How to Start Your Own Country

Are you tired of the rat race? Are you fed up with paying taxes and following laws proscribed by other people?

While it’s difficult to do, some people have actually succeeded in starting their own country without suffering any legal action from their country of origin or from the sovereign authority of any other country. For these brave souls, the countries that they have started can best be described as “micronations.”

According to Robert Ben Madison, who established The Kingdom of Talossa on an island in Lake Michigan, a micronation can be defined as a country which has been “declared” independent by (usually eccentric) individuals or small groups, but unlike other such attempts, fail to achieve widespread diplomatic recognition.

The Principality of Sealand, the world’s smallest nation, is an exception. Sealand was established by English pirate radio broadcaster Paddy Roy Bates on an abandoned WWII Royal Navy sea-fortress platform. When his authority was challenged by the British courts, Bates sued for recognition and won his case. As a result, Sealand is a recognized sovereign nation.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Connection
• Guts
• A Plan
• An Unclaimed Territory
• Commitment
• Other Committed Individuals (optional)

How to Start Your Own Country

1. Your intent to start a micronation must be seen as serious, even if the nature of your “country” has strong satiric overtones. Buy a copy of Erwin S. Strauss’s libertarian-inspired book “How to Start Your Own Country.”
   
   Note that establishing a country or micronation as a tax dodge may have serious legal consequences.

2. Target an existing unclaimed physical territory. According to Strauss, to establish a country, you need “territory, people, and a government, and you have to defend it against all comers.”

3. Buy a boat and register it to a country, like Liberia or Panama, that will allow boats to fly under a “flag of convenience.” This is a borderline legality that’s in essence a floating sovereignty that only answers to international law.
   
   Again, be careful of legal risks that may be involved.

4. You may want to go the same route as Paddy Roy Bates and Sealand (see introduction) and sue for recognition. This may be the hardest route of all. Most judges will think you’re a kook.

Resources

• Cecil Adams on Starting Own Country