The Principality of Sealand
A nation with less than 20 permanent residents! They still have their own currency, own passport and own law. Welcome to the principality of Sealand- the nation on an old WW2 fort in the sea off the coast of Suffolk, England. The country is located just 10km away from England and has its own independence. It is occupied by the Bates family in 1967 and follows a hereditary constitutional monarchy. For more information about this small wonder visit http://www.sealandgov.org/ - the official website of the nation.
The UK has also brought Sealand to court a few times in 1968 but the court favors the Bates family as the platform country is in the international waters- outside the jurisdiction of the UK.
It is just hard to believe that a country which is has less than 550m² in area has its own law, national anthem, coats of arms and even stamps. Sealand is considered one of the smallest micronation which is still operating. The Principality of Sealand came to the limelight when Haven Co. (
http://www.havenco.com ), a hosting company founded in 2000 which promises safe haven from copyright laws and such. Sealand was also popular again when Piratesbay.org wanted to buy the nation to host all its P2P stuffs. The deal was not successful.
Map showing the location of Sealand
Anyone interested to buy a small island in nowhere can become king? Looks like its possible.
