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“Two tires fly. Two Wail.
A bamboo grove, all chopped down
From it, warring songs.”
― Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon

Great article in the Sunday Times Obituaries today covering the death of  Roy Bates, founder of The Principality of Sealand, on the 9th. Bates, residing in England, died at 91 after years of suffering from a number of illnesses.

For those that are not aware of Sealand’s existence, the former artillery platform was home to a number of shady operations throughout the years. Bates used the platform to broadcast pirate radio signals to Europe and declared that Sealand was its own nation and, therefore, not subject to any country’s laws.

With aspirations of becoming a standalone data haven, HavenCo tried to capitalize on Sealand but failed and ended up fading into obscurity. How does a free mini-nation exist without the protection and support from neighboring countries? It doesn’t. Even the infamous Julian Assange was said to have considered purchasing Sealand for his WikiLeaks servers and decided against it.

Although the Bates family has a caretaker staying at Sealand, the platform is empty despite past attempts to lease or sell it. Still, the family remains active and maintains a website and a soccer team!

Regardless of the realities, Sealand remains a dream to all those inspired by the idea of a censorship-free government. In that light, the family is selling everything from plastic wristbands and email accounts to custom titles on their website. Hey… freedom is a nice idea but someone needs to pay the bills!

Roy Bates will be missed. E Mare Libertas!

Source

Yardley, William.” Roy Bates, Bigger-Than-Life Founder of a Micronation, Dies at 91.” The New York Times. October 13, 2012.

Bates, James. “Prince Roy of Sealand aka Roy Bates (passed away 9th October 2012) Obituary.” Principality of Sealand Homepage. October 10th, 2012.

Related Articles

Grimmelmann, James. “Death of a data haven: cypherpunks, WikiLeaks, and the world’s smallest nation.” Ars Technica. March 27, 2012.

Libbenga, Jan. “Offshore hosting firm HavenCo lost at sea.” The Register (UK). November 25. 2008.

Masnick, Mike. “The History Of Sealand, HavenCo And Why Protecting Your Data Needs More Than Being In International Waters.” TechDirt. March 28, 2012.

Staff Writer. “HavenCo “data center” offline?” SecurityAndThe.Net. 2008.

The Principality of Sealand Homepage: http://www.sealandgov.org/