Bajo Nueva Bank

  • Contested territories
  • Claimed by Jamaica, Nicaragua, The United States of America
  • Administered by Colombia
  • Area 100 km²

This small uninhabited reef in the western Caribbean Sea was first shown on Dutch maps dating back to 1634. After very little recognition it was rediscovered by English pirate John Glover in 1660. The reef is administered by Colombia, but a number of other states —Jamaica, Nicaragua and the US—claim sovereignty over it. On the 19th November 2012, with regards to the Nicaraguan claim the International Court of Justice ruled unanimously, that the Republic of Colombia has sovereignty over both the Bajo Nuevo and the Serranilla bank of the reef. The U.S. administers the bank as an unorganized, unincorporated United States territory.

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Western Sahara

The Sahrawi Republic is a partially recognized state that claims the non-self-governed territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of it. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The Sahrawi Republic was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27th February, 1976, to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonizers. It maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states and is a full member of the African Union. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti in 2008. Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, which house most of the exiled Sahrawi community.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico became a US territory following the Spanish-American War in 1898. In 1899, Hurricane San Ciriaco left the island in ruins and the US stepped in granting large loans, buying up most of the farmland leaving Puerto Rico indebted and dependent. Today, following the devastation of another hurricane, Puerto Rico finds itself with a collapsing economy, destroyed infrastructure, and a crisis of sovereignty. It’s not its own state, nor is it one of the United States. Puerto Ricans can be drafted into the US military but have no meaningful representation in the US government, and are not protected under the Bill of Rights. After failed attempts at independence via both congressional voting and violent uprising, the island is divided. A little over half want full US statehood, and the remainder want either full independence or to continue the current arrangement.

Kingdom of Lovely

The internet based micronation Kingdom of Lovely was the result of a television program hosted by British comedian Danny Wallace: ‘How To Start Your Own Country’. The initial location for the micronation was Wallace’s own flat in London. Anyone could become an ambassador simply by registering online and sending in a photograph of your ‘embassy’ with the flag. Wallace also attempted to get the Kingdom recognized by the United Nations, which failed as he did not have any independent territory.