The Empire of Austenasia is a
micronation
A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...
founded in 2008 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Operating under the constitutional monarchy of its fourth Emperor, Jonathan I, it consists of dozens of properties that have declared themselves independent under the leadership of a house in the
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croy ...
.
History
![Wrythe, Austenasia 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Wrythe%2C_Austenasia_2.jpg)
Austenasia was founded on 20 September 2008 by Jonathan Austen (born 1994), a student, and his father Terry Austen (born 1961), a security guard turned gardener. After sending a declaration of independence for their house in
Carshalton
Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalto ...
to their local Member of Parliament,
Tom Brake
Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019.
He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unloc ...
, Terry was named Emperor and Jonathan was named Prime Minister. Terry abdicated in February 2010, and was succeeded by Emperor Esmond III, who after a "civil war" and various internal disputes was replaced by a new leader, Declan MacDonagh, in December later that year. Jonathan then became emperor after Declan abdicated in January 2013 for personal reasons,
and began a program of expansion which has seen people from across the world join the micronation by claiming properties which they live in or regularly visit. The micronation has been featured in several local and international publications, and has a certain amount of fame within
Carshalton
Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalto ...
as being a local "quirk".
The micronation produced and sold commemorative coins in 2018 in celebration of its tenth anniversary.
Having initially received no reply to their declaration of independence, Jonathan met with Tom Brake MP in May 2011, who contacted Foreign Secretary
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
to enquire about the criteria by which the UK recognises new states on Jonathan's behalf.
Geography
Austenasia claims several properties around the world, variously classified as "cities", "towns", "territories" or "crown dependencies". Wrythe, the micronation's "capital city", consists of a suburban house in the
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croy ...
. Several other British houses are also claimed, and other territorial claims include part of a university campus in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and a holiday home in the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...
. The micronation also has claims in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Algeria
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,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and other nations.
See also
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List of micronations
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as ''model countries'' and ''new country projects'', are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign st ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Micronations
Micronations in England
Separatism in the United Kingdom