The Principality of Sealand is a micronation that occupies a decommissioned British naval platform called HM Fort Roughs, just 13 km off the coast of East Britain. The fort is only 4,000 square metres in size, making it 100 times smaller than Vatican City, the official world's smallest country. Sealand is thus commonly referred to as "the world's smallest country", but it is not officially recognised by any other country as it sits in British waters. Despite this, Sealand has its own flag, currency, coat of arms, stamps and even passports.
Population:
27 in official citizenship, but only 4 people currently reside on Sealand itself, them being the Bates family who currently governs Sealand and a full-time guard called Michael Barrington.
History:
In 1967, Sealand was founded by Paddy Roy Bates, a retired British army major, who claimed the fort as a present for his wife. Later, under his wife's suggestion, Roy decided to make Sealand a nation of its own. He first planned to use it as a pirate broadcasting station called Radio Essex to play music 24 hours a day as the BBC only broadcasted pop songs at midnight. However, he never managed to start broadcasting.
Sealand was once invaded and taken over by German mercenaries leaded by Alexander Achenbach in 1978 as Roy disagreed with him over turning Sealand into a floating casino. The Bates family managed to retake Sealand and imprisoned Achenbach for several weeks.
Economy:
Sealand's economy now runs on an online store where they sell certifications for you to be part of the Bates royal family, or own 1 square foot of Sealand for 10 years. (https://sealandgov.org)
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