In 2000, the president of the American "Havenco" (Havenco) network company Sean found Bates, and the two sides agreed to establish a network company in the Duchy of Sealand, which mainly operates two major businesses: web servers and ocean economy. On August 22, Michael Bates registered the company with the Department of Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom under the Companies Regulatory Authority under the number 04056934, while the registered office is at 11, Kintyre House, Coldharbour, London, England. The company's directors include the company's chief operating officer, Michael Roy Bates, and a U.S. citizen born on March 17, 1979, Ryan Donald Lackey. The company's founders also included Sean Hastings, Joe Hastings, and Ivy Friedman. The company's place of incorporation was later changed to Cyprus.
Once established, Haven gained worldwide media attention - not only was the company featured on the cover of Wired magazine, but it was also featured in more than 200 other print media outlets around the world and on several television stations. According to these reports, not only did Haven already have a reliable hosting facility in Westland, but it had also begun to operate a digital haven. Critics, however, point out that the reports give the preconceived impression that Haven is registered in Zealand and therefore able to offer international domain names registered in Zealand, when in fact it does not have the authority to do so.
The Haven Company claimed that it had been in normal operation since December 2000, and that under their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), content other than child pornography, spam and malicious hacking was acceptable. They also claim that since Westland is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and is not under the jurisdiction of international copyright laws, the data housed on their servers is exempt from copyright and intellectual property regulations. Other businesses operated by Haven are IT consulting, systems management, offshore software development and e-mail services, to name a few.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., Lackey claimed that Haven's business would be shut down if it was "contrary to international ****ing customs and practices." Haven also said that its business had encountered little trouble from any country or organization in the world. According to its opponents, however, the British government has "reacted calmly" by tightening its control over unauthorized data to and from Westland under the relevant provisions of British law. It's not clear what the UK government's intentions are, though, and there's no evidence that it has done so.
Ryan Lackey left Haven in 2001 after disagreements with the Bates family over the management of the company under harsh circumstances. Haven is still in operation, though the exact scope and circumstances of its business are not known to outsiders. On June 23, 2006, a security officer stationed at the Westland Fury Tower was injured in a fire suspected to have been caused by a generator and was rescued by a British emergency helicopter and taken to hospital. The fire was also fought at sea by firefighters who fired jets of water from their boats.
The extent of the damage from the fire was not clear because firefighters did not enter the tower. There were reports that Michael Bates, the son of the current Prince, had tried to enter the tower and was planning to rebuild the country. When the Principality of Sealand advertised the tower for sale in 2007, The Pirate Bay planned to raise funds to buy it in order to create a free country without the constraints of copyright law. The fundraising amounted to 100 million pounds, and the Pirate Bay promised that all donors would be granted citizenship of the future nation. Unfortunately, the Duchy of Sealand did not respond to the Pirate Bay's offer, so the Pirate Bay had to change their plans with a view to buying other islands as an alternative. Now their latest plan is to launch an orbiting satellite with a BT server. The world's smallest principality "head of state" passed away, once in the artificial island of the country's king, during the Second World War, the British government in the sea 7 miles away from the Essex coast to build a number of hundreds of square meters of concrete platforms, stationed artillery to counter-attack the invasion of the British coast of the Nazi warplanes. These "artificial islands" were gradually abandoned by the British government after World War II, but in 1967, a retired British army major named Roy Batts took his family to a platform called "Raging Wave Tower" and built a "Principality of Westland" on it. "The Duchy of Sealand", and appointed himself Prince and head of the Duchy.
Artificial island to build a country on the king
In 1967, the British retired army major Roy Batts suddenly took his family on a platform called the "fury tower", claiming "sovereignty" over it, and Roy in the area of 550 square meters on the sea platform. Roy established a "Duchy of Sealand" on the 550-square-meter platform and proclaimed himself "Prince Roy".
After Roy's "establishment", he first sent official letters to the foreign ministries of Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden and other European countries, stating the location of his own territory, and also asking whether the countries have sovereignty claims over the territory. When they all received a negative answer, Roy considered it proof that all European countries had recognized the existence of the "Principality of Zealand". From 1967, Roy issued the "Principality of Zealand" currency, stamps, passports and car license plates on this tiny "Principality", even though there was not a single car on the "artificial island". There is not a single car on this "artificial island".
British Prime Minister Sends Troops to Seize Island
The British government was shocked and angered when Roy declared sovereignty over the Nuttalla offshore platform, and the British Navy sent a helicopter full of Royal Navy soldiers to the Nuttalla platform, ready to forcibly remove it from the sea. "The British Navy then sent a helicopter full of Royal Navy soldiers to the platform in the middle of the sea, ready to forcibly remove the Roy family. Roy's wife, Joan, picked up a pistol in "self-defense" and fired a warning shot into the air. In view of this, the British Royal Navy immediately asked the then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson whether it was necessary to forcibly seize the "island". Considering Roy Batts' outstanding performance in World War II, Wilson did not want to hurt Roy and his family, so he ordered the navy to retreat.
A British judge later ruled in Roy's favor, stating that the British government only had control over the waters within three miles of the coast, while the Raging Towers platform was seven miles off the coast, so it was not under the jurisdiction of the British government. 1974 was the year that "Prince Roy" issued his first law. In 1974, "Prince Roy" promulgated the first constitution of the "Principality of Sealand", which also designed its own red, white and black flag and national anthem, and declared that the currency of the "Principality" was equal to the US dollar, with one Sealand dollar equal to one US dollar, and with the inscription "Princess Joan" on the currency. The currency was engraved with the head of "Princess Joan".
Mob invasion
Besides the British government, there were many who coveted the Duchy of Zealand's offshore platform. In 1978, several Dutch mobsters, under the direction of German businessman Prof. Alexander Achenbach, attempted to kidnap Roe's son and forcibly seize the offshore platform. Achenbach hoped to seize the offshore platform and turn it into a "tax haven". Roy and his son, Michael, call for help and assemble a defense force, including a helicopter, which defeats the invaders, while Professor Achenbach and the others become "prisoners of war".
Extralegal territory
In the past 40 years, the "artificial island" has been completely modernized, with generators and all sorts of modern installations, and in 2000, the "Duchy of Sealand" even had a new factory called "The Haven", which was built on it. In 2000, a company called "Haven" was even established on the "Duchy of Zealand", which claimed that any business was allowed on their "artificial island" as long as it did not involve child pornography or terrorism. As a matter of fact, the "safe haven companies" later became a haven for gamblers and a haven for tax evasion. A number of "Online Gambling Bureaus" conducted transactions through the servers of the "Principality of Sealand", and hackers from all over the world also wanted to use the servers on the island as their "bases", so that even if they broke the law, Interpol could trace them back to the "Artificial Island". This way, even if they break the law and Interpol tracks them down to the Duchy of Sealand, Prince Roy will not accept any subpoenas from any country, including the British police.
Worse still, some people even took the "passports" issued by the "Principality of Westland" to cheat, and at one time there were 150,000 so-called "Principality of Westland" passports in circulation across Europe. At one point there were 150,000 so-called "Duchy of Westland" passports in circulation across Europe, and at least a few big cases that alarmed Interpol were related to these fake passports.
Roy's death
In 2012, however, members of the Duchy of Sealand royal family posted an obituary on their Web site, declaring that the founder of the Duchy of Sealand, Prince Roy, had died on Tuesday. "The founder of the Duchy of Westland, Prince Roy, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91. It is reported that "Prince Roy" has been struggling with Alzheimer's disease in recent years, although he always claimed that the "Duchy of Westland" has independent sovereignty and does not belong to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, but he finally passed away in a nursing home in Marina Lille, Essex County, England, because his "Duchy of Westland" has been under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. He died in a nursing home in Marina Lille, Essex, England, because there was no hospital or medical equipment in his "Principality". It is reported that after the death of "Prince Roy", his wife "Princess Joan" will be responsible for taking over the "Duchy of Sealand" rule.
Besides the Duchy of Sealand, there are other "micro-states" that claim to be principalities but have never been recognized by the international community, such as the Duchy of Seboga in Italy, the Province of Hutt in Australia, and the Principality of Hutt River in the South Pacific. The Principality of Hutt River Province in Australia and the Principality of Minerva in the South Pacific.
On January 8, 2007, The Times published a special advertisement: "Anyone willing to pay eight figures or more can own the Principality of Sealand, a tax haven with unobstructed views of the sea and absolute privacy. " Immediately after the announcement, The Pirate Bay, the world's largest anti-copyright organization, announced its intention to buy the Principality of Sealand and began a massive fundraising campaign to raise 100 million pounds in donations, all of which would lead to future citizenship in the country. The aim of the world's largest BT download site, set up by a Swede in 2004, is to create a country with no copyright restrictions at all. The Duchy of Sealand is the smallest "country" in the world, with a population that has never exceeded five people. Its legitimacy as an independent sovereign state is widely disputed and has not yet been recognized by the international community.
The Origin of the Duchy of SealandEven the most knowledgeable geography enthusiast may not be able to find the exact location of the Duchy of Sealand on the most comprehensive map. The Duchy of Zealand is located about l0 kilometers east of the coast of Suffolk in the United Kingdom, and it is neither an artificial island nor a natural reef, but simply a derelict structure standing in the sea.
In 1942, during the Second World War, the Royal Navy began work on the construction of Fort Fury in England as one of many forts in the Murnsel Marine Fortress program. At the base of Fort Fury was a barge with two tall towers connecting the barge to the deck at the top, where the buildings were situated. Once constructed, the barge was towed to a designated area of the Raging Wave sandbar in the sea off Suffolk and then deliberately chiseled and sunk so that it sank into its intended position on the sandbar. As a result, the visible portion of the Raging Wave Tower now seen above the water is actually only the upper half of the entire structure, with a rudimentary steel platform erected above it.
The roar of generators continues to echo from the low, narrow building of steel. It can only be reached by boat or helicopter, and has been described by foreign tourists as "unimaginably ugly.
Despite the harsh conditions, the Duchy of Sealand's short history and anecdotes are noteworthy. As a "nation", the Duchy of Zealand not only had a constitution, a flag, a coat of arms and a currency, but it even had a coup d'état, with the government-in-exile, which considered itself to be the rightful ruler of Sealand, based in the UK.
After the end of World War II, British officers and soldiers stationed at the Raging Towers were evacuated. Former Royal Navy captain Paddy Roy Bates, however, had his eye on the abandoned fortress.
On Sept. 2, 1967, Roy took his family up to the Fury Tower. And, based on his own interpretation of international law, claimed sovereignty over the Nuestra Se?ora. Subsequently, Roy Bates and his wife, Joan Bates, assumed the self-appointed title - "His Royal Highness Prince Roy and Her Royal Highness Princess Joan of the Crown of Zealand". Roy Bates was self-proclaimed "Sovereign" and Joan was proclaimed "Ruler of ****" by Roy. Their son, Michael Bates (titled "His Royal Highness Prince Michael"), became Regent of the Duchy in 1999 and is now Head of State of Zealand.
In 1968, Roy and his son Michael were arraigned in a British court after they fired warning shots and threw Molotov cocktails at a British Navy patrol boat that had come into the Duchy of Zealand. There are two theories as to the purpose of the ship's crew coming at the time, one that it was to evict Bates and others living on the fort, and the other that it was simply to repair a nearby navigational buoy. Finally, on November 25, 1968, the court declared that they had no right to intervene in the incident because it took place outside British territorial waters.
In 1978, Roy Bates' appointed "Prime Minister" of the Duchy of Sealand, Prof. Alexander G. Achenbach, took advantage of Bates' absence from Sealand to kidnap Roy's son, Michael, with some Dutchmen pretending to come to Sealand on business. Upon hearing the news, Roy Bates recruited a group of mercenaries and retook control of the fort via a helicopter drop. He captured the intruders and declared them "war criminals", and the Dutch citizens involved in the coup were repatriated. However, the former "Prime Minister" of the Principality, the German citizen Prof. Achenbach, was not so fortunate and was charged and detained for "treason" because of his passport from the Duchy of Zealand. Subsequently, the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany requested the British Government to try to facilitate Achenbach's release. But the British government, citing 1968 jurisprudence, claimed that Zealand was outside their jurisdiction and that they had no right to intervene in the matter.
The German government had to send its own diplomats to Nuttalla to negotiate Achenbach's release directly with Bates. After several weeks of negotiations, Bates' attitude loosened significantly and he eventually released Achenbach. Afterwards, he claimed that the German diplomat's visit to Sealand marked the German government's "de facto" recognition of the Principality of Sealand, although the German government never endorsed his claim.
History of principalitiesThe principalities of Europe have a long history. Since the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, a large number of European aristocrats have used reserved titles of nobility and independent territories. In the Middle Ages, France and England strengthened their centralization and evolved into kingdoms. Germany and other countries remained in a state of division with many vassal states. Duchies such as Poland and Moscow grew and developed into Grand Duchies. Austria was also a Grand Duchy, but Austria Prussia and a large number of small countries formed the Rheinland Confederation was **** with the formation of the Holy Roman Empire, the more famous Weimar Duchy (Goethe's hometown) and the Duchy of Bavaria.
The head of a duchy was the archduke, which was a duke, but not all dukes could be called archdukes. Only princes, the heads of duchies, could be called archdukes. A duchy is similar to a vassal state, with the difference that duchies generally exist as independent states.
Today, some principalities have never even become truly sovereign states, naming territories simply to retain hereditary titles of nobility, sometimes even beyond the geographical boundaries of the principality. Existing principalities include Liechtenstein, Monaco and the United Principality of Andorra. Existing principalities with a system of primogeniture include Asturias (Spain) and Wales (England). The Principality of Luxembourg is the only surviving example of the Grand Duchy system in European history.