Is it possible to create a country?

[Oneeyedvic]

How is a country created. If i were rich enough to buy an island, can I live on it and declare mysellf to be a country, and make my own laws up? Is there a minimum size. And how about if I were rich enough to buy all of The Shetlands - (and I am not a russian billionaire). I am sure this was covered by a TV commedy a few years ago, but is there any seriousness to it?

[Sylday]

You would first have to find a piece of land (almost certainly a rocky islet) to which no other country laid claim. Presumably, there would be no-one else living there, and no previous owner. You, and anyone else you could persuade to join you, could then occupy it, and you could call yourself what you liked - but whether any other nation officially recognised you would be another matter. And, in any case, as soon as it was recognised that this piece of rock was inhabitable, one of the nearest sovereign nations would almost certainly claim it themselves, and throw you out.

[morg_monster]

When i was in Australia we visited a 'country' in western oz called the Hutt River Province, ruled over by Prince Leonard who seceded his large farm from Australia in 1970 due to a disagreement over farming quotas. You could get a stamp in your passport when you visited and also for $100 become a citizen! Australia doesn't recognise the country though. Have a look at http://www.huttriver.net/HRHistory.htm for the official website, it is a bit hard to read though a google search might be more profitable if you were really interested.

[Lord_Floaty]

Ooh, interesting link morg... Thanks for that.

[Oneeyedvic]

Thanks for the info peeps. Guess you would have to declare your independnace and then employ a scientist to make a WMD - should get recognised and invaded then ;-)

[anonymous_23]

Consider reading up on "micronations", for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronation lists many other places that have declared themselves sovereign, and then tried to get real nations to recognize them. The most successful may be the "Principality of Sealand". Official site: http://www.sealandgov.com/ Discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand Photo: http://www.fruitsofthesea.demon.co.uk/sealand/images/fortres s.jpg It's a gun-tower that Britain built 6-miles off the coast of Suffolk for use in WWII, then abandoned. In 1967 a guy moved his family into it and declared it independent. The family still lives there and claims they're given "de facto recogition". Diplomats have visited, courts have ruled in favor of them..