Sealand

Sealand is not a nation in Superpower: Classic but the lobbying for its inclusion often arises from experienced players who are frustrated with what they view as exaggerations in realistic depictions elsewhere in the game.



The Principality of Sealand
The real nation of Sealand is a micronation located on a world-war-era anti-aircraft platform, six miles off the coast of Suffolk, England. On September 2, 1967, the platform was occupied by pirate radio broadcaster Roy Bates and declared to be a sovereign country by the name of "Sealand".

The following year, in 1968, Bates' son, Michael, fired upon Royal Navy ships found approaching the platform. He was summoned to England to face charges but as the platform was beyond the three-mile nautical limit, the court ruled it was not within British jurisdiction.

In 1978, the Sealand Prime Minister, Professor Alexander G. Achenbach along with several Dutch and German compatriots, took control of the platform by force, while Roy Bates was away. Michael Bates was taken as hostage for several days, then released in the Netherlands. Roy Bates returned to Sealand and staged a helicopter assault to retake the platform. Achenbach, a German national, was captured and charged with treason. The German government negotiated his release which became considered by Bates as de facto diplomatic recognition by a world government.

Again, in 1990, Royal Military Auxillary Golden Eye came under fire from Sealand. Also noteworthy was a serious fire aboard the platform in 2006.

Future of Sealand
It was shortly after the 2006 fire that a willingness to sell Sealand became known, with an asking price of about three-quarters of a million Euros. One potential buyer included the operators of PirateBay.org (link), a well known peer-to-peer networking site that was seeking an offshore location to host servers.