Westarctica

Grand Duchy of Westarctica
180px Flag 100px Coat of Arms
Motto Fortune Favors the Bold.
350px Global Westarctican territories.
Capital city	Peter I Island
Largest city	Russkaya Station
Official language(s)	English, German
Demonym	Westarctican
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State	Grand Duke Travis
Head of Government	Position Vacant
Legislature	Hereditary Nobility
Formation	02 November 2001
Area Claimed	Marie Byrd Land
Population	2,150 (2018 estimate)
Currency	Westarctican Dollar
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Official website

Westarctica, officially the Grand Duchy of Westarctica, is an area of desolate land in Western Antarctica that was unclaimed until an American declared the area his own micronation, a declaration of status not recognized by established countries, in 2001. The territory consists of Marie Byrd Land with a few additional claims and has no year round residents, although research stations have been located in the region. Westarctica was founded on a supposed loophole in the Antarctic Treaty. The claim of micronation status has been used as a basis to mint and sell coins to collectors.

Westarctica was founded on 02 November 2001 as a new country project by Travis McHenry in an effort to bring increased attention (albeit by theatrical means) to one of the most desolate and inhospitable regions on the planet. Over the years, Westarctica's prestige and notoriety ebbed and flowed, especially during 2006 - 2010 when Travis took a leave of absence from his position as chief executive.

On 05 December 2014, Westarctica was incorporated as a nonprofit public benefit corporation in the state of California with the express goal of increasing conservation efforts in Western Antarctica.

History

Inspired by Ice (2001 - 2004)

It was in the pages of the CIA World Factbook that Travis McHenry first discovered the unique international political situation in Antarctica. Under the section titled “Disputes – International” one line of text made his breath catch in his throat and set him on a course that would forever change his life: "no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west". At first, the future Grand Duke Travis decided to name his claimed lands as The Achaean Territory of Antarctica, having been inspired by The Illiad, which he was reading at the time. The proposed capital city was to be named Achilles and would be located at the site of the seasonally abandoned Byrd Station.

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Westarctica stamps.

Over time, like-minded individuals occasionally reached out with a desire to join his cause for statehood in the coldest place on earth. What drove them to his door remains a mystery, but it appears that each person had their own reasons for wanting to abscond to a desolate realm on the far side of the world. Despite the Achaean Territory's growing citizenship roster, they made absolutely no progress toward actual colonization of Antarctica. Scientists wouldn't return e-mails, and few people took the upstart group seriously. Even the simple goal of convincing someone to plant the Achaean flag in the ice of Western Antarctica seemed well out of reach.

Westarctica is Born (2004 - 2006)

It was during this time that Travis had a religious experience that caused him to briefly convert to Christianity. As a result of this conversion, he decided to reboot the project and declare it a fully functional sovereign nation. The new country was called The Grand Duchy of Westarctica. The name Westarctica was carefully chosen to evoke images of Western Antarctica, and also, as an homage to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia. Plus, the name rolls off the tongue far better than West-ant-arctica.

File:Grand Duke Travis and Son.jpg

Grand Duke Travis with his son, the Archduke Nicholas, aboard the Queen Mary, 2014.

The years from 2004 – 2006 were the high times of Westarctica's prestige. Travis married his girlfriend, Cathryn, who wore a tiara during the wedding ceremony and proudly joined the ranks of the Westarctican nobility. When she gave birth to Prince Daniel Nicholas in November of 2005, it was a time of excitement for everyone in the nation. With a little help from the international media, public interest in Westarctica increased, and the correspondence and citizenship requests began arriving on a daily basis. The general public was fascinated by Westarctica and by the concept of claiming previously unclaimed land.

The Associated Press had run a story on new country projects that made mention of Grand Duke Travis and Westarctica. Unfortunately, his supervisors at his day job in the Navy didn't find the concept of Westarctica as fascinating as their civilian contemporaies. He was given a choice: either dump Westarctica, or lose his security clearance and thus his job. So in January 2006, Travis contacted his closest friend in the Westarctican government, Philip Karns, the Duke of Ravencroft, and Minister of Information, to ask if he would be willing to take over the reins of government.

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Grand Duke Travis was photographed by Gabriela Alvarez for the Associated Press, April 2015.

The Reign of Two Grand Dukes​ (2006 - 2010)

Grand Duke Philip ascended to the throne at a time when Westarctica was internally strong and prosperous. His first 100 days in office were marked by progress and creativity. He published an eight-page newsletter called Westarctica Quarterly, which, most significantly, had lengthy articles written by every member of the Westarctican government. Things were progressing nicely until Westarctica's Chief Herald, the Duke of Moulton-Berlin, began to feel as though he was being attacked in Westarctica's online forums. Although the exact nature of the dispute is unimportant, the internal squabbling led to the departure of most members of Westarctica's leadership team.

After spending a mere 10 months on the throne, Grand Duke Philip's health began to deteriorate and he slowly withdrew from public life. To the outside world, it appeared that Westarctica had become stagnant. The forums were devoid of activity, the nobles had disappeared, and the Grand Duke was silent. Many people wondered if the country was finished. The final blow to Westarctica's prestige came when Grand Duke Philip allowed the official website for the nation to go defunct. Even a neglected website can provide some information to visitors and interested parties; however, the Grand Duke failed to re-register the westarctica.com domain name and the web address fell into the hands of a domain parking service. ​ On 23 June 23 2008, Travis received an impassioned e-mail from the Duke of Moulton-Berlin, Jon-Lawrence Langer, a fellow Pennsylvania native and longtime member of Westarctica. In the e-mail, he asked some very important questions, and made some profound statements about how the intrepid vision behind Westarctica had changed his life. After a chain of e-mails and phone calls back and forth, Travis and Jon-Lawrence were able to convince Grand Duke Philip to step down from the throne. His final words before abdication were tired, but honest: “If they want it, the crown is theirs”.

File:GrandDuke JonLawrence.jpg

Grand Duke Jon-Lawrence.

Jon-Lawrence eagerly replied, “I invite the challenge”. And without further delay, the throne, crown, and full dictatorial power of Westarctica was peacefully passed from one citizen to another. In response, the new Grand Duke launched westarctica.org, and proudly proclaimed the restoration of Westarctica's government and his ascension to the throne. After the new website was launched, the world was once again interested in the goings-on in Westarctica. Within the first six months of his ascension to the throne, Grand Duke Jon-Lawrence was faced with multiple attacks on Westarctica's sovereignty. All the individuals who had made claims to Marie Byrd Land while Philip was incommunicado suddenly rose to the surface and started questioning the status of our claim. The Grand Duke took a heavy-handed approach in dealing with the challengers, issuing ultimatums that left no wiggle room for negotiation.

At the Grand Duke's behest, Wolf, the Count of Waesche, had been communicating with many of the challengers, and was making steady progress with friendly discussions. Jon-Lawrence couldn't see their side of the argument, however, and promptly ordered Wolf to cease communication with the usurpers. A series of legal threats and firm refusals to negotiate followed, and by late 2009, Westarctica was right back where it had started: isolated and internally fractured. Things went downhill rapidly, and on 24 November 2009, Jon-Lawrence sent Travis an e-mail expressing his weariness at running the nation.

The Founder Returns​ (2010 - 2014)

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Article featuring the Grand Duke Henry.

Throughout the month of May in the year 2010, Wolf was in constant contact with Travis in regard to Westarctican affairs. There was great concern that our nation had once again fallen into a spate of non-activity and was again relegated to the dustbin of world history. Wolf enthusiastically encouraged Travis to return to a position of leadership, and offered to be of service in any way necessary. He desperately wanted to fulfill the resolution to the conflicting claims that he had negotiated in previous years. Many of the claimants had become respected new country leaders in their own right, with the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis garnering even more press coverage than Westarctica.

Travis attempted e-mailing and calling Jon-Lawrence on numerous occasions, but he never returned any of the e-mails or calls. Wolf pressed for a course of action, insisting that the best choice would be for Travis to return to Westarctica and take his place as leader of the nation. The primary reason for Travis' return to Westarctica was to restore the good name and dignity of the project he had created and to raise our country's prestige once again in the eyes of the world. He sent one final plea for cooperation to Jon-Lawrence before seizing control of the country on 26 May 2010.

Before the end of the following week, he had purchased a new domain name, westarctica.info and established a new website promoting a transitional government that was now firmly in power. Jon-Lawrence had been overthrown by Travis' own hand, and Wolf was elevated to the role of Prime Minister. Despite his reluctance to assume the throne, Travis was declared Grand Duke again on 04 June 2010 during his 30th birthday while celebrating in a suite at the Grand Californian Hotel. The Viscount of Whitmore was in attendance and grunted his approval. Count Waesche ascended to the dignity of Duke and was appointed Prime Minister with full responsibility for the foreign and domestic affairs of the nation. Wolf immediately negotiated a peace with all of the rival claimants, and Westarctica had successfully reclaimed her dignity.

Westarctica, Inc. (2014 - Present)

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Grand Duke Travis bestows a knighthood in the Order of the Snowflake upon H.M. King Timothy of Shiloh, 2015.

On the eve of Westarctica's 13th Anniversary, the Grand Duke realized that he could be more effective as an advocate for Western Antarctica if he took the bold step to turn his new country project into a nonprofit corporation whose stated purpose aligned perfectly with the original goals envisioned when our territory was first claimed. We have always been champions of environmental and animal causes in Antarctica, and becoming a tax exempt organization with legal standing as a corporation would allow Westarctica to transition from an obscure novelty into an international charity capable of bringing about positive change on a global scale.

On 21 November 2014, Travis filed with the state of California to make Westarctica Incorporated a legally recognized nonprofit public benefit corporation. His request was approved and officially registered on 05 December. As a nonprofit entity, Westarctica Incorporated would achieve more than ever before, becoming a beacon for increased awareness of the perpetually neglected western side of Antarctica. Westarctica first major accomplishment as a nonprofit corporation was being granted non-consultative status as a non-governmental organization by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs on 20 January 2015.

National symbols

• Official Flag Westarctica.jpg

  National Flag

• Official CoA Westarctica.jpg

  National Coat of Arms

Territory

File:Official Westarctica Map 2.jpg

Westarctica map.

The bulk of Westarctican territory consists of Marie Byrd Land; this was the original territory claimed. It was defined as all land south of 60° S and between 90° W and 150° W. This is between the claim of Chile and the claim of New Zealand. The original capital was named Achilles. Later on, the Balleny Islands claimed by New Zealand and Peter I Island claimed by Norway were annexed. Peter I Island was declared the new capital of Westarctica. After the reformation of the Grand Duchy into a protectorate (October 2010) Travis McHenry reduced the Westarctican claim in order to join the Antarctic Micronational Union and recognize other micronational claims in West-Antarctica. This decission was made official after the signing of the West-Antarctic Treaty.

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook page
• Grand Duchy of Westarctica on Unrecognised States Numismatic Society official website