they were offering assistance to the us in their war against terrorism.



EDIT: okay, didn't see the pic.

 

[Lord_Vetinari]

EDIT: seems somebody posted a picture of Sealand while i was typing my reply...

It took you over an hour to type that?

 

[phoenix_night]

Originally posted by Lord_Vetinari


It took you over an hour to type that?

no.

 

[Tibetian Monk]

I want my own country!!!!

So, basically if I find an abandoned island in the middle of nowhere, I can deslare independence??????

 

[Yoda Power]

Originally posted by Tibetian Monk
I want my own country!!!!

So, basically if I find an abandoned island in the middle of nowhere, I can deslare independence??????

i thought you wanted Tibet and not some little island?