July 17, 2006: Hard Times On Sealand

Sealand, the self-proclaimed independent nation on an old antiaircraft platform off the English coast, recently suffered a devastating fire. Originally, Sealand appears to have been merely an exercise in cheek - "Hey, let's occupy that deserted platform before it falls down, and declare ourselves independent!" It has its own royal family, currency, and coinage, as described on its official website. It also has internal politics, which have from time to time become violent . . . here's the site of the government in exile, ejected after a failed coup!

No nation recognized Sealand, but nobody threw them off, either.

A few years ago, cypherpunks were eagerly anticipating Sealand's transformation into the first real "offshore data haven.". It doesn't seem to have worked out. The Royal Family of Sealand estimates it will take a million dollars to repair their nation, and they're taking donations.

The moral? No independent nation should be without fire insurance.

(We should also point out that Pyramid subscribers got to read about Sealand last year . . . although we weren't cleared to reveal future information about the fire at that time.)
-- Steve Jackson

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