San Escobar

  • Micronations
  • Founded on 10 January 2017
  • Founder Witold Waszczykowski

San Escobar is a non-existent country and emerged out of a blunder by the former Polish minister of foreign affairs, Witold Waszczykowski. In January 2017, Waszczykowski told reporters that, in a bid for a non-permanent seat for Poland on the UN Security Council, he had meetings with officials from various countries, including meeting some Caribbean nations ‘perhaps for the first time in the history of our diplomacy. For example with countries such as San Escobar or Belize’. Soon after his mistake, San Escobar got a flag, currency, maps and a Twitter-account. There were even travel agencies that advertised holidays on the sandy beaches of San Escobar. Almost a year later, the Polish Minister lost his job due to a rearrangement of the government.

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Taiwan

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a de facto island state in the East Chinese Sea. The People’s Republic of China has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and refuses diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes this republic. Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy, it is unrecognized by most member states of the United Nations. Still, many countries maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates.

Jammu & Kashmir

Since 1947, the greater region of Jammu and Kashmir has been embroiled in a territorial dispute between India, Pakistan and China. India control approximately 43% of the land area of the region and 70% of its population, Pakistan controls roughly 37% of the land, while China controls the remaining 20%. Kashmir is widely regarded as the world’s most militarized zone—the region has witnessed three major wars between India and Pakistan, another more limited war between India and China, numerous border skirmishes, high mountainous warfare, an ongoing insurgency, a Hindu exodus and widespread internal civil unrest.

Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia

The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia is the last remnant of an attempt to create a kingdom for the Mapuche people, the indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. Founded in 1860 by the French adventurer Antoine de Tounens, it intended to enlist the support of Napoleon III to create a vassal kingdom of France in Patagonia. In 1862 Antoine de Tounens was imprisoned and declared insane by the Supreme Court of Chile. He was expelled back to France and the Criminal Court of Paris ruled that Antoine de Tounens, first King of Araucania and Patagonia, did not justify his claim to the status of sovereignty of his kingdom. He died in poverty without any real successors. After his death many tried to conquer the kingdom, mainly as a way to sell stamps, the loss of the claim is seen as a lost opportunity by the Mapuche, who aim to get their land back via this lost kingdom.