1.
Microstate
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A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, and usually both. According to a definition, microstates are, modern protected states. In line with this and most other definitions the examples of microstates include, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, the smallest political unit recognized as a sovereign state is Vatican City, with 842 citizens as of July 2013 and an area of only 44 hectares. Microstates are distinct from micronations, which are not recognized as sovereign states, most scholars identify microstates by using a quantitative threshold and applying it to either one variable or a composite of different variables. With the exceptions of Singapore and Bahrain, all the above have fewer than 500,000 people, with the exceptions of Samoa, Vanuatu, Iceland, Bahamas, Belize, and Brunei, all the above have a non-sea area less than 1,000 km2. While employing simple quantitative criteria may seem straightforward, it can also be perceived as potentially problematic, newer approaches have proposed looking at the behaviour or capacity to operate in the international arena in order to determine which states should deserve the microstate label. Yet, it has argued that such approaches could lead to either confusing microstates with weak states or relying too much on subjective perceptions. Examples of microstates understood as modern protected states include such states as, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, Niue, Andorra, a small number of tiny sovereign political units are founded on historical anomalies or eccentric interpretations of law. One example is the Republic of Indian Stream, now the town of Pittsburg, revolutionary War, and claimed by both the U. S. and Canada. Between 1832 and 1835, the residents refused to acknowledge either claimant. Another example is the Cospaia Republic, which became independent through a treaty error and its independence made it important in the introduction of tobacco cultivation to Italy
2.
Principality of Sealand
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The Principality of Sealand is a micronation that claims Roughs Tower, an offshore platform located in the North Sea approximately 12 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, England, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a disused Maunsell Sea Fort, originally called HM Fort Roughs, since 1967, the decommissioned HM Fort Roughs has been occupied by family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who claim that it is an independent sovereign state. Bates seized it from a group of radio broadcasters in 1967 with the intention of setting up his own station at the site. He attempted to establish Sealand as a nation-state in 1975 with the writing of a national constitution, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in force since 1994 states Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, since 1987, Sealand lies within the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. Bates moved to the mainland when he became elderly, naming his son Michael regent, Bates died in October 2012 at the age of 91. It consisted of a floating pontoon base with a superstructure of two towers joined by a deck upon which other structures could be added. The fort was towed to a position above the Rough Sands sandbar and this is approximately 7 nautical miles from the coast of Suffolk, outside the then 3 nmi claim of the United Kingdom and, therefore, in international waters. The facility was occupied by 150–300 Royal Navy personnel throughout World War II, Roughs Tower was occupied in February and August 1965 by Jack Moore and his daughter Jane, squatting on behalf of the pirate station Wonderful Radio London. On 2 September 1967, the fort was occupied by Major Paddy Roy Bates, a British subject and pirate radio broadcaster, Bates intended to broadcast his pirate radio station – called Radio Essex – from the platform. Despite having the equipment, he never began broadcasting. Bates declared the independence of Roughs Tower and deemed it the Principality of Sealand, in 1968, British workmen entered what Bates claimed to be his territorial waters in order to service a navigational buoy near the platform. Michael Bates tried to scare the workmen off by firing warning shots from the former fort, as Bates was a British subject at the time, he was summoned to court in England on firearms charges following the incident. But as the court ruled that the platform was outside British territorial limits, being beyond the then 3-nautical-mile limit of the countrys waters, in 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a national flag, a national anthem, a currency and passports. They stormed the platform with speedboats, jet skis and helicopters, Michael was able to retake Sealand and capture Achenbach and the mercenaries using weapons stashed on the platform. Achenbach, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand and was held unless he paid DM75,000. The governments of the Netherlands, Austria and Germany petitioned the British government for his release, Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Sealand to negotiate for Achenbachs release. Roy Bates relented after several weeks of negotiations and subsequently claimed that the visit constituted de facto recognition of Sealand by Germany
3.
Sovereign state
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A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign
4.
Imaginary country
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A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Sailors have always mistaken low clouds for land masses, and in later times this was given the name Dutch capes, other fictional lands appear most commonly as settings or subjects of myth, literature, movies, or video games. Also, the ISO3166 country code ZZ is reserved as a country code. Fictional countries appear commonly in stories of science fiction. Such countries supposedly form part of the normal Earth landscape although not located in a normal atlas, later similar tales often took place on fictional planets. Jonathan Swifts protagonist, Lemuel Gulliver, visited various strange places, edgar Rice Burroughs placed adventures of Tarzan in areas in Africa that, at the time, remained mostly unknown to the West and to the East. Isolated islands with strange creatures and/or customs enjoyed great popularity in these authors times, by the 19th century, when Western explorers had surveyed most of the Earths surface, this option was lost to Western culture. Thereafter fictional utopian and dystopian societies tended to spring up on other planets or in space, Fictional countries can also be used in stories set in a distant future, with other political borders than today. Superhero and secret agent comics and some also use fictional countries on Earth as backdrops. Most of these countries exist only for a story, a TV-series episode or an issue of a comic book. There are notable exceptions, such as Qumar and Equatorial Kundu in The West Wing, Marvel Comics Latveria and DC Comics Qurac, Fictional countries often deliberately resemble or even represent some real-world country or present a utopia or dystopia for commentary. Variants of the name sometimes make it clear what country they really have in mind. Fictional countries have created for polling purposes. When polled in April 2004, 8% of British people believed that the country of Luvania would soon join the European Union. In the 1989 General Social Survey, U. S. respondents were asked to rate the social status of people of Wisian background, once you let the Wisians in, the neighborhood goes to pot, quipped Time Magazine. Countries from stories, myths, legends, that some believe to exist, ISBN 978-0684849584 Media related to Fictional countries at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Eco-village
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Ecovillages are traditional or intentional communities whose goal is to become more socially, culturally, economically and ecologically sustainable. Ecovillages are consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate, most range from a population of 50 to 150 individuals, although some are smaller, and traditional ecovillages are often much larger. Larger ecovillages often exist as networks of smaller subcommunities, ecovillagers are united by shared ecological, social-economic and cultural-spiritual values. Ecovillages offer small-scale communities with ecological impact or regenerative impacts as an alternative. However, such communities often cooperate with peer villages in networks of their own and this model of collective action is similar to that of Ten Thousand Villages, which supports the fair trade of goods worldwide. In 1991, Robert Gilman set out a definition of an ecovillage that became standard for many years and this is clearly a tall order. In fact, using a strict interpretation of this definition, especially with regards to “harmlessly integrated”, Ecovillages are therefore better thought of as communities striving towards these ideals rather than actualised utopias. In this view, ecovillages are seen as an ongoing process and they often start off with a focus on one of the four dimensions of sustainability, e. g. ecology, but evolve into holistic models for restoration. Ecovillages have developed in recent years as technology has improved so they have more sophisticated structures as noted by Baydoun, the ecovillage movement began to coalesce at the annual autumn conference of Findhorn, in Scotland, in 1995. The conference was called, Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities, and conference organizers turned away hundreds of applicants, according to Ross Jackson, somehow they had struck a chord that resonated far and wide. Thus became part of the language of the Cultural Creatives, after that conference, many intentional communities, including Findhorn, began calling themselves ecovillages, giving birth to a new movement. Gaia Trust, Denmark, agreed to fund the network for its first five years, today, there are self-identified ecovillages in over 70 countries on six continents. The principles on which ecovillages rely can be applied to urban and rural settings, as well as to developing, advocates seek a sustainable lifestyle for inhabitants with a minimum of trade outside the local area, or ecoregion. Many advocates also seek independence from existing infrastructures, although others, particularly in urban settings. Rural ecovillages are usually based on farming, permaculture and other approaches which promote ecosystem function. Ecovillages, whether urban or rural, tend to integrate community and ecological values within a principle-based approach to sustainability and their residents value and practice community living. Their residents are not overly dependent on government, corporate or other centralized sources for water, food, rather, they attempt to provide these resources themselves. Their residents have a sense of shared values, often characterized in spiritual terms
6.
Campus
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A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, a modern campus is a collection of buildings and grounds that belong to a given institution, either academic or non-academic. Examples include the Googleplex and the Apple Campus, the word derives from a Latin word for field and was first used to describe the large field adjacent Nassau Hall of the College of New Jersey in 1774. The field separated Princeton from the nearby town. Some other American colleges later adopted the word to describe individual fields at their own institutions, a school might have one space called a campus, one called a field, and another called a yard. The tradition of a campus began with the medieval European universities where the students, the notion of the importance of the setting to academic life later migrated to America, and early colonial educational institutions were based on the Scottish and English collegiate system. The campus evolved from the model in Europe to a diverse set of independent styles in the United States. The meaning expanded to include the whole institutional property during the 20th century, sometimes the lands on which company office buildings sit, along with the buildings, are called campuses. The Microsoft Campus in Redmond, Washington is a good example, hospitals, and even airports sometimes use the term to describe the territory of their facilities
7.
Tribe
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A tribe is viewed, developmentally or historically, as a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states. A tribe is a group of people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient. It is perhaps the term most readily understood and used by the general public, stephen Corry defines tribal people as those who. have followed ways of life for many generations that are largely self-sufficient, and are clearly different from the mainstream and dominant society. There are a one hundred and fifty million tribal individuals worldwide. Although nearly all people are indigenous, some are not indigenous to the areas where they now live. The distinction between tribal and indigenous is important because tribal peoples have a special status acknowledged in international law and they often face particular issues in addition to those faced by the wider category of indigenous peoples. Many people used the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of social, especially familial, a customary tribe in these terms is a face-to-face community, relatively bound by kinship relations, reciprocal exchange, and strong ties to place. Tribe is a term due to its roots of being defined by outsiders during the period of colonialism. The word has no shared referent, whether in political form, some argue that it conveys a negative connotation of a timeless unchanging past. To avoid these implications, some have chosen to use the ethnic group. In some places, such as India and North America, tribes are polities that have granted legal recognition. The English word tribe occurs in 12th-century Middle English-literature as referring to one of the tribes of Israel. The Ramnes were named after Romulus, leader of the Latins, Tities after Titus Tatius, leader of the Sabines, according to Livy, the three tribes were squadrons of knights, rather than ethnic divisions. The terms ultimate etymology is uncertain, perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European roots tri-, in 242–240 BC, the Tribal Assembly in the Roman Republic included 35 tribes. The Latin word as used in the Bible translates as Greek phyle, race, tribe, clan, in the historical sense, tribe, race and clan can be used interchangeably. Considerable debate has accompanied efforts to define and characterize tribes, scholars perceive differences between pre-state tribes and contemporary tribes, there is also general controversy over cultural evolution and colonialism. In the popular imagination, tribes reflect a way of life that predates, tribes also privilege primordial social ties, are clearly bounded, homogeneous, parochial, and stable. Tribes are an organization among families, which generates a social and ideological basis for solidarity that is in some way more limited than that of a group or of a nation
8.
Sect
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A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. A sect, in an Indian context, refers to an organized tradition, the present gamut of meanings of sect has been influenced by confusion with the homonymous Latin word secta, as though sects were scissionsWiktionary entry cast aside from the mainstream religion. There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term, among the first to define them were Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. In the church-sect typology they are described as newly formed groups that form to protest elements of their parent religion. The American sociologists Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge assert that claim to be authentic purged, refurbished version of the faith from which they split. They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, other sociologists of religion such as Fred Kniss have asserted that sectarianism is best described with regard to what a sect is in tension with. Some religious groups exist in only with co-religious groups of different ethnicities. The English sociologist Roy Wallis argues that a sect is characterized by “epistemological authoritarianism”, in France, since the 1970s, secte has a specific meaning which is very different from the English word. The term remains valid for this purpose, according to Michaels, Indian sects do not focus on heresy, since the lack of a center or a compulsory center makes this impossible – instead, the focus is on adherents and followers. The ancient schools of fiqh or sharia in Islam are known as madhhabs, in the beginning Islam was classically divided into three major sects. These political divisions are known as Sunni Islam, Shia Islam. Each sect developed several distinct jurisprudence systems reflecting their own understanding of the Islamic law during the course of the history of Islam, for instance, Sunnis are separated into five sub-sects, namely, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali and Ẓāhirī. The Shia, on the hand, first developed Kaysanism. The non-Zaydis are initially called as Rafida Groups and these Rafidis were later divided into two sub-groups known as Imamiyyah and Batiniyyah. The Imami-Shia later brought into existence Jafari jurisprudence, Batiniyya groups, on the other hand, were divided into two sub-groups known as Seveners and Ismāīlīs. Qarmatians who did not follow the Fatimid Caliphate were branched from the Seveners and those groups of Batiniyya who followed the Fatimids are the ancestors of todays Ismāīlīs. Druze was emerged as an offshoot of Ismāʿīlism at the beginning of the 11th Century, ismailism at the end of the 11th Century split into two major branches known as Nizārī Ismāīlī and Musta’li Ismaili. The Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali Sunnis, the Twelver groups, the Ismāīlī groups, the Zaydis, the Ibadis, in addition, new sects like Ahmadiyya movement, Black Muslim movements, Quranists, Salafis, Wahhabis, and Zikris have been emerged independently
9.
Secession
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Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also any organization, union or military alliance. Threats of secession can also be a strategy for achieving more limited goals, theories of secession relate to a fundamental question of political philosophy, the basis of the states authority. Ramet, Rights of Secession by Daniel Kofman, The Very Idea of Secession by Donald Livingston and Secession, Autonomy, in 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called Secession As an International Phenomenon which produced a number of papers on the topic. Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices, if it can not live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force, former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William H. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, let us separate. I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory. e. Tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, etc, cultural Secessionism, any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state. Institutional empowerment - The growing inability of empires and ethnic federations to maintain colonies, relative strength - Increasingly powerful secessionist movements are more likely to achieve statehood. Negotiated consent - Home states and the international community increasingly consent to secessionist demands, during the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. Victoria in 1851 and Queensland in 1859, however, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century, particularly in central Queensland in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland in the 1870s. Western Australia Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia, the referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution. The Principality of Hutt River claims to have seceded from Australia in 1970, according to a lexicon on nationalist movements across the world, Macau happened to recognise that Principality. Austria successfully seceded from Nazi Germany on April 27,1945 and this took place after seven years of Austria being part of Adolf Hitlers Third Reich due to the Anschluss annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938. On August 25,1830, during the reign of William I, soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the Netherlands. The peace treaty accepted Uruguay independence, reasserted the rule of both nations over their land and some important points like free navigation in the Silver River, three rather disorganized secessionist rebellions happened in Grão-Pará, Bahia and Maranhão, where the people were unhappy with the Empire. The Malê Revolt, in Bahia, was an Islamic slave revolt and these three rebellions were bloodily crushed by the Empire of Brazil. In the attempts the rebels were crushed, the shot and its territory divided
10.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
11.
Flag
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
12.
Postage stamp
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Postage stamp may also refer to a formatting artifact in the display of film or video, Windowbox. A postage stamp is a piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are printed on special paper, show a national designation and a denomination on the front. They are sometimes a source of net profit to the issuing agency, stamps are usually rectangular, but triangles or other shapes are occasionally used. The stamp is affixed to an envelope or other postal cover the customer wishes to send, the item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark, sometimes known as a cancellation mark, is usually applied in overlapping manner to stamp and cover. This procedure marks the stamp as used to prevent its reuse, in modern usage, postmarks generally indicate the date and point of origin of the mailing. The mailed item is delivered to the address the customer has applied to the envelope or parcel. Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s, before then, ink and hand-stamps, usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage. The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, there are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp. The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, concurrently with the first stamps, the UK offered wrappers for mail. S. Postal service for priority or express mailing, the postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system. With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries, as postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice. The study of stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps. The postage for the item was prepaid by the use of a hand-stamp to frank the mailed item. Though this stamp was applied to a letter instead of a piece of paper it is considered by many historians as the worlds first postage stamp. Rowland Hill The Englishman Sir Rowland Hill began interest in postal reform in 1835, in 1836, a Member of Parliament, Robert Wallace, provided Hill with numerous books and documents, which Hill described as a half hundred weight of material. Hill commenced a study of these documents, leading him to the 1837 publication of a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform its Importance
13.
Passport
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A passport is a travel document, usually issued by a countrys government, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder for the purpose of international travel. Standard passports may contain information such as the name, place and date of birth, photograph, signature. Passports are moving towards including biometric information in a microchip embedded in the document, making them machine-readable, as of 5 April 2017,96 countries emit biometric passports. A passport holder is entitled to enter the country that issued the passport. Some passports attest to status as a diplomat or other official, entitled to rights, many countries normally allow entry to holders of passports of other countries, sometimes requiring a visa also to be held, but this is not an automatic right. Many other additional conditions, such as not being likely to become a charge for financial or other reasons. Some countries and international organisations issue travel documents which are not standard passports, one of the earliest known references to paperwork that served in a role similar to that of a passport is found in the Hebrew Bible. In the medieval Islamic Caliphate, a form of passport was the baraa, only people who paid their zakah or jizya taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate, thus, the baraa receipt was a travelers basic passport. Etymological sources show that the passport is from a medieval document that was required in order to pass through the gate of a city wall or to pass through a territory. In medieval Europe, such documents were issued to travelers by local authorities, on the whole, documents were not required for travel to sea ports, which were considered open trading points, but documents were required to travel inland from sea ports. King Henry V of England is credited with having invented what some consider the first true passport, the earliest reference to these documents is found in a 1414 Act of Parliament. In 1540, granting travel documents in England became a role of the Privy Council of England, in 1794, issuing British passports became the job of the Office of the Secretary of State. The 1548 Imperial Diet of Augsburg required the public to hold imperial documents for travel, the speed of trains, as well as the number of passengers that crossed multiple borders, made enforcement of passport laws difficult. The general reaction was the relaxation of passport requirements, consequently, comparatively few people held passports. During World War I, European governments introduced border passport requirements for security reasons and these controls remained in place after the war, becoming a standard, though controversial, procedure. British tourists of the 1920s complained, especially about attached photographs and physical descriptions, in 1920, the League of Nations held a conference on passports, the Paris Conference on Passports & Customs Formalities and Through Tickets. Passport guidelines and a general booklet design resulted from the conference, while the United Nations held a travel conference in 1963, no passport guidelines resulted from it. Passport standardization came about in 1980, under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO standards include those for machine-readable passports
14.
Medal
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A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for sporting, military, scientific, academic, or various other achievements. Military awards and decorations are more precise terms for types of state decoration. Medals may also be created for sale to commemorate particular individuals or events, an artist who creates medals or medallions is called a medallist or medalist. There are also devotional medals which may be worn for religious reasons, Medals have long been popular collectible items either as a variety of exonumia or of militaria. Medallions may also be called table medals because they are too large to be worn and can only be displayed on a wall, table top, desk, the word medallion has the same ultimate derivation, but this time through the Italian medaglione, meaning large medal. The main or front surface of a medal is termed the obverse, the reverse, or back surface of the medal, is not always used and may be left blank or may contain a secondary design. It is not uncommon to only an artistic rendering on the obverse, while all details. The rim is only occasionally employed to display an inscription such as a motto, privy mark, engraver symbol, assayer’s marking. Medals that are intended to be hung from a ribbon also include a suspension piece at the crest with which to loop a suspension ring through. It is through the ring that a ribbon is run or folded so the medal may hang pendent, Medals pinned to the breast use only a small cut of ribbon that is attached to a top bar where the brooch pin is affixed. Top bars may be hidden under the ribbon so they are not visible, be a device from which the ribbon attaches. Some top bars are elaborate and contain a whole design unto themselves, Medals that are made with inexpensive material might be gilded, silver-plated, chased, or finished in a variety of other ways to improve their appearance. Medals have also made of rock, gemstone, ivory, glass, porcelain, terra cotta, coal, wood, paper, enamel, lacquerware. Honorary awards, as a button, which it is custom to give the kings kinsmen. Roman emperors used both military awards of medals, and political gifts of medallions that were very large coins, usually in gold or silver. Both these and actual golden coins were often set as pieces of jewellery, the bracteate is a type of thin gold medal, usually plain on the reverse, found in Northern Europe from the so-called Dark Ages or Migration Period. They often have suspension loops and were intended to be worn on a chain as jewellery. They imitate, at a distance, Roman imperial coins and medallions, the surviving example is mounted for wearing as jewellery
15.
Social networking
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Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as by e-mail and instant messaging and online forums. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, digital photos and videos, posts, depending on the social media platform, members may be able to contact any other member. In other cases, members can contact anyone they have a connection to, and subsequently anyone that contact has a connection to, LinkedIn, a career social networking service, generally requires that a member personally know another member in real life before they contact them online. Some services require members to have a connection to contact other members. The main types of social networking services are those that contain category places, means to connect with friends, there have been attempts to standardize these services to avoid the need to duplicate entries of friends and interests. A study reveals that India has recorded worlds largest growth in terms of media users in 2013. A2013 survey found that 73% of U. S. adults use social networking sites, the variety and evolving range of stand-alone and built-in social networking services in the online space introduces a challenge of definition. Furthermore, the idea that these services are defined by their ability to bring people together provides too broad a definition, such a broad definition would suggest that the telegraph and telephone were social networking services – not the Internet technologies scholars are intending to describe. The terminology is unclear, with some referring to social networking services as social media. The potential for computer networking to facilitate newly improved forms of computer-mediated social interaction was suggested early on, efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated communication were made in many early online services, including Usenet, ARPANET, LISTSERV, and bulletin board services. Many prototypical features of social networking sites were present in online services such as America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, ChatNet. Early social networking on the World Wide Web began in the form of generalized online communities such as Theglobe. com, Geocities, some communities – such as Classmates. com – took a different approach by simply having people link to each other via email addresses. In the late 1990s, user profiles became a feature of social networking sites, allowing users to compile lists of friends. New social networking methods were developed by the end of the 1990s and it also became one of the first companies to profit from the sale of virtual goods. Friendster was followed by MySpace and LinkedIn a year later, friendster became very popular in the Pacific Islands. Orkut became the first popular social networking service in Brazil and quickly grew in popularity in India, attesting to the rapid increase in social networking sites popularity, by 2005, it was reported that Myspace was getting more page views than Google. Facebook, launched in 2004, became the largest social networking site in the world in early 2009, Facebook was first introduced as a Harvard social networking site, expanding to other universities and eventually, anyone. The term social media was introduced and soon became widespread, web-based social networking services make it possible to connect people who share interests and activities across political, economic, and geographic borders
16.
Role-playing game
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A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. There are several forms of RPG, the original form, sometimes called the tabletop RPG, is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing games players physically perform their characters actions. In both of these forms, an arranger called a game master usually decides on the rules and setting to be used, acting as referee, while each of the other players plays the role of a single character. Several varieties of RPG also exist in media, such as multi-player text-based MUDs and their graphics-based successors. These games often share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, despite this variety of forms, some game forms such as trading card games and wargames that are related to role-playing games may not be included. Role-playing activity may sometimes be present in games, but it is not the primary focus. The term is sometimes used to describe roleplay simulation games and exercises used in teaching, training. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling, events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a show is a passive observer. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a party of friends collaborate to create a story. Participants in a game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief, the level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. There is also a variety of systems of rules and game settings. Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game and these types of games tend to minimize or altogether eliminate the use of dice or other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM and this type of game is typically played at gaming conventions, or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop and pen-and-paper RPGs are conducted through discussion in a social gathering
17.
Sovereignty
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Sovereignty is understood in jurisprudence as the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies. In political theory, sovereignty is a term designating supreme authority over some polity. It is a basic principle underlying the dominant Westphalian model of state foundation, derived from Latin through French souveraineté, its attainment and retention, in both Chinese and Western culture, has traditionally been associated with certain moral imperatives upon any claimant. The concept of sovereignty has been discussed throughout history, and is still actively debated and it has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, especially during the Age of Enlightenment. The current notion of state sovereignty contains four aspects consisting of territory, population, authority, Sovereignty is a hypothetical trade, in which two potentially conflicting sides, respecting de facto realities of power, exchange such recognitions as their least costly strategy. The Roman jurist Ulpian observed that, The imperium of the people is transferred to the Emperor, the Emperor is not bound by the law. Emperor is the law making and abiding force, Ulpian was expressing the idea that the Emperor exercised a rather absolute form of sovereignty, although he did not use the term expressly. Classical Ulpians statements were known in medieval Europe, but sovereignty was an important concept in medieval times, Medieval monarchs were not sovereign, at least not strongly so, because they were constrained by, and shared power with, their feudal aristocracy. Furthermore, both were strongly constrained by custom, Sovereignty existed during the Medieval Period as the de jure rights of nobility and royalty, and in the de facto capability of individuals to make their own choices in life. 1380–1400, the issue of sovereignty was addressed in Geoffrey Chaucers Middle English collection of Canterbury Tales. The story revolves around the knight Sir Gawain granting to Dame Ragnell, his new bride, what is purported to be wanted most by women and we desire most from men, From men both lund and poor, To have sovereignty without lies. For where we have sovereignty, all is ours, Though a knight be ever so fierce and it is our desire to have master Over such a sir. Jean Bodin, partly in reaction to the chaos of the French wars of religion, in his 1576 treatise Les Six Livres de la République Bodin argued that it is inherent in the nature of the state that the sovereign must have both great and perpetual authority. Bodin rejected the notion of transference of sovereignty from people to the ruler, however, although he is often connected with absolutism, Bodin held some moderate opinions on how government should in practice be carried out. Thus, Bodin’s sovereign was restricted by the law of the state. Bodin believed that “the most divine, most excellent, and the form most proper to royalty is governed partly aristocratically and partly democratically”. With his doctrine that sovereignty is conferred by law, Bodin predefined the scope of the divine right of kings. During the Age of Enlightenment, the idea of sovereignty gained both legal and moral force as the main Western description of the meaning and power of a State
18.
Nation-state
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A state is specifically a political and geopolitical entity, whilst a nation is a cultural and ethnic one. The term nation state implies that the two coincide, in that a state has chosen to adopt and endorse a specific cultural group as associated with it. The concept of a state can be compared and contrasted with that of the multinational state, city state, empire, confederation. The key distinction is the identification of a people with a polity in the nation state, the origins and early history of nation states are disputed. A major theoretical question is, Which came first, the nation or the nation state and it was with these intellectual discoveries and technological advances that the nation state arose. For others, the nation existed first, then nationalist movements arose for sovereignty, some modernization theories of nationalism see it as a product of government policies to unify and modernize an already existing state. Most theories see the state as a 19th-century European phenomenon, facilitated by developments such as state-mandated education, mass literacy. However, historians note the early emergence of a relatively unified state and identity in Portugal. In France, Eric Hobsbawm argues, the French state preceded the formation of the French people, Hobsbawm considers that the state made the French nation, not French nationalism, which emerged at the end of the 19th century, the time of the Dreyfus Affair. At the time of the 1789 French Revolution, only half of the French people spoke some French, during the Italian unification, the number of people speaking the Italian language was even lower. The French state promoted the unification of various dialects and languages into the French language, the introduction of conscription and the Third Republics 1880s laws on public instruction, facilitated the creation of a national identity, under this theory. Some nation states, such as Germany and Italy, came into existence at least partly as a result of campaigns by nationalists. In both cases, the territory was divided among other states, some of them very small. The sense of identity was at first a cultural movement, such as in the Völkisch movement in German-speaking states. In these cases, the nationalist sentiment and the nationalist movement clearly precede the unification of the German and Italian nation states, some authors deconstruct the distinction between ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism because of the ambiguity of the concepts. They argue that the case of Ernest Renan is an idealisation and it should be interpreted within the German tradition. For example, they argue that the used by Renan at the conference What is a nation. Are not consistent with his thinking and this alleged civic conception of the nation would be determined only by the case of the loss gives Alsace and Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War
19.
Dominion of British West Florida
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The Dominion of British West Florida is a separatist micronation founded in 2005 on an eccentric interpretation of actual historic events and based in the Gulf coast region of the United States. It claims the territory of the 18th-century colony of West Florida, which has since been subsumed into the US states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Dominion claims to be striving for Dominion Status as a Commonwealth Realm, on a par with Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and The Bahamas. The organization is neither acknowledged by any government nor any authority over its claimed territory. The micronation was founded in November 2005 in order to reassert Britains rights over the region, by an individual identified on the website only as Robert VII. The website asserts that Duke Robert inherited the Peerage of the Dominion in 1969, the micronation has issued cinderella stamps and has minted several base metal coins, produced by Jorge Vidal and issued in denominations based on pre-decimal pounds. This interpretation of events is not supported by any mainstream historian. Republic of West Florida List of micronations Official Website Official Blog British West Florida article at Encyclopedia of Alabama
20.
Montevideo Convention
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The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26,1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States. The Convention codifies the declarative theory of statehood as accepted as part of international law. At the conference, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared the Good Neighbor Policy, the convention was signed by 19 states. The acceptance of three of the signatories was subject to minor reservations and those states were Brazil, Peru and the United States. The convention became operative on December 26,1934 and it was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 8,1936. The convention sets out the definition, rights and duties of statehood, furthermore, the first sentence of article 3 explicitly states that The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states. This is known as the theory of statehood. A basic point should be emphasized, Article 1 is qualified by Article 11 because it prohibits using military force to gain recognition of sovereignty. Furthermore, Article 11 reflects the contemporary Stimson Doctrine, and is now a part of international law through article 2 paragraph 4 of the Charter of the United Nations. Some have questioned whether these criteria are sufficient, as they allow less-recognized entities like the Republic of China to claim status as states. According to the constitutive theory of statehood, a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. It should not be confused with the Estrada doctrine, the conference is also notable in American history because one of the U. S. representatives was social worker and educator Dr. Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge. She was the first U. S. female representative at an international conference, in most cases, the only avenue open to self-determination for colonial or national ethnic minority populations was to achieve international legal personality as a nation-state. The majority of delegations at the International Conference of American States represented independent States that had emerged from former colonies, in most cases, their own existence and independence had been disputed, or opposed, by one or more of the European colonial empires. They agreed among themselves to criteria that made it easier for other dependent states with limited sovereignty to international recognition. Independence and sovereignty are not mentioned in article 1 of the convention, the 16 states that have ratified this convention are limited to the Americas. Notes A further four states signed the Convention on 26 December 1933, the only state to attend the Seventh International Conference of American States, where the convention was agreed upon, which did not sign it was Bolivia. Costa Rica, which did not attend the conference, later signed the convention, the committee also found that the existence of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory and not a determinative factor of statehood
21.
Principality of Hutt River
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The Principality of Hutt River is a micronation in Australia. The principality is located 517 km north of Perth, near the town of Northampton in the state of Western Australia and it has an area of 75 square kilometres, making it larger than several independent countries. The Principality of Hutt River is a regional tourist attraction, and issues its own currency, stamps, the micronation was founded on 21 April 1970 by Leonard Casley, who declared his farm to be an independent country under the name Hutt River Province. He attempted to secede from Australia over a dispute surrounding wheat production quotas, a few years later, Casley began styling himself Prince Leonard and granting family members royal titles, although he did not include the word principality in his countrys official name until 2006. The Casley farm had around 4,000 hectares of wheat ready to harvest when the quotas were issued, which allowed Casley to sell only 1,647 bushels or approximately 40 hectares. Initially, the five families who owned farms at Hutt River banded together to fight the quota, and Casley lodged a protest with the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Douglas Kendrew. Casley believed that because the Governor acts as the Queens representative, Casley lodged a claim under the law of tort for A$52 million in the belief the claim would force a revision of the quota. Two weeks later, Casley claims the government introduced a bill into Parliament to resume his, Casley has said that he nonetheless remains loyal to Queen Elizabeth II. Casley claims that the Government of Western Australia determined it could do nothing about his purported secession without the intervention of the Commonwealth, in correspondence with the Governor-Generals office, Casley says he was on one occasion inadvertently addressed as the Administrator of the Hutt River Province. Casley believes this constitutes legally binding recognition of the Province and he apparently reasoned this from the fact that the Governor-General is, via Royal Prerogative, the Queens representative. After this supposed threat, Casley styled himself His Majesty Prince Leonard I of Hutt, Casley believes that under Australian law the federal government had two years to respond to Casleys declaration, although there appears to be no basis for this belief. Casley says the failure to respond gave the province de facto autonomy on 21 April 1972, Casley accepts that the Western Australian state government can still dispute the secession. In 1976, it is said that Australia Post refused to handle Hutt River mail, on 15 February 1977, Casley was successfully prosecuted for failing to comply with requirements to furnish the Australian Taxation Office with required documents. This action contradicts many of Casleys claims that the Australian Government has somehow acquiesced to the secession of the Principality, on 2 December 1977 the province officially declared war on Australia. Leonard Casley notified authorities of the cessation of several days later. Casley believes that he had set a persuasive precedent for international recognition of Hutt River under the Geneva Conventions. It is unclear why Casley believes this, as the Geneva Conventions do not say anything about the recognition of sovereign states. Casley claims that in 1980, the Principalitys mail service was restored after a Perth court ruled that Hutt River currency and postage stamps were valid and it is unclear why a Perth court would ever have been called upon to rule upon such a matter
22.
Flandrensis
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The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis is a micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica, which was founded in 2008 by the Belgian Niels Vermeersch. Flandrensis is not recognised by any country or government, nor is it their intention to be recognized as a country, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis was founded on September 4,2008. The Micronation is inspired by the medieval County of Flanders, Flandrensis is regarded by the founder as a hobby-micronation, still the micronation has its own identity cards, currency, newspaper, constitution and national anthem. Flandrensis is also a simulation with political parties like the APPF, DRP, NPF, FDUP, FL-AL, Lijst Govaert and L&S. Professor Alastair Bonnett of the University of Newcastle described Flandrensis as an example of a micronation that is inspired by a city council in which people learn to make decisions. The founder also describes Flandrensis as a cultural organisation, Flandrensis has also a Commonwealth that unites only Dutch-speaking micronations, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis, the Principality of Arkel and the Duchy of Campinia. Flandrensis has been mentioned in Belgian regional media like the Krant van West-Vlaanderen, in 2015 Flandrensis was also present on the 3rd International Conference on Micronations in Perugia. Flandrensis is one of the few micronations whose coverage of the elections were published by local media, in 2014 the micronation was the theme of the television show Normale Mensen on the Belgian channel Één. The capital of Grand Duchy of Flandrensis is Giddis, Flandrensis is regarded by the founder as an ecological venture, to raise awareness on ice melting. Flandrensis has no intentions to visit their claims, the territorial claims of Flandrensis are a statement to the international community and they claim that the micronation is the only country in the world that doesnt want any people on its territory. Niels Vermeersch sent letters to the United Nations, the European Union, all of these countries ignored Niels and his claim. Because of the claims, a conflict with the micronation Westarctica arose in 2010. Coverage of this appeared in the Dutch Columbus magazine, the Croatian newssite Telegram. In 2010 the on-line Russian newspaper Chastny Korrespondent published an article about Antarctic micronations, the flag of Flandrensis is inspired by the first Belgian flag of 1830. The original Belgian flags yellow band has replaced by white which symbolises a new beginning. For the same there are also two lions on the coat of arms, based on the Flemish lion. In 2015 the Belgian author Julien Oeuillet published the book Le business des vanités, enquête sur les arnaques à la noblesse about the subject of fake nobility, the book mentions several micronations like Hutt River, Araucanía and Patagonia and Flandrensis. Neither the founder nor the use them outside the community of micronations
23.
Republic of Molossia
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Molossia, also known as the self-proclaimed Republic of Molossia, is a micronation in the United States, founded by Kevin Baugh and headquartered at his home near Dayton, Nevada. The Republic of Molossia has claimed itself a nation but it is not recognized as a country by the United Nations or any other country. It consists of Baughs house, about 0.01 acres in size and it used to claim a property in Pennsylvania as well. Molossia was established as a project in 1977, and evolved into a territorial entity in the late 1990s. The name Molossia is derived from the Hawaiian word maluhia which means “peace, safety, Baugh has stated the ancient Greek tribe of Molossians is unrelated. On September 3,1999, Baugh created the Republic of Molossia as a successor to a childhood make-believe kingdom called the Grand Republic of Vuldstein, on November 13,2012, Baugh created a petition on the WhiteHouse. gov We the People website requesting recognition of the micronation. However, his petition did not gain enough signatures for recognition, on April 11,2015, Baugh hosted Micro-Con 2015 in Anaheim Central Library in California. Micro-Con was created to attract attention to the micronational world. On April 16,2016, Baugh hosted a tour of his nation and it is the Baugh familys primary place of residence, and the site of Molossias designated capital, Baughston. Baughston was renamed from Espera on 30 July 2013 to commemorate President Baughs 51st birthday, the United States of Americas street address for Kevin Baughs house is 226 Mary Lane Road, Dayton, NV89403. The Protectorate of New Antrim was located at a location in Pennsylvania and was the largest of Molossias territories at a little over 8 acres in extent. It was named after County Antrim in Northern Ireland and had its own governor and it is no longer claimed by Molossia. In August 2003, Baugh purchased a piece of rural land in Northern California. This was referred to the Colony of Farfalla, the property was sold late in 2005, after Baugh inherited more land which he subsequently named Desert Homestead Province, in Southern California. Desert Homestead had been owned by Baughs grandfather, and the property has been declared a monument dedicated to him. In early 2015 a Farfalla Colony became Molossian territory again, vesperia is the name of Molossias claim of 49,881 square miles on the planet of Venus. Molossia claims a spot named Neptune Deep in the North Pacific Ocean, the Republic of Molossia claims to be a sovereign, independent nation-state, completely surrounded by the United States. As a result, it has adopted a system of government recognizably similar in structure to that of a sovereign state, same-sex marriage has been legal in Molossia since 2002
24.
Freetown Christiania
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It was temporarily closed by residents in April 2011 while discussions continued with the Danish government about its future, but then re-opened to the public. Christiania has been a source of controversy since its creation in a military area in 1971. Its cannabis trade was tolerated by authorities until 2004, in the years following 2004, measures for normalizing the legal status of the community led to conflicts, police raids and negotiations. The area of Christiania consists of the military barracks of Bådsmandsstræde. The ramparts and the borough of Christianshavn were established in 1617 by King Christian IV by reclaiming the low beaches, after the siege of Copenhagen during wars with Sweden, the ramparts were reinforced during 1682 to 1692 under Christian V to form a complete defence ring. The western ramparts of Copenhagen were demolished during the 19th century and they are today considered among the finest surviving 17th century defence works in the world. The barracks of Bådsmandsstræde housed the Royal Artillery Regiment, the Army Materiel Command and ammunition laboratories, less used after World War II, the barracks were abandoned between 1967 and 1971. The adjacent area to the north, Holmen, was Denmarks main naval base until the 1990s and it is an area in development, home to the new Copenhagen Opera House and schools. An area further north is used by the navy. The outermost defence line, Enveloppen, has been renamed Dyssen in Christiania language and it is connected to central Christiania by a bridge across the main moat or can be reached by the path beginning at Christmas Møllers Plads. Four gunpowder storehouses line the redans and they were built 1779-80 to replace a storage in central Copenhagen, at Østerport, which exploded infamously in 1770, killing 50 people. The buildings are renamed Aircondition, Autogena, Fakirskolen and Kosmiske Blomst and have, although protected, the last Danish execution site, active from 1946 to 1950, can still be seen on the Second Redan close to the building called Aircondition. The wooden execution shed is gone, but the concrete foundation, in total,29 World War II criminals were executed on the site. The last was Ib Birkedal, a high-level Danish Gestapo collaborator, in 2007, the National Heritage Agency proposed protection status for some of the ancient military buildings, now in Christiania. Some of the buildings have been altered somewhat after Christianias takeover. After the military moved out, the area was guarded by a few watchmen. On 4 September 1971, inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhood broke down the fence to take parts of the unused area as a playground for their children. Although the takeover was not necessarily organized in the beginning, some claim this happened as a protest against the Danish government, at the time there was a lack of affordable housing in Copenhagen
25.
Copenhagen
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Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
26.
Denmark
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Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Scandinavian country in Europe and a sovereign state. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark has an area of 42,924 square kilometres. The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, the islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were ruled together under the Kalmar Union, established in 1397 and ending with Swedish secession in 1523. Denmark and Norway remained under the monarch until outside forces dissolved the union in 1814. The union with Norway made it possible for Denmark to inherit the Faroe Islands, Iceland, beginning in the 17th century, there were several cessions of territory to Sweden. In the 19th century there was a surge of nationalist movements, Denmark remained neutral during World War I. In April 1940, a German invasion saw brief military skirmishes while the Danish resistance movement was active from 1943 until the German surrender in May 1945, the Constitution of Denmark was signed on 5 June 1849, ending the absolute monarchy which had begun in 1660. It establishes a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, the government and national parliament are seated in Copenhagen, the nations capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Denmark exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs, Home rule was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948, in Greenland home rule was established in 1979 and further autonomy in 2009. Denmark became a member of the European Economic Community in 1973, maintaining certain opt-outs, it retains its own currency, the krone. It is among the members of NATO, the Nordic Council, the OECD, OSCE. The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a kingdom, is a subject which attracts debate. This is centred primarily on the prefix Dan and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -mark ending. Most handbooks derive the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning land, related to German Tenne threshing floor. The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland, with references to the border forests in south Schleswig. The first recorded use of the word Danmark within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth
27.
Kingdom of Elleore
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The Kingdom of Elleore is a micronation located on the island of Elleore in the Roskilde Fjord, north of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand. The island was purchased by a group of Copenhagen schoolteachers in 1944 for use as a summer camp and they proclaimed the islands tongue-in-cheek independence as a Kingdom as a gentle parody of the government structure and royal traditions of Denmark. Its been stated that the kingdoms ancestry has been traced to a society of Irish monks who arrived in the middle of the 10th century. Prior to 1944, the island was mainly as the location at which the controversial film Løvejagten was shot in 1907. Many of the names on the island, the kingdoms government. The kingdom has issued stamps and coins. The island has been estimated to be approximately 15,000 square metres in size, Elleore is unoccupied save for a week-long annual gathering attended by dozens of its citizens and known as the Elleuge. The ceremonial enthronement of the reigning monarch takes place at this time, the purported capital is the tented town of Maglelille, erected only during the week of habitation. Elleore has had six monarchs since its inception
28.
Roskilde Fjord
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Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark. It is a branch of the Isefjord. The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde, the image on this page shows the view of the fjord, as seen from Roskilde. During the Viking time around 1000 AD the people of Roskilde decided to sink a number of their ships in the fjord at Skuldelev in order to prevent the Vikings from coming in and raiding. Originally five were discovered, but while extending the museum that houses these finds another nine were uncovered
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Roskilde
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Roskilde, located 30 km west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand, is the main city in Roskilde Municipality. With a population of 50,046, the city is a business and educational centre for the region, Roskilde is governed by the administrative council of Roskilde Municipality. Roskilde has a history, dating from the pre-Christian Viking Age. Its UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral, now housing 39 tombs of the Danish monarchs, was completed in 1275, among the largest private sector employers today are the IT firm BEC and GPI, specializing in plastics. The Risø research facility is becoming a major employer, extending interest in sustainable energy to the clean technology sphere. The local university, founded in 1972, the historic Cathedral School, Roskilde has a large local hospital which has been expanded and modernized since it was opened in 1855. It is now active in the research sphere. The Sankt Hans psychiatric hospital serves the Capital Region with specialized facilities for forensic psychiatry, the cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum, which contains the well-preserved remains of five 11th-century ships, attract more than 100,000 visitors annually. The city is home to the FC Roskilde football club play in the Danish 1st Division, the Roskilde Vikings RK rugby club. In the 1970s, the city benefited from the opening of the university, Roskilde has the oldest operational railway station in Denmark, with connections across Zealand as well as with Falster, Lolland, and Jutland. The local airport opened in 1973, mainly serving light aircraft for business use, from the 11th century until 1443, it was the capital of Denmark. By the Middle Ages, with the support of kings and bishops, the Saxo Grammaticus and other early sources associate the name Roskilde with the legendary King Roar who possibly lived there in the 6th century. According to Adam of Bremen and the Saxo Grammaticus, Roskilde was founded in the 980s by Harald Bluetooth, on high ground above the harbour, he built a wooden church consecrated to the Holy Trinity as well as a royal residence nearby. Although no traces of buildings have been discovered, in 1997 archaeologists found the remains of Viking ships in the Isefjord. At the time, there were two churches in the area, St Jørgensbjerg, an early stone church, and a wooden church discovered under todays St Ibs Church. Harald was buried in the church he had built on the site of todays Roskilde Cathedral. In 1020, King Canute elevated Roskilde to a bishopric, giving it high national status, absalon, the Danish bishop, had a brick church built on the site of Haralds church in 1170. Todays cathedral was completed in 1275 after five of Absalons successors had contributed to its construction, as a result of Absalons influence, many other churches were built in the vicinity, making Roskilde the most important town in Zealand
30.
Zealand (Denmark)
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Zealand is the largest and most populated island in Denmark with a population of 2,267,659. It is the 96th-largest island in the world by area and the 35th most populous and it is connected to Funen by the Great Belt Fixed Link, to Lolland, Falster by the Storstrøm Bridge and the Farø Bridges. Zealand is also linked to Amager by five bridges, Zealand is linked indirectly, through intervening islands by a series of bridges and tunnels, to southern Sweden. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is located partly on the shore of Zealand. Other cities on Zealand include Roskilde, Hillerød, Næstved and Helsingør, the island is not connected historically to the Pacific nation of New Zealand, which is named after the Dutch province of Zeeland. In Norse mythology as told in the story of Gylfaginning, the island was created by the goddess Gefjun after she tricked Gylfi and she removed a piece of land and transported it to Denmark, which became Zealand. The vacant area was filled with water and became Mälaren, however, since modern maps show a similarity between Zealand and the Swedish lake Vänern, it is sometimes identified as the hole left by Gefjun. Zealand is the most populous Danish island and it is irregularly shaped, and is north of the islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn. The small island of Amager lies immediately east, Copenhagen is mostly on Zealand but extends across northern Amager. A number of bridges and the Copenhagen Metro connect Zealand to Amager, Zealand is joined in the west to Funen, by the Great Belt Fixed Link, and Funen is connected by bridges to the countrys mainland, Jutland. Gyldenløveshøj, south of the city Roskilde, has a height of 126 metres, Zealand gives its name to the Selandian era of the Paleocene. Urban areas with 10, 000+ inhabitants, North Zealand Media related to Zealand at Wikimedia Commons Zealand travel guide from Wikivoyage
31.
Talossa
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Among the first such projects still maintained, it has kept up a web presence since 1995. Its internet and media exposure since the late 1990s contributed to the appearance of other subsequent internet micronations, as of June 23,2016, the number of active citizens is said to be 213. Talossan culture has developed over the years by Robert Madison. The Talossan language, also created by Madison in 1980, claims a vocabulary of 35,000 root words and 121,000 derived words — including fieschada, meaning love at first sight. Talossa was supposedly founded as a kingdom on December 26,1979, by Madison, Madison maintained Talossa throughout his adolescence, publishing a handwritten newspaper and designing a flag and emblem. During this time its only members were about a dozen relatives and acquaintances. This changed in the mid-1990s, when a series of stories in the New York Times and Wired, subsequently republished elsewhere, several new citizens joined Talossa as a result, and Madison began to claim that he was the inventor of the term micronation. Madison disestablished the kingdom in late 2005, but a number of groups that have no connection with the original founder have since claimed to represent Talossa. Madison registered Talossa as a mark in 2005 and created Talossa. By 2013 the service mark had been cancelled and the corporation had been administratively dissolved, Madison invented Talossan as a constructed language for his so-called micronation. With its relatively large vocabulary, it is said to be one of the most detailed fictional languages ever invented, the Association of Talossan Language Organisations maintains a website describing the language for new learners, providing language information, research and online translation to and from English. The ISO639 designation is tzl, the CÚG maintains a multi-lingual website providing access to the recent recommendations of the Committee. Archived from the original on 5 February 2006
32.
Talossan language
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Among the first such projects still maintained, it has kept up a web presence since 1995. Its internet and media exposure since the late 1990s contributed to the appearance of other subsequent internet micronations, as of June 23,2016, the number of active citizens is said to be 213. Talossan culture has developed over the years by Robert Madison. The Talossan language, also created by Madison in 1980, claims a vocabulary of 35,000 root words and 121,000 derived words — including fieschada, meaning love at first sight. Talossa was supposedly founded as a kingdom on December 26,1979, by Madison, Madison maintained Talossa throughout his adolescence, publishing a handwritten newspaper and designing a flag and emblem. During this time its only members were about a dozen relatives and acquaintances. This changed in the mid-1990s, when a series of stories in the New York Times and Wired, subsequently republished elsewhere, several new citizens joined Talossa as a result, and Madison began to claim that he was the inventor of the term micronation. Madison disestablished the kingdom in late 2005, but a number of groups that have no connection with the original founder have since claimed to represent Talossa. Madison registered Talossa as a mark in 2005 and created Talossa. By 2013 the service mark had been cancelled and the corporation had been administratively dissolved, Madison invented Talossan as a constructed language for his so-called micronation. With its relatively large vocabulary, it is said to be one of the most detailed fictional languages ever invented, the Association of Talossan Language Organisations maintains a website describing the language for new learners, providing language information, research and online translation to and from English. The ISO639 designation is tzl, the CÚG maintains a multi-lingual website providing access to the recent recommendations of the Committee. Archived from the original on 5 February 2006
33.
Nova Roma
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Nova Roma claims to promote the restoration of classical Roman religion, culture, and virtues and shared Roman ideals. Strimska, Davy, Adler, Gallagher-Ashcraft, and recently Chryssides refer to it as a polytheistic reconstructionist community, Nova Roma has adopted the ancient Roman religion as its state cult, but also maintains the freedom of religion of its citizens. As a polytheistic reconstructionist practice, the religio Romana or cultus deorum Romanorum reportedly attracts people especially of military background, according to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, at the time of Christmas, Nova Romans celebrate the Roman holiday Saturnalia. In 2006 Margot Adler noted the organizations plan to restore a Magna Mater shrine in Rome, among the cultural activities of Nova Roma, competitions and games associated with various Roman festivals have an important place. Colleen McCullough, author of many Roman-themed best-selling novels, and Prof. Dr. T. P. Wiseman, university professor of Roman history, revival of things Roman and their co-option for symbolic importance have a long history. The Complete Idiots Guide to Paganism, Alpha Books, ISBN 0-02-864266-X Dennis A. Trinkle, Scott A. Merriman. ISBN 0-7656-0907-X Danese, Roberto/Bacianini, Andrea/Torino, Alessio, weni, widi, wici, tra volumen e byte, Guaraldi. Modern Paganism in World Cultures, Comparative Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, introduction to Pagan Studies, Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0-7591-0819-6 Dennis A. Trinkle, Scott A. Merriman, the history highway, a 21st-century guide to Internet resources. Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Routledge
34.
Grand Duchy of Flandrensis
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The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis is a micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica, which was founded in 2008 by the Belgian Niels Vermeersch. Flandrensis is not recognised by any country or government, nor is it their intention to be recognized as a country, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis was founded on September 4,2008. The Micronation is inspired by the medieval County of Flanders, Flandrensis is regarded by the founder as a hobby-micronation, still the micronation has its own identity cards, currency, newspaper, constitution and national anthem. Flandrensis is also a simulation with political parties like the APPF, DRP, NPF, FDUP, FL-AL, Lijst Govaert and L&S. Professor Alastair Bonnett of the University of Newcastle described Flandrensis as an example of a micronation that is inspired by a city council in which people learn to make decisions. The founder also describes Flandrensis as a cultural organisation, Flandrensis has also a Commonwealth that unites only Dutch-speaking micronations, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis, the Principality of Arkel and the Duchy of Campinia. Flandrensis has been mentioned in Belgian regional media like the Krant van West-Vlaanderen, in 2015 Flandrensis was also present on the 3rd International Conference on Micronations in Perugia. Flandrensis is one of the few micronations whose coverage of the elections were published by local media, in 2014 the micronation was the theme of the television show Normale Mensen on the Belgian channel Één. The capital of Grand Duchy of Flandrensis is Giddis, Flandrensis is regarded by the founder as an ecological venture, to raise awareness on ice melting. Flandrensis has no intentions to visit their claims, the territorial claims of Flandrensis are a statement to the international community and they claim that the micronation is the only country in the world that doesnt want any people on its territory. Niels Vermeersch sent letters to the United Nations, the European Union, all of these countries ignored Niels and his claim. Because of the claims, a conflict with the micronation Westarctica arose in 2010. Coverage of this appeared in the Dutch Columbus magazine, the Croatian newssite Telegram. In 2010 the on-line Russian newspaper Chastny Korrespondent published an article about Antarctic micronations, the flag of Flandrensis is inspired by the first Belgian flag of 1830. The original Belgian flags yellow band has replaced by white which symbolises a new beginning. For the same there are also two lions on the coat of arms, based on the Flemish lion. In 2015 the Belgian author Julien Oeuillet published the book Le business des vanités, enquête sur les arnaques à la noblesse about the subject of fake nobility, the book mentions several micronations like Hutt River, Araucanía and Patagonia and Flandrensis. Neither the founder nor the use them outside the community of micronations
35.
Belgian
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
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Antarctica
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It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,000,000 square kilometres, it is the fifth-largest continent, for comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km in thickness, Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is a desert, with precipitation of only 200 mm along the coast. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C, though the average for the quarter is −63 °C. Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra. The continent, however, remained neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of easily accessible resources. In 1895, the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians, Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status. Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, and thirty-eight have signed it since then, the treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and protects the continents ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations, the name Antarctica is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική, feminine of ἀνταρκτικός, meaning opposite to the Arctic, opposite to the north. Aristotle wrote in his book Meteorology about an Antarctic region in c.350 B. C, marinus of Tyre reportedly used the name in his unpreserved world map from the 2nd century A. D. Before acquiring its present geographical connotations, the term was used for locations that could be defined as opposite to the north. For example, the short-lived French colony established in Brazil in the 16th century was called France Antarctique, the first formal use of the name Antarctica as a continental name in the 1890s is attributed to the Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew. Antarctica has no population and there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until the 19th century. Explorer Matthew Flinders, in particular, has credited with popularising the transfer of the name Terra Australis to Australia. Cook came within about 120 km of the Antarctic coast before retreating in the face of ice in January 1773. The first confirmed sighting of Antarctica can be narrowed down to the crews of ships captained by three individuals, according to various organisations, ships captained by three men sighted Antarctica or its ice shelf in 1820, von Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield, and Nathaniel Palmer
37.
Holy Empire of Reunion
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The Holy Empire of Reunion is a micronation that was founded 28 August 1997 as a political and constitutional simulation. It claims the territory of the French ultramarine department of Réunion Island and its creators were students of the Law School of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and to date, most of its adherents are thought to be Brazilian. The Empire has minted its own coins, printed its passports, the micronation claims its main objective is a deep political interaction amongst its citizens. The Reunians engage in battles in their online forums and discussion boards. Reunion is also featured with a double page article on the book Ils ne siégent pas a lONU, by Professor Fabrice ODriscoll, in the book, it is mentioned that the country uses a political system known to its subjects as potentially absolute monarchy. In 2006, the joined the Kiva Intermicronational Team, having lent, together with micronations like the Republic of Molossia. According to the BBC, the Holy Empire of Reunion has contact with 175 other micronations, on 17 July 2014, leadership of the micronation was passed to John White of Limerick, Ireland through excession of the previous leaderships term limits as defined by the Reunion Constitution. Given the lack of scheduled elections, the change in leadership was deemed valid under reunion law although most citizens were not aware of the transition
38.
Micronation
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Several micronations have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals, and other items. These items are rarely accepted outside of their own community but may be sold as novelties to help raise money or collected by enthusiasts, the earliest known micronations date from the beginning of the 19th century. The differences between such Internet micronations, other kinds of social networking groups, and role-playing games are difficult to define. The term micronation to describe those entities dates at least to the 1970s, the term micropatrology is sometimes used to describe the study of both micronations and microstates by micronationalists, some of whom refer to sovereign nation-states as macronations. The term micronation literally means small nation and it is a neologism originating in the mid-1970s to describe the many thousands of small unrecognised state-like entities that have mostly arisen since that time. The term has also come to be used retrospectively to refer to earlier unrecognized entities. Amongst supporters of micronations the term macronation is in use to refer to any internationally recognised sovereign nation-state. Not all micronations are small, some can be rather large, Micronations generally have a number of common features, although these may vary widely. They may have a similar to established sovereign states, including territorial claims, government institutions, official symbols and citizens. Micronations may also issue formal instruments such as stamps, coins, banknotes and passports. The Montevideo Convention was one attempt to create a definition distinguishing between states and non-states. Some micronations meet this definition, while some do not, nine main types of micronations are prevalent, Social, economic, or political simulations. Exercises in personal entertainment or self-aggrandisement, vehicles for the promotion of an agenda. These micronations tend to have a serious intent, and often involve significant numbers of people interested in recreating the past or simulating political or social processes. Nova Roma, a group claiming a membership of several thousand that has minted its own coins, maintains its own wiki. Embassy of Heaven, a Christian church that can be considered a micronation, Grand Duchy of Flandrensis, a Belgian micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica. The micronation is also a simulation and cultural organization. In 2012, the micronation was composed of 114 citizens from 21 different nationalities, holy Empire of Reunion, a Brazilian micronation founded in 1997 as an online constitutional monarchy simulation
39.
Aerican Empire
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The Aerican Empire is a micronation founded in May 1987, which has no sovereign territory of its own and has never been recognized by any other sovereign state as existing. The name is cultured from the term American Empire, in 2000 The New York Times described its website as one of the more imaginative micronation sites. As with most micronations, the number of members has fluctuated wildly with time, in May 2009, it was reported to exceed 400 people. Their flag is similar to the flag of Canada, with a yellow smiley face instead of the red maple leaf in the white square. The Aerican Empire was founded on 8 May 1987 by Montreal psychiatrist Eric Lis and a core group of friends. Lis, who founded the Aerican Empire as a child, obtained his M. D. C. M. from McGill University and has published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. For the first ten years the Empire was almost wholly fictional, claiming sovereignty over a vast galaxy of planets, in 1997, the Empire created a website. In 2000, the first growth spurt in the Empires population was triggered by an article in The New York Times, in the months following this, the Empires membership rose to over five hundred people. This number slowly fell over the years as members left. The Empires mission statement is, The Empire exists to facilitate the evolution of a society wherein the Empire itself is no longer necessary and it claims to be organized as a parliamentary democracy, with various elected bodies and offices, under the oversight of an Emperor. The Aerican Empire first issued coinage in November 2009, and a coin was minted to celebrate Aericas 25th anniversary in 2012. It does not have printed passports, but has a downloadable novelty passport, the first issued passport was exhibited in the Palais de Tokyo 2007 Micronational art exhibition. Aerica issued stamps for the first time in 2015, annually, the Empire holds story-writing contests, role-playing and wargaming days, and such events as the Dog-Biscuit Appreciation Day Scavenger Hunt. It also developed a religion called Silinism, the worship of the Great Penguin, originally intended as a joke, possibly the single most widespread cultural activity within the Empire is gaming, particularly role-playing games and wargaming. The Aerican Empires official gaming club is associated with seven universities worldwide and has sponsored/funded/supported an annual gaming day on December 29 since 2003, AEGIS has funded the creation of several Aerican Empire-themed Warhammer 40K armies which have competed nationally in tournaments. While Internet-based activities in the Empire are more well-documented and facilitate interaction between members in different countries, a focus has always been local physical events. Members gather for meetings in Montreal, Springvale, New York and other centers. List of micronations The Aerican Empire
40.
Monty Python
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Monty Python were a British surreal comedy group who created their sketch comedy show Monty Pythons Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series, the Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and a stage musical. The Pythons influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles influence on music, the Orlando Sentinel referred to their sketch show as not only one of the more enduring icons of 1970s British popular culture, but also an important moment in the evolution of television comedy. Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, Flying Circus was conceived, written, and performed by its members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style. Following their television work, they began making films, which include Holy Grail, Life of Brian, pythonesque has entered the English lexicon as a result. Jones and Palin met at Oxford University, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue, Chapman and Cleese met at Cambridge University. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Chapman, Cleese met Gilliam in New York City while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus. Chapman, Cleese, and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that also included the future Goodies. During Idles presidency of the club, feminist writer Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were members, following the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set, a tea-time childrens programme, ITV offered Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin their own late-night adult comedy series together. At the same time, Chapman and Cleese were offered a show by the BBC, Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapmans supposedly difficult and erratic personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin on How To Irritate People, much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleeses desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold. The Pythons had a idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost and they enjoyed Cook and Moores sketch show Not Only. They decided that they would not bother to cap their sketches in the traditional manner. However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their heroes, Spike Milligan. Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television comedy and it was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate. After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for Do Not Adjust Your Set called Beware of the Elephants, Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series, allowing sketches to blend into one another
41.
Reno, Nevada
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Reno is a city in the U. S. state of Nevada. It is in Northern Nevada, approximately 22 miles from Lake Tahoe, known as The Biggest Little City in the World, Reno is famous for its casinos and as the birthplace of Caesars Entertainment Corporation. It is the county seat of Washoe County, in the part of the state. The city sits in a desert at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. Archaeological finds place the border for the prehistoric Martis people in the Reno area. As early as the mid 1850s a few settled in the Truckee Meadows. Gold was discovered in the vicinity of Virginia City in 1850, and a modest mining community developed, to provide the necessary connection between Virginia City and the California Trail, Charles W. Fuller built a log toll bridge across the Truckee River in 1859. A small community that would service travelers soon grew up near the bridge, after two years, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron C. Lake, who continued to develop the community with the addition of a grist mill, kiln, in 1864, Washoe County was consolidated with Roop County, and Lakes Crossing became the largest town in the county. Lake had earned himself the founder of Reno. Lake deeded land to the CPRR in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lakes Crossing, once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 9,1868. CPRR construction superintendent Charles Crocker named the community after Major General Jesse Lee Reno, in 1871, Reno became the county seat of the newly expanded Washoe County, replacing the previous county seat, located in Washoe City. However, political power in Nevada remained with the communities, first Virginia City and later Tonopah. The extension of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to Reno in 1872 provided a boost to the new citys economy. Despite this, Nevada is still the third-largest gold producer in the world, after South Africa and Australia, the Reno Arch was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927. The arch included the words Nevadas Transcontinental Highways Exposition and the dates of the exposition. After the exposition, the Reno City Council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, no acceptable slogan was received until a $100 prize was offered, and G. A. Burns of Sacramento was declared the winner on March 14,1929, with Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World
42.
Lovely (micronation)
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How To Start Your Own Country was a six-part BBC Television documentary comedy series aired between August and September 2005. The show was presented by British writer/comedian Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, the micronation he created was eventually named Lovely. The series was released on DVD in the UK on 18 June 2007, Danny investigates territory for his new country, starting by visiting Sealand. He also meets Erwin Strauss and the man who owns the Moon and he invades Eel Pie Island but leaves after the police are called. He makes friends with a General of the British Army and he eventually decides upon the area of his flat as the territory and makes a declaration of independence, which he gives to Tony Blair. With the help of an agency, Wallace chooses a design for the flag of his country. He records a national anthem, which is played during his interview on Iain Lees LBC show, Danny Wallace meets the SAS and meets the King of Fusa. He also goes to the Principality of Seborga and he also speaks to a Catholic Cardinal about the role of religion in society and to Sheriff Joe Arpaio about law and order. A sombre visit to death row and an interview with the death row chief John George leads him to decide against the penalty in his country. When he struggles to pay his electricity bill, Wallace begins to kick-start his countrys economy and he investigates the National Debt, with advice from former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke. He designs his own currency, the IOU, which he shows to Andrew Bailey and he also discovers the Principality of New Utopia and interviews the UK Pro Consul, Tony Nicodemous. He applies for international aid, and fails, due to the wealth of his citizens, Wallace attempts to enter the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with a song called Stop the Muggin, Start the Huggin. In an attempt to become a country, he travels to New York to try to win the support of the United Nations. The lack of a territory lets him down and this final episode ends with a gathering of citizens in Leicester Square, where Wallace reveals that the country is to be called Lovely. A show called Citizen TV, also presented by Danny Wallace, was shown to viewers after each episode, giving news. The Kingdom of Lovely is a partly Internet-based micronation that claims as its territory an East London flat owned—and once lived in—by its creator and ruler, Lovely has 58,165 citizens registered on its website. Lovelys flag, coat of arms and motto were designed by London-based design studio Pentagram, the pixellated coat of arms is intended to reflect the internet-based nature of the micronation, as was the studios final flag, a pixellated Union Flag. The Latin motto is Die dulci freure, meaning Have a nice day, bond was chosen for the role having once worked as a security guard at Tesco, making him the closest thing Wallace had to an army
43.
Danny Wallace (writer)
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Daniel Frederick Danny Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. Wallace was born in Dundee, Scotland and attended Park Place Primary School, also growing up in Loughborough and Bath, England. He began writing reviews for video game magazines at the age of 13 for school work experience, at 18 he started writing comedy, mainly through the magazine Comedy Review. He specialised in studies at the University of Westminster. At 22, he became a BBC producer, as a journalist, Wallace has worked for The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Independent, Elle, Cosmo, The Times and other publications. Since 2007, Wallace has written a column in the weekly magazine ShortList. In September 2009 it was announced in his column that he and their son was born on 29 December 2009. In June 2014 Wallace was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Dundee, as an author, Wallaces best-selling books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. In 1999, Wallace challenged comedian Dave Gorman, who at the time was his flatmate, Wallace accompanied Gorman on his quest and the men created Are You Dave Gorman. An award-winning comedy stage show about what happened during their journey, a BBC series, also co-written and co-produced by Wallace, followed, as did a book, written by both men. In 2003, Wallaces book Join Me was published, the book explains how he accidentally started a cult called Join Me. The movement would go global, with each member committing to undertaking one random act of kindness for a stranger every Friday, Join Me celebrates Karmageddon 10 in December 2011. Traditionally, hundreds of travel to London for the meet-up and undertake good deeds for strangers. The movement is now referred to as the Karma Army. He became a celebrity in Belgium whilst on his quest for Joinees. While on a tour through America, Wallace was dubbed a Generation X legend by the Wisconsin State Journal. Wallace next wrote a book called Random Acts of Kindness,365 Ways To Make the World A Better Place. It includes many humorous Random Acts of Kindness ideas, such as Contradict Demeaning Graffiti, Wallaces second solo book, Yes Man was published in July 2005
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How to Start Your Own Country
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How To Start Your Own Country was a six-part BBC Television documentary comedy series aired between August and September 2005. The show was presented by British writer/comedian Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, the micronation he created was eventually named Lovely. The series was released on DVD in the UK on 18 June 2007, Danny investigates territory for his new country, starting by visiting Sealand. He also meets Erwin Strauss and the man who owns the Moon and he invades Eel Pie Island but leaves after the police are called. He makes friends with a General of the British Army and he eventually decides upon the area of his flat as the territory and makes a declaration of independence, which he gives to Tony Blair. With the help of an agency, Wallace chooses a design for the flag of his country. He records a national anthem, which is played during his interview on Iain Lees LBC show, Danny Wallace meets the SAS and meets the King of Fusa. He also goes to the Principality of Seborga and he also speaks to a Catholic Cardinal about the role of religion in society and to Sheriff Joe Arpaio about law and order. A sombre visit to death row and an interview with the death row chief John George leads him to decide against the penalty in his country. When he struggles to pay his electricity bill, Wallace begins to kick-start his countrys economy and he investigates the National Debt, with advice from former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke. He designs his own currency, the IOU, which he shows to Andrew Bailey and he also discovers the Principality of New Utopia and interviews the UK Pro Consul, Tony Nicodemous. He applies for international aid, and fails, due to the wealth of his citizens, Wallace attempts to enter the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with a song called Stop the Muggin, Start the Huggin. In an attempt to become a country, he travels to New York to try to win the support of the United Nations. The lack of a territory lets him down and this final episode ends with a gathering of citizens in Leicester Square, where Wallace reveals that the country is to be called Lovely. A show called Citizen TV, also presented by Danny Wallace, was shown to viewers after each episode, giving news. The Kingdom of Lovely is a partly Internet-based micronation that claims as its territory an East London flat owned—and once lived in—by its creator and ruler, Lovely has 58,165 citizens registered on its website. Lovelys flag, coat of arms and motto were designed by London-based design studio Pentagram, the pixellated coat of arms is intended to reflect the internet-based nature of the micronation, as was the studios final flag, a pixellated Union Flag. The Latin motto is Die dulci freure, meaning Have a nice day, bond was chosen for the role having once worked as a security guard at Tesco, making him the closest thing Wallace had to an army
