When I was a child I used to wander into the woods behind my parents’ house and play pretend. I would make forts out of fallen tree branches and brush; creating little hideouts that I could call my own. Many of my friends did the same thing, though some were industrious enough to build tree houses. There’s something comforting about having a fort you can escape to and play in – a nice reminiscence of childhood. What about when you get older though? A house isn’t quite the same as a fort – it lacks the imagination that comes with such a dwelling. Of course, you could attempt to do what Roy Bates did in 1966 and take over a British military fortress.
Bates, a former infantry major in the Royal Fusiliers, decided to take over an abandoned military fortress known as Roughs Tower on Christmas Eve of 1966 with the intention of setting up a pirate radio station. He had done this before on a sea barge, but he was caught by the British government and fined. He saw Roughs Tower as the perfect place to set up shop since it was approximately six miles off of the eastern coast of Britain, thereby placing it in international waters. The island fortress was erected in 1943 during World War II to serve as a defense against German aircraft. It consists of a floating pontoon base with two hollow towers that are joined together by an upper deck. Each tower is seven stories tall and contains bedrooms, bathrooms, dens, storage areas for supplies and munitions, and even a prison cell. The fortress was abandoned after the war and left to sit in the North Sea.
Instead of starting up another pirate radio station, Bates decided to claim the fortress island as his own by declaring it to be an independent state. On September 2, 1967, he raised the official, newly-designed flag of the Principality of Sealand. In 1968 British courts ruled that Sealand would be allowed to uphold its independence since it stood in international waters and therefore did not fall under the legal jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
Sealand, by most standards, has established itself as a country. They have their own flag, currency (with a fixed exchange rate of 1 USD), passport, anthem, and crest. Approximately 20 people live on the island at any given time. It was up for sale in the early 2000s for the cool asking price of £500 million; however, it was not purchased and is still in control of the Bates family, with Roy’s son Michael taking on the title of Prince after his father’s death in 2012.
The history of Sealand is long and tends to read like an action film. For instance, in August of 1978 Prince Michael was kidnapped from the island by German and Dutch mercenaries looking to claim it for their own uses. He was dropped off in Holland with no money or passport. The family, with help from a close friend and helicopter pilot who had done work in James Bond movies, took Sealand back by force not long after.
Sealand isn’t a place you may have heard of before, yet it has a history that captures the imaginations of those who know of it. It truly is the ultimate fort, literally and figuratively, as a micronation that takes up 0.25 km2. If you would like to learn more about their history you can take a look at their website: http://www.sealandgov.org/about
There are also videos on YouTube where you can watch interviews with the royal family and take a tour around the inside of Sealand.
– Leah Harrower, JETPUBS Inc.