The Strange Story of the World’s Smallest Country – The Principality of Sealand
Since people have been going to sea, on the boats of the past and in more modern times, it has long been said that lots of strange things happen at sea – from strange sights to bizarre goings on, there are many mysteries surrounding the sea still, with the depths of the oceans being still one of the great mysteries of the planet, and home to many strange creatures.
Closer to home, there is another strange sight at sea – sitting 12 kilometres off the Suffolk coast, you might think that this was a strange sea structure. There are many after all, from the cargo ships containing mysterious freight, safely kept under wraps by a security seal like this acmeseals.co.uk/ to the large offshore wind farms which many report to be particularly haunting and eerie up close.
However, this strange structure is neither of these – it is in fact a country in its own right! Known as Sealand, it was built during the second world war as a sea fort. When the war ended and it was no longer needed, in 1967 Roy Bates founded Sealand as a sovereign nation, claiming to be the world’s smallest country.
To access the ‘country’ you need to be winched up amidst often strong winds onto the platform, which measures a mere 0.004 square kilometres. This concrete structure standing in the middle of the sea is what founder Roy Bates as well as his daughter Caroline considered their own country – the Principality of Sealand. However, despite the claims of Sealand it is not officially recognised as a country by the United Nations – despite the fact that the founder went to great lengths to do all the things required of a country – from having its own flag, national anthem and even passport, as well as having its own international athletes who compete around the world – despite the fact that they have never actually been to Sealand!
This whole tale is something that could certainly be seen as strange and unlikely, yet it is all true! Because Sealand was built in international waters, it was legally open to be taken by anyone when it was abandoned after the war – which is exactly what Roy Bates and his daughter did.
