The Principality of Sealand (A brief history) has been put up for sale.The Principality of Sealand is a man-made off-shore installation named HM Fort Roughs, also called Roughs Tower, a former Maunsell Sea Fort. It is not an island, but a man-made structure, similar to an oil rig. The purpose of HM Fort Roughs was to guard the port of Harwich, Essex during WWII. It was constructed in the United Kingdom, towed into position and deliberately sunk on Rough Sands - a sandbar located approximately six miles from the coast of Suffolk and eight miles from the coast of Essex, England (map).
Since 1967, the population of Sealand has consisted of the associates and family members of Paddy Roy Bates, a former radio broadcaster and former British Army Major. Critics claim that Roughs Tower has always remained the property of the United Kingdom, a view that is disputed by the Bates family. The population of the facility rarely exceeds ten, and its area is 5920 sq. ft.
Sealand's claims to sovereignty and legitimacy are not recognised by any country, yet it is sometimes cited in debates as an interesting case study of how various principles of international law can be applied to a territorial dispute.The Pirate Bay(The worlds largest BitTorrent tracker) are launching a bid to Buy Sealand. Check their forum and blog for the latest news.
Further reading:
- Original Website
- Photo gallery
- Sealand - Wikipedia. As usual Wikipedia has loads of great links on the subject.
- Sealand, the Non-Country, Up for Sale
- Sealand
- Photo's from the first renovation visit to Sealand
- Sealand stamps
- Principality of Sealand: an investigation for Internet Magazine. Photos from someones visit to Sealand including how they get on and off the island.
- Photos of Sealnd coins, stamps and certificate of naturalisation
- Sealand - another great photoset on Flickr
- Flickr: Nitroba's photos of sealand
Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the text and links in this post.
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