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World's Smallest Country up for Sale?!?!

news.com.au — A former World War II fort in the North Sea, which was settled 40 years ago and declared a state with its own self-proclaimed royal family, is up for sale. The tiny Principality of Sealand, which began life as Roughs Tower in 1941, is a 550 sq m steel platform perched on two concrete towers 11km off the coast of Harwich, eastern England.

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johnhoward666, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29Back in 2000 Wired covered this "country": http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.07/haven.html

Quite a good little story.
- coolian, on 10/12/2007, -14/+48 figures for a rock - literally - in the middle of nowhere?
  
  WTF^m.
- kent1146, on 10/12/2007, -15/+197I thought the world's smallest country was the Vatican... and I thought the Vatican was always for sale.
- shadus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20It's not for sale, a country can't be "sold" it's for "transfer" and thats completely different right? *crickets* right?! guys?!
- jonathantneal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26Yes, quite a good little story, except for the disturbing ending "Four years later, Dutch and German businessmen on Sealand to discuss a business deal kidnapped Roy's son but were overpowered and held as prisoners of war before eventually being released." Serious?
- Hydraulix, on 10/12/2007, -13/+361. Gather barrels of oil.
  2. Move oil to smallest country.
  3. ?????
  4. Profit!
- andyrobo60, on 10/12/2007, -3/+34If you buy it then you will be the only one living in the 'country'. That will mean no laws, you can do anything you want. If you don't want it anymore just declare war on the US. Watch as the bomb a whole country in to dust.
- edwardfrench, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Anyone looking for it on Google Maps, it's here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=51.53+N,+01.28+E&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=51.529999,1.279993&spn=0.032465,0.111065&om=1&iwloc=addr
  or at least it would be!
  I didn't do any better on live.com or yahoo.com maps.
- Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41So the guy wants 8 figures... i wonder if Verizon will bid and offer him 0.0000002c for it... after all, its got 8 figures in it right?
- nicerobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually, it supposed to be here: http://tinyurl.com/ymrbvo (maps.google.com) and you'd probably see it on the satellite if they had those images.
- JackyTreehorn, on 10/12/2007, -37/+56If I owned this platform, I would set up huge loudspeakers pointed towards England and shout through them "COLOR IS SPELLED C-O-L-O-R"
- Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -22/+56@JackyTreehorn
  
  And you'd get laughed at... cos you know, the English did kinda invent the English language. The Americans bastardized it less then half a millennium ago.
- kaelyiesta, on 10/12/2007, -7/+35@ Dpack1
  
  'Than' not 'then'. Sorry. Normally I wouldn't correct spelling but considering you were on the topic of us americans bastardizing languages I thought it pertinent.
- XZanatos, on 10/12/2007, -6/+27@Dpack1
  English itself is a bastardized language from German, French, Anglo-Saxon, and bits from a dozen other languages. So Boo-Hoo.
- mewithoutyou, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22@Dpack1
  
  bastardized is the American spelling of bastardised.
  
  I'm British I don't care about spelling.
- Ligeia, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences :
  
  "Most words ending in unstressed -our in Britain (e.g. colour, flavour, honour) end in -or in the U.S. (e.g. color, flavor, honor). Most words of this category derive from Latin non-agent nouns having nominative -or; the first such borrowings into English were from early Old French and the ending was -or or -ur[12]. After the Norman Conquest, the termination became -our in Anglo-French in an attempt to represent the Old French pronunciation of words ending in -or[13]. The -our ending was not only retained in English borrowings from Anglo-French, but also applied to earlier French borrowings[14]. After the Renaissance, some such borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original -or termination; many words once ending in -our (for example, chancellour and governour) now end in -or everywhere. Many words of the -our/-or group do not have a Latin counterpart; for example, armo(u)r, behavio(u)r, harbo(u)r, neighbo(u)r; also arbo(u)r in sense "bower"; senses "tree" and "tool" are always arbor, a false cognate of the other word. Some 16th and early 17th century British scholars indeed insisted that -or be used for words of Latin origin and -our for French loans; but in many cases the etymology was not completely clear, and therefore some scholars advocated -or only and others -our only[15].
  
  As early as 1755 Dr Johnson settled on -our, while Webster's 1828 dictionary featured only -or and is generally given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the U.S. By contrast, Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform and for the most part simply recorded what he found. For example, documents [2] from the Old Bailey, the foremost court in London, support the view of the OED that by the 17th century "colour" was the settled spelling. Those English speakers who began to move across the Atlantic would have taken these habits with them and H L Mencken makes the point that, "honor appears in the Declaration of Independence, but it seems to have got there rather by accident than by design. In Jefferson’s original draft it is spelled honour. " [3] Examples such as color, flavor, behavior, harbor, or neighbor scarcely appear in the Old Bailey's court records from the 17th and 18th century, whereas examples of their -our counterparts are generally numbered in hundreds. One notable exception is honor: honor and honour were equally frequent down to the 17th century[16], and Honor still is in Britain the normal spelling for a person's name."
- ShuttleDisaster, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4@kaelyiesta: 'Americans' should be capitalized.
- BarryChuckle, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2@Dpack
  
  0 isn't a Significant Figure,
  
  But then again, they didn't specify ;)
- xxNIRVANAxx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@BarryChuckle: 0's after the decimal are... my teacher said
  
  and JackyTreehorn: Why go through all that when you can just go North to Canada?
- mraustin1337, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd love to be Prince Nicholas of Sealand. No one could overthrow me.
  
  Bwahahaha...
loomis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+41Not as cool as the Maunsell Army Sea Forts! http://www.undergroundkent.co.uk/maunsell_towers.htm

Now those are fascinating!
- kutaone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10Those are awesome pics...that place looks really facinating..Thanks for sharing!
- foobar5892, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12According to Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Sea_Forts ), one of those forts became the "country" this article is about.
- Wonderkind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've never seen or heard of that before. Terrific. But someone should notify Luke Skywalker before they get too close.
- Anrkist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I'm sadly reminded of Waterworld when I see those images.
- corbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah an artist lived on them for a while:
  
  "Stephen Turner was in residence alone on the derelict searchlight tower of the Shivering Sands Seafort for 36 days from 4 August until 9 September 2005. A time period corresponding to a tour of duty in the fort during WWII."
  
  http://www.seafort.org/theproject.html
- Negyxo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Looks like a level in Myst or something. Way cool.
- nobullshit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2i thought that the US invented white trash... all that they are missing is a double wide trailer...
- Hello1024, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Guy Maunsell was my grandpa, and even I never knew he had anything to do with those. (it is the same guy though, cos he ran some architectual design firm)
kutaone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I tried to find pictures but couldn't...I would love to see some.
- zombo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20You can buy yourself a Lordship or Ladyship title from the sealandgov website for the measley sum of 19.99 GBP, the pack includes...
  
  Your chosen Certificate of Individual Noble Title Ownership
  Information about The Principality of Sealand
  History Of Sealand
  Location Information about Sealand
  Photos of the Principality
  Full Registration Instructions
  Glossy Folder to keep all your documents safe
  
  http://www.sealandgov.org/shop.html
- Anrkist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I guess when you have such a small country, finding a decent web master can be challenging. They should outsource...
- dggeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Wikipedia has a couple pictures and a map.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand
loomis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4More pics. Note servers there. Note also that this site has a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th part of pictures, including the fire and rebuilding: http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/SealandOne/ThisIsSealand.html
- durzagott, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Link is down
anonymoustroll, on 10/12/2007, -16/+4fsck yeah!!!

...I was wondering when that little cult was going to go out of business.

oh... you're NOT taking about the Vatican.
visually, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5haha sounds like that place has a lot of cool stories :)
sfacets, on 10/25/2007, -2/+28The digg community should pool resources and buy it... digg it? :)
- Wonderkind, on 10/12/2007, -5/+14Then as a nation we could sue Microsoft monopolistic business practices and split the proceeds among us.
- Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28All hail Diggland!
- Braxo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27no idiot, I'd be called Diggnation
- joel8x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20Hey idiot, why would YOU be called dignation?
- Braxo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9damn, I'm the idiot now...
- Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Right, of course. All hail Diggnation!
PremiumBitter, on 10/12/2007, -18/+1Pix or it didn't happen.
- simpleid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually I had to go through about 4 websites to find a picture, even after that all I found was a platform on two giant metal posts.... so uhm. It's probably not worth the price, just my guess.
epoch, on 10/25/2007, -0/+12Sealand is about 10 miles from me. Locally, the family of Sealand are considered headcases. It's a fun story but I don't think anyone is really in any doubt that it only exists because the British government has no need to take action.
- Teaboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3My parents live in Clacton! woo!
- picaro, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6How is the British concept of nationhood any less deluded?
- speerross, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3no, they tried to take action but if you read the article they wernt prepared to start a body count when the guy fired warning shots, its out of the legal 3 miles water radius and if I remember correctly this 'country' has gained a small amount of international recognition. I don't believe the British Government are all that happy about it, but their only option is invasion and they cant go invading a foriegn power unprovoked (unless they can lie about it just enough so that by the time the majority of the population realises, theyve got soldiers crawling (and, unfortunatly, dieing) all over the place - ala iraq).
- M2Ys4U, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6It will take all of half of an SAS team to take the place
- maglob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If I remember correctly from all the business studies lessons I had a few years ago (we didn't talk much business in them) the place is still filled with WW2 weapons, who on earth let this guy claim this "country" in the first place???
- cquilliam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I read about this place not too long ago. I remember reading that one of the things you have to do when declaring a country is you have to defend it against occupation. Aparently those "warning shots" they talked about was all that was needed.
  
  The british must have been laughing too hard to do anything about it :)
- Negyxo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ cquilliam
  
  And they're selling that country for a metric *****-ton. I'm pretty sure they'll be laughing now.
- Jedimonkey27, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The real reason Britain never interfered is because there was no need to. The inhabitants never stopped paying British taxes. There isn't a nation in the whole world that recognizes Sealand so it really isn't an independent nation.
Uranium118, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4So how much was the last bid on ebay?
pathy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12"It is accessible only by helicopter and boat but according to its owners, who want offers of eight digits or over, boasts uninterrupted sea views, guarantees complete privacy and is a tax haven."

This is a PERFECT place for any budding Evil Geniuses that just need that perfect lair to place their dastardly plans.
LoneRanger85, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Rats! If I'd known this, I wouldn't have bought that plasma TV!
fenixconnektion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16I think the best part of this article is the last little bit:

"Four years later, Dutch and German businessmen on Sealand to discuss a business deal kidnapped Roy's son but were overpowered and held as prisoners of war before eventually being released."

Friggin' awesome.
- foobar5892, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's the tale of valiant knights and cowardly crooks.
ed2092, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9nice
http://www.churchandeast.co.uk/shop/14102006134.jpg
- Desolite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i guess thats his version of a tire hanging off a tree branch.
Taxodium, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3i want a small country. i'd find some oompa loompa's to hang out with and live like willy wonka
mcsloy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3it hosts most of the uk's porn sites i believe
- ardenr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If that were true I'm sure they'd have better porn.
  
  Not that I would know.
Shizlanski, on 10/25/2007, -3/+4"World's Smallest Country up for Sale?!?!"

YES! You answered it in your own description!
ScottyTee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.sealandgov.org/ - Official Site...
- KJSatz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No *.gov for you!
feenikz4180, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand
repins, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Microsoft new corporate headquarters? After all Bill Gates is just a white angora cat from being a James Bond Villain...he needs a cool hide out..
ScottyTee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.inmobiliarianaranja.es/sealand.html - the Spanish real estate site selling the place..
feenikz4180, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Picture gallery
http://www.xtrasi.co.uk/index.asp?show=sealandpics
- trebe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2man that place is a mess!
lytan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Goontopia.
xenixninja, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2What Happens at Sealnad, stays at Sealand. ;)
- KJSatz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Seal...nad...?!?!
propylonsean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Havenco cometh? http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Havenco

Sean
camaj126, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's an ideal place for a drug lord to base his operations out of. The next Norman's Cay... just without the beaches.
scottious, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand ... if you haven't already found it.
simurg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well, if the global warming trend goes on as is, it will be an underwater country soon.
AlexRossberg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0pretty funny
- fangorious, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@geoken: 550m = .55km.
  In other words, the Vaticans .44km is equivalent to 440m.
  
  550m = .55 km, yes. But 1,000 m^2 != 1 km^2. A square km is 1 km x 1 km, or 1,000 m x 1,000 m, or 1, 000, 000 m^2. So the Vatican is 440, 000 m^2 to Sealand's 550 m^2.
  
  edit: should have been a reply to geoken 3 messages down.
jggggj, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2A serious problem. This country is NOT the smallest in the world. The Vatican is the smallest.

The for-sale country is perhaps second smallest.
- Urusai, on 10/25/2007, -1/+9Sealand is much smaller: 550 m^2 versus the Vatican's 0.44 km^2
  
  Whether Sealand is actually a country is another matter.
- geoken, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1550m = .55km.
  
  In other words, the Vaticans .44km is equivalent to 440m.
- AndySomnifac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2No, .44 square km is not equal to 440 square meters.
  
  .44 square km is equal to 440,000 meters. Feel free to consult Google Calc: http://www.google.com/search?q=.44+square+kilometers+to+square+meters
  
  I would be willing to wager that the interior of St. Peters dwarfs the entire area of Sealand by several times.
brindon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Hey? Anyone have any information about Indoctrination Flag Imposter or something like that? I heard there was a myspace, but I simply can't find any information about it...oh well...I guess I'll just erase these unreleased tapes I made on 9/11.
jggggj, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1A serious problem. This country is NOT the smallest in the world. The Vatican is the smallest.

The for-sale country is prhaps the second smallest.
- profOblivion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Just a guess, but I'm pretty sure that the Vatican is more than 550 square metres.
- maglob, on 10/12/2007, -8/+0@profOblivion
  
  Actually jggggj is right, Vatican City is 440 m² as Sealand a grand 550m²
- atdt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9No, Vatican City is 0.17 sq mi (or 440,297.979 m2), making it much larger than Sealand
Grishnackh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+71. Buy Country
2. Run Out Big, Fat, Pipe
3. Repeal Copyright Laws
4. ????
5. Profit!
- codwif, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1There already is a big fat pipe!
  
  Read the old wired story:
  
  "Three speedy connections to HavenCo affiliate hubs all over the planet - microwave, satellite, and underwater fiber-optic links - will ensure that the data never stops flowing."
  
  HavenCo being the colocation company they set up a while ago.
jferrari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Buy it? I say we just invade, and take it.
rnelsonee, on 10/25/2007, -1/+4Do I have to be the first to point out that Sealand is not a country? While there are disputes as to what exactly defines something as a country (economic stability, ability to police its citizens.. etc), one of the qualifications that is agreed upon is international recognition by other countries. Not one country int the world recognizes Sealand's sovereignty. It's a self-declared principality, which basically means they think they have power, but the minute their true country (UK) decides it needs that territory, or needs those citizens to pay taxes, it will be able to do so.
- BM5k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'd venture an argument that the UK recognizes it as a state, as they have failed to evict these people since 1967, as well as the fact (FTA) that "A judge then ruled in his favour that Sealand was outside British government control as it was beyond the three-mile limit of the country's waters."
  - MonarchWastxD, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1We just can't be bothered... let the crazies have their fun... for now... *evil laugh*
- rnelsonee, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2Ah. I thought the borders extended to 12 miles in 1988 though. Meh, I'm sure Sealand will enjoy it's fake autonomy until the UK annexes it for the next World War.
MrBrightside, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6fantastic - I live about 20 miles away from this place and i didnt even know it existed!
daharris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I can see the island from my window in felixstowe, suffolk
GamingNews, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What makes this a country? Do they have UN representation? Do they issue passports? Do they have a national flag? Anthem? Constitution? What form of government are they?
- BM5k, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Its a country because some guys came in, kicked everyone else out, claimed a title and planted a flag (see Wikipedia entry for flag.) That's the way countries have been created for centuries. I'd have to say that simply not participating in the UN doesn't directly translate to not being a sovereign nation. Again, passports and national anthems, aren't requirements for statehood. Oh, and given the titles of Prince given for the so called leaders, I'd have to assume that this is some sort of monarchy (also "confirmed" by wiped.)
  
  In case you missed it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand
  
  But it does seem like these guys just got a little carried away playing with their fort/clubhouse. I mean, who never built a fort out of cardboard boxes, drew a flag on it, and declared war on their little brother/sister?
- sevenhelmets, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6According to Wikipedia they do (or have) issued passports, have a flag, national anthem and also constitution (all 7 articles of it). And it's a sovereignty while they're at it. So the only thing they don't have is UN representation.....
zoomtechtv, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Time to watch Waterworld again!!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/
anonpcminority, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This is so bizarre it gets Dugg.
Seriously, (check out the pictures on Wikipedia) how can a giant metal table be even remotely considered a country. It's not even an island. The population rarely exceeds 10 people, what do they use the currency for? Helicopter privileges? Big Brother should buy it for their next show.
B0jangles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2'Lovely' is the world smallest country actually.

http://www.citizensrequired.com
- thelightjockey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1all hail the man in the flat!
  late night digital channels magic!
cualcrees, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"but mom! why wont you buy me my own country... all my friends have one!"
howski, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I thought Sealand was in Florida. Shamu bite anyone else lately?
Flarup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3im digging this because im just fascinated by the idea, i've watched alot of pictures and the movie here http://www.xtrasi.co.uk/videos/sealand_high.wmv

This place looks awesome, you have to admire the dedication of these guys.

I want my own country.
- Jedimonkey27, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A while ago I started reading about Sealand and all of the various other micronations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronation I was disappointed to find out that Sealand was the most successful micronation but they only got as far as they did. I plan on forming a micronation one day, but I hope to get it recognized by other countries.
Slackerspencer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Imagine owning you own country. =]
DarkPilot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This a rip off if you ask me, I know an old nuclear shelter that would cost less that that, and it's still got most of the air handling/power generating gear inside....

And does nobody remember Petoria?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petoria
lillepalle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is very interesting from the legal perspective!

The biggest question it arises is what defines a country, and does rules exist that apply to everyone, even in countries that have not ratified them?

It is interesting to note that this has been going on for such a long time, right in the face of the UK, that perhaps they have won some sort of sovereignity... history sure shows us that the creation of new countries do not follow any predescribed rules, but rather survival of the fittest/strongest.
VEGETAble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This guy is a national hero, my hats off to you sir
Shaggy3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1How the hell do you call that a country?
I hope some idiot buys it and it falls over.
askdawn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Link to more pics of Sealand from an article: http://kim.nyclondon.com/main.php/v/sealand/

Doesn't it melt a girls heart when their guy takes an island, then mint you face to a coin!

Neat article, now I am going to decide if I want to be baroness or lady (and to see what's the difference too).
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World's Smallest Country up for Sale?!?!

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