The Principality of Sealand is an old WWII gunnery platform, formely called HM Fort Roughs, a man-made tower similar to an oil rig, located at 51°53′40″N, 1°28′57″E, six miles off the coast of Suffolk. In 1965, Roy Bates, a former British Army Major turned radio pirate, decided to take control of the fort, by force. This happened after he was found guilty of illegal broadcasting from his other HM Fort Knock John, which was within the 3 mile territorial limit. Having removed the fort’s residents, the staff of Radio City station, Bates continued his pirate broadcast to the UK mainland (reminds me of Salman Rushdie’s "The Ground Beneath Her Feet"). In late 1968, the Royal Navy tried to remove Bates, but as soon as they entered international waters, Sealand opened fire in warning and the ships backed off. Summarily, Bates was summoned to court, but it was ruled the case was beyond UK’s authority, having no jurisdiction outside British territory. This gave Sealand de jure legitimacy, as its independece from UK has been upheld by the country’s courts. Later rulings in the United States and Germany denied Sealand’s legal status, but those very interactions with other countries in turn lend Sealand some de facto legitimacy.

Anyway, Sealand has recently been put up for sale and the BitTorrent site PirateBay.org is hoping to buy it. As we speak, BuySealand.com is negotiating and collecting donations to to turn the fort into a safe haven for internet pirates, away from international copyright laws. "With the help of all the kopimists [from ‘copy me’, permission to copy] on Internets [not a typo], we want to buy Sealand. Donate money and you will become a citizen." They even set up a forum to discuss how the country will function. So far, BuySealand has raised a little over $15,000, a little shy of Sealand’s $200 million price-tag. However, it is still early in the game, and it is possible that with increased media coverage PirateBay may be able to raise the funds needed to carry out its vision. Besides, the principality of Sealand was founded by a media pirate, one who wasn’t afraid to open fire in defence of his liberty, it would only be fitting that the historic gunnery-platform be passed on to the pirates of tomorrow.

SealandGov.com, official site
BuySealand.com, ThePirateBay.org’s compaign