The Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads was 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 se ...
in the
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed o ...
established by British naval captain James George Meads in 1877.
History
The republic's history begins with Captain Meads, who laid claim to the
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed o ...
in 1877. Meads was exploring the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
and laid claim to the islands and took the name King James I.
Descendants of Meads have continued to posit legitimacy over the islands, and ownership of the island's resources.
Kingdom of Humanity
A rival entity called the "Kingdom of Humanity" formed in 1914 under the leadership of Franklin M. Meads, the son of James George. The two rival factions continued their claim on the islands during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when they were occupied by
Japanese troops. Franklin died in 1945, and his son Josiah took over leadership ; Josiah himself died soon after. His son, Morton F. Meads, was to succeed but was deemed too young.
Legal attempts at legitimacy
The Kingdom faded into obscurity over the next decade until 1972, when the then-ruling Morton Meads unsuccessfully petitioned the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
,
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
to recognise the Kingdom and its claims.
Later that year, the remainder of the Kingdom's governing body drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Philippines during
Typhoon Ora, except for Meads.
[
The Kingdom reappeared in 1985 when Meads sued 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 ...
and others for $25 billion, claiming "unfair competition, harassment, ndsabotage." The case was not heard.
See also
*Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed o ...
References
Further reading
* Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Republics of the Reefs: Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans", ''California Western International Law Journal'', vol. 25, no. 1, Fall, 1994, pp. 83–85.
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Micronations
History of the Spratly Islands
States and territories established in the 1870s
Former unrecognized countries