A micronation is a political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from de facto states and quasi-states; they are also not considered to be autonomous or self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence. The activities of micronations are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than disputed by the established nations whose territory they claim—referred to in micronationalism as "macronations". Several micronations have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals and other state-related items, some as a source of revenue. Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity. The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology or micropatrology.
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognised micronation on HM Fort Roughs, an offshore platform in the North Sea approximately twelve kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, England. Roughs Tower is a Maunsell Sea Fort that was built by the British in international waters during World War II. Since 1967, the decommissioned Roughs Tower has been occupied and claimed as a sovereign state by the family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates. Bates seized Roughs Tower from a group of pirate radio broadcasters in 1967 with the intention of setting up his own station there. Bates and his associates have repelled incursions from vessels from rival pirate radio stations and the U.K.'s royal navy using firearms and petrol bombs. Since 1987, when the United Kingdom extended its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, the platform has been in British territory.
Annapolis is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Baltimore and about 30 miles (50 km) east of Washington, D.C., Annapolis forms part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census recorded its population as 40,812, an increase of 6.3% since 2010.
Seat Pleasant is an incorporated city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located immediately east of Washington D.C.. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,522. Two state highways pass through the community — Maryland routes 704 and 214. The Washington Metro's Blue and Silver Lines are nearby. The Washington Commanders' stadium is east of Seat Pleasant, near the Capital Beltway (I-95/495).
The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a sarcastic secession of the city of Key West, Florida, from the United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city. Since then, the term "Conch Republic" has been expanded to refer to "all of the Florida Keys, or, that geographic apportionment of land that falls within the legally defined boundaries of Monroe County, Florida, northward to 'Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon' in Florida City, Dade County, Florida, with Key West as the micronation's capital and all territories north of Key West being referred to as 'The Northern Territories'".
Maryland Route 2 is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The 79.24-mile (127.52 km) route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 /US 40 Truck in Baltimore. The route runs concurrent with MD 4 through much of Calvert County along a four-lane divided highway known as Solomons Island Road, passing through rural areas as well as the communities of Lusby, Port Republic, Prince Frederick, and Huntingtown. In Sunderland, MD 2 splits from MD 4 and continues north as two-lane undivided Solomons Island Road into Anne Arundel County, still passing through rural areas. Upon reaching Annapolis, the route runs concurrent with US 50/US 301 to the north of the city. Between Annapolis and Baltimore, MD 2 runs along the Governor Ritchie Highway, a multilane divided highway that heads through suburban areas, passing through Arnold, Severna Park, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, and Brooklyn Park. In Baltimore, the route heads north on city streets and passes through the downtown area of the city.
How To Start Your Own Country is a British six-part documentary comedy series aired between August and September 2005. The show was presented by British comedian Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, London. The micronation he created was eventually named "Kingdom of Lovely".
The Baltimore & Annapolis Trail is a 13.3-mile (21.4 km) rail trail in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The trail starts at Boulter's Way in Arnold and ends near Baltimore Light Rail's Glen Burnie station in Glen Burnie. Starting near Annapolis at Jonas Green Park, the trail passes (northward) through Arnold, Severna Park, Millersville, Pasadena, and Glen Burnie. The Baltimore & Annapolis Trail follows the route of the Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad from which it derives its name. Proposed in 1972 by Jim Hague, it opened on Oct 7, 1990 as the second rail trail in Maryland.
Maryland Route 33 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 23.17 mi (37.29 km) from Tilghman Island east to Washington Street in Easton. MD 33 connects Easton, the county seat of Talbot County, with all communities on the peninsula that juts west into the Chesapeake Bay between the Miles River and Eastern Bay on the north and the Tred Avon River and Choptank River on the south. The state highway passes through the historic town of Saint Michaels, home of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and enters Tilghman Island by passing over Knapps Narrows on the busiest bascule drawbridge in the United States.
Hamilton Hills is a mixed-use suburban neighborhood located in the northeastern corner of Baltimore City, Maryland. Hamilton Hills represents a section of Hamilton, a larger historic area that includes other neighborhoods in Northeast Baltimore. The neighborhood's borders are Old Harford Road and Harford Road to the east, Echodale Avenue to the south, Perring Parkway to the west and the Baltimore County line to the north. The main thoroughfare in Hamilton Hills is Harford Road, which has been an integral part of the area's history.
Molossia, officially the Republic of Molossia, is a micronation claiming sovereignty over 11.3 acres of land near Dayton, Nevada. The micronation has not received recognition from any of the member states of the United Nations. It was founded by Kevin Baugh. He continues to pay property taxes on the land to Storey County, the recognized local government, although he calls it "foreign aid". He has stated "We all want to think we have our own country, but you know the United States is a lot bigger".
Westport is a neighborhood in south Baltimore, Maryland. Westport is a majority African-American neighborhood that has struggled with crime, housing abandonment, and unemployment in the past decade. The neighborhood is bordered by the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River on the east, the city neighborhoods of Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and the southwestern Baltimore County community of Lansdowne to the southwest, Hollins Ferry Road and the Mount Winans and Lakeland neighborhoods to the west, and Interstate 95 to the north, along with the South Baltimore communities of Federal Hill and Otterbein. The Baltimore–Washington Parkway runs through the middle of Westport and intersects with Interstate 95, the main East Coast super-highway, north to south, Maine to Florida.
Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations is an Australian gazetteer about micronations, published in September 2006 by Lonely Planet. It was written by John Ryan, George Dunford and Simon Sellars. Self-described as a humorous guidebook and written in a light-hearted tone, the book's profile of micronations offers information on their flags, leaders, currencies, maps and other facts. It was re-subtitled Guide to Self-Proclaimed Nations in later publications.
Aabpara آبپارہ is a commercial zone located at the south west of Sector G-6, Islamabad, Pakistan, along Khayaban-e-Suharwardy. It is the oldest market of Islamabad, having been built in 1960. There is an official campsite in the Aabpara area.
The West Spokane Street Bridge was a pair of bascule bridges that crossed the west fork of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, United States. The bridges connected the SoDo and West Seattle neighborhoods over the river. The original bridge opened to traffic in 1924; a second bridge carrying eastbound traffic was opened in 1930, with the 1924 bridge reconfigured to carry westbound traffic.
The South Shore Trail is a 11.2-mile (18.0 km) long, planned shared-use rail trail that will run from Annapolis to Odenton in Maryland, United States. Two segments, totaling 2.96-mile (4.76 km) have been built. The Trail primarily utilizes the abandoned road bed of the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad. The trail will connect with the Colonial Annapolis Maritime Trail on the east and the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail, via the Odenton Bike Path, on the west. When complete, it will be a component of the American Discovery Trail, the East Coast Greenway and the September 11th National Memorial Trail. The trail name is a reference to the railroad it replaces which during its last 10 years in operation was known as the South Shore Division because it ran along the south shore of the Severn River.
The Principality of Snake Hill, also known simply as Snake Hill is a self-proclaimed independent sovereign state (micronation), located near Mudgee in New South Wales, Australia. Snake Hill has roughly hundreds of citizens, and claims land the size of Monaco. Snake Hill claimed independence on 2 September 2003, and Princess Paula claimed it was a right to secede, citing "The U.S., as you well know, seceded from England in 1776, It’s a remedial right, a last resort."
Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL) is a public library system located in central Maryland. Established in 1921 as the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Public Library, Inc, the system now includes 16 locations throughout Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty is a 2021 book by Australian constitutional law specialists Harry Hobbs and George Williams about micronations and their legal status. Written from an academic perspective, it is one of few works on micronational movements and the earliest-published book to focus largely on the legal aspect of micronations. The book concerns the definition of statehood, the place of micronations within international law, people's motivations for declaring them, the micronational community and the ways by which such entities mimic sovereign states. In 2022 Hobbs and Williams published a book for a broader audience, How to Rule Your Own Country: The Weird and Wonderful World of Micronations.
