World's smallest country up for sale - Ausbb

09-01-2007, 12:48 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - For sale: the world's smallest country with its own flag, stamps, currency and passports.

Apply to Prince Michael of Sealand if you want to run your own storm-tossed nation -- even if it is just a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea.

Built in World War Two as an anti-aircraft base against German bombers, the derelict platform was taken over 40 years ago by retired army major Paddy Roy Bates who went to live there with his family.

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He declared the platform, perched seven miles off the east coast of England just outside Britain's territorial waters, to be the principality of Sealand.

The self-styled Prince Roy adopted a flag, chose a national anthem and minted silver and gold coins as its currency.

The family saw off an attempt by the Royal Navy to evict them and also an attempt in 1978 by a group of German and Dutch businessmen to seize Sealand by force.

"I was held prisoner out there for three or four days and then managed to get back to England," Roy's son Michael told BBC Radio on Monday.

"I slid down a rope out of a helicopter with my father and a couple of comrades and took the place back against armed opposition. It was quite a high point in my life," he said.

Prince Michael, whose 85-year-old father now lives in Spain, said his family had been approached by estate agents with clients "who wanted a bit more than a bit of real estate, they wanted autonomy."

Asked what were the delights of living on Sealand, the 54-year-old prince said "The neighbours are very quiet. There is a good sea view."

"There is no jurisdiction by any other country in the world," he said, suggesting it could be a base for online gambling or offshore banking.

Calling it a cross between a house and a ship, the prince acknowledged it was not the world's most picturesque country, boasting as it does two large concrete towers with eight rooms in each tower.

"It is fairly bleak," he conceded. ""But it is quite pleasant sitting inside in the warm and watching the horrendous weather roaring past the double-glazed windows."

So what did he expect to get for Sealand?

"We shall see," Prince Michael said. "I will listen to anybody who wants to talk."

13-01-2007, 10:05 AM

The Pirate Bay is raising money to buy the tiny, bankrupt "island" of Sealand. Sealand is the abandoned gun battery near the UK that was occupied, declared soveriegn, and turned into a offshore data-center for sensitive information. Sealand's owners have put the "country" on the block, and the Pirate Bay, Sweden's gutsy, notorious BitTorrent tracker, is soliciting donations to buy it. They're even promising citizenship to donors. If they don't get enough to buy Sealand, they're promising to buy another island somewhere

http://buysealand.com/

13-01-2007, 10:19 AM

The soverienty of Sealand was origionally under dispute, but since 1987 it has been oficially under the jurestiction of the UK, when the UK government extended it's territorial boundaried to 12 nautical miles from the coast, bringing Sealand within UK borders. Source: Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand

The Bates family are flat broke and are selling up simply because they have realised that there is no way they can make their soverienty claim stand should they get into legal trouble. They even have a disclaimer in their sales ad:

http://www.inmobiliarianaranja.es/sealand.html

09-01-2007, 12:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
influx Guest Posts: n/a	World's smallest country up for sale LONDON (Reuters) - For sale: the world's smallest country with its own flag, stamps, currency and passports. Apply to Prince Michael of Sealand if you want to run your own storm-tossed nation -- even if it is just a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea. Built in World War Two as an anti-aircraft base against German bombers, the derelict platform was taken over 40 years ago by retired army major Paddy Roy Bates who went to live there with his family. (Advertisement) He declared the platform, perched seven miles off the east coast of England just outside Britain's territorial waters, to be the principality of Sealand. The self-styled Prince Roy adopted a flag, chose a national anthem and minted silver and gold coins as its currency. The family saw off an attempt by the Royal Navy to evict them and also an attempt in 1978 by a group of German and Dutch businessmen to seize Sealand by force. "I was held prisoner out there for three or four days and then managed to get back to England," Roy's son Michael told BBC Radio on Monday. "I slid down a rope out of a helicopter with my father and a couple of comrades and took the place back against armed opposition. It was quite a high point in my life," he said. Prince Michael, whose 85-year-old father now lives in Spain, said his family had been approached by estate agents with clients "who wanted a bit more than a bit of real estate, they wanted autonomy." Asked what were the delights of living on Sealand, the 54-year-old prince said "The neighbours are very quiet. There is a good sea view." "There is no jurisdiction by any other country in the world," he said, suggesting it could be a base for online gambling or offshore banking. Calling it a cross between a house and a ship, the prince acknowledged it was not the world's most picturesque country, boasting as it does two large concrete towers with eight rooms in each tower. "It is fairly bleak," he conceded. ""But it is quite pleasant sitting inside in the warm and watching the horrendous weather roaring past the double-glazed windows." So what did he expect to get for Sealand? "We shall see," Prince Michael said. "I will listen to anybody who wants to talk."

13-01-2007, 10:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
delta Guest Posts: n/a	World's smallest country up for sale The Pirate Bay is raising money to buy the tiny, bankrupt "island" of Sealand. Sealand is the abandoned gun battery near the UK that was occupied, declared soveriegn, and turned into a offshore data-center for sensitive information. Sealand's owners have put the "country" on the block, and the Pirate Bay, Sweden's gutsy, notorious BitTorrent tracker, is soliciting donations to buy it. They're even promising citizenship to donors. If they don't get enough to buy Sealand, they're promising to buy another island somewhere http://buysealand.com/

13-01-2007, 10:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
delta Guest Posts: n/a	World's smallest country up for sale The soverienty of Sealand was origionally under dispute, but since 1987 it has been oficially under the jurestiction of the UK, when the UK government extended it's territorial boundaried to 12 nautical miles from the coast, bringing Sealand within UK borders. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand The Bates family are flat broke and are selling up simply because they have realised that there is no way they can make their soverienty claim stand should they get into legal trouble. They even have a disclaimer in their sales ad: http://www.inmobiliarianaranja.es/sealand.html