The Principality of Sealand is established - September 2nd, 1967

On this day in 1967, Paddy Roy Bates, a former British Army major turned pirate radio broadcaster, declared that the abandoned naval base he'd been occupying for the past 9 months was now a sovereign micronation: The Principality of Sealand.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show where we explore the past one day at
a time. If you missed yesterday's show, surprise, I'm your

(00:21):
new host. My name is Gabe Lusier, and I'm following
in Eves and Tracy's footsteps to deliver a micro dose
of history to you each and every day. Speaking of which,
our story this episode is an odd one and a
personal favorite of mine. It's the time when a British
family moved into an abandoned naval base and turned it

(00:43):
into their very own country. As you might guess, there's
a lot to discuss, so let's dive right in. The
day was Saturday, September two, nineteen sixty seven, Patti Roy Bates,

(01:03):
a former British Army major turned pirate radio broadcaster, declared
that the abandoned naval base he had been occupying for
the past nine months was now a sovereign micro nation.
The Principality of Sea Land, located seven and a half
miles off the eastern shore of Britain in the North Sea.

(01:24):
Sea Land consists entirely of a World War Two era
sea fort It was originally built in nineteen forty two
as an anti aircraft platform called the HM Fort Roffs.
Utilitarian in design, the structure is made up of a
floating pontoon base with two hollow concrete towers joined at

(01:45):
the top by a steel deck with a few container
like buildings on top. To be frank, it's not much
to look at, but at the height of the war
the fort was occupied by up to three hundred members
of the Royal Navy, who used the forts considerable firepower
to defend British shipping lanes against Nazi forces. The station

(02:06):
was ultimately abandoned by the military in nineteen fifty six
and left to rot, but Patti Roy Bates had other plans.
In nineteen sixty five, the former British Army major founded
a pirate radio station located off the coast of England
on a different derelict naval fort called knock John. When

(02:27):
the British government began to crack down on popular but
illegal offshore radio stations, Bates decided to move his venture
even further into international waters. This move led him to
Fort Ruffs, which he seized control of on Christmas Eve
nineteen sixty six Nine months later, on his wife Jones's birthday,

(02:49):
Bates proclaimed the outpost to be a new sovereign nation
all his own. If you're wondering what empowered Bates to
create a new country, you're not alone. The geopolitical status
of micro nations has been disputed for decades, but most
of them claim legitimacy through the Monte Video Convention on

(03:09):
the Rights and Duties of States. This nineteen thirty three
document outlines four key criteria for attaining statehood, population, government, territory,
and relations with other states. According to the international leaders
who signed the legislation, including US President f DR any

(03:30):
entity that meets those four criteria qualifies as an independent nation.
So let's see how Sea Land measures up in terms
of population. The rogue state peaked in the early nineteen
seventies when around fifty people lived there, including bates extended
family and friends, as well as a maintenance crew. Today,

(03:51):
the population is considerably smaller, consisting of a two person
security team who live their year round and a mall
staff in charge of upkeep. The current ruler of Seeland,
the founder's son, Prince Michael Bates, visits the micro nation
two to three times a year, but he and his
family no longer live there on a permanent basis. As

(04:14):
far as its government goes, Seeland does have its own constitution,
which consists of a preamble and seven articles. It is
governed by Prince Michael and the rest of the Bates family,
who act as hereditary royal rulers, complete with their own
royal titles. As for territory, Seeland boasts just a little

(04:35):
over forty three thousand square feet, making it a micro
nation in the truest sense of the word. So that's population, government,
and territory all accounted for, which just leaves the final
criteria for statehood relations with other states to be clear,
No country formally recognizes Sea Land as a sovereign nation. However,

(04:59):
the Bates family maintains that Sea Land has received de
facto recognition. The event they point to as proof occurred
one August night in ninety eight, when German and Dutch
mercenaries stormed Sea Land using helicopters and jet skis. This
attempted coup was thwarted by members of the Bates family,

(05:20):
who were able to defend themselves using weapons stashed around
the platform. The family held the invading mercenaries as hostages,
which prompted a German ambassador and a delegation from London's
embassy to visit Sea Land and negotiate for the group's release.
For the people of Sea Land, this international intervention constituted

(05:42):
official recognition from other states, though the German and British
governments do not share that view. Regardless of public opinion,
Sea Land has embraced its nationhood ever since the attempted
take over. It has an official flag, national anthem, currency,
and even a football team. The micro nation's official Latin

(06:04):
motto is Emaire libertas, or from the Sea Freedom. If
you'd like to visit Sea Land for yourself, you'll first
need to get an invitation from Prince Michael or another
member of the Sea Land dynasty. And if you can't
swing and invite, you can still show your support for
the micro nation and help fund its operational costs by

(06:27):
visiting its online store and picking up a T shirt,
some commemorative stamps, or even your own royal title. For
around forty dollars US, you two can become an official Lord, Lady,
baron or Baroness of Sea Land. I'm gay, Bluesier and
hopefully you now know a little more about history today

(06:50):
than you did yesterday. You can learn even more about
history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
t D I HC podcast, and if you have any
comments or suggestions, you can send them my way at
this Day at I heart media dot com. Thanks to
Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you for listening.

(07:11):
I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day
in History class. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.