At BB, we've always admired the rulers of micronations, tiny sovereign states that are usually unrecognized by "official" governments and sometimes only recognized by the rulers themselves. The new issue of Smithsonian surveys a handful of these fascinating autonomous zones. From Smithsonian:
Hundreds of micronations exist at any given time, says President Kevin Baugh of the Republic of Molossia, a 6.3-acre micronation established in 1998 within Nevada and California. “Most were started by teenage boys. When they contact me, it’s obvious it’s a kid in his bedroom with a computer; the abysmal spelling usually gives it away,” he explains. “The average lifespan of a micronation is about 90 days, because that’s the average attention span of a teenage boy.”
In this context, a place like Seborga is downright prehistoric. Established in 954 as a seignory of the Holy Roman Empire, the hilltop village near the Italian Riviera managed to maintain its independence largely because it was overlooked by the succession of rulers who took over this part of the world. Seborga issues its own stamps, currency (the luigino, valuable only as a collector’s item), and has consuls in several European nations and Indonesia. The leader of this gorgeous micronation of slightly fewer than 400 people is Prince Giorgio I, first elected in 1963. As far as Italy is concerned, Seborgans are tax-paying residents of Imperia Province.
- Boing Boing: Report: Sealand is for sale (or "transfer")
- Boing Boing: Pirate Bay trying to buy Sealand, offering citizenship
- Boing Boing: interview with Sealand designer
- Boing Boing: Sealand devastated by fire, sole human on site injured
- Boing Boing: Interview with Lonely Planet Micronations author
- Micronations: folly and grandeur – Boing Boing
