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[[File:Citizen-Tyrolin-Puxty.jpg|thumb|300px|left]]
[[File:Achaean Territory Claim.jpg|250px|left]]
'''Citizen's Day''', August 2nd, is a [[Public Holidays in Westarctica|public holiday]] in [[Westarctica]] that celebrates the citizens of the nation.
The '''[[Achaean Territory of Antarctica]]''' was the original name of [[Westarctica]] when it was founded on 2 November 2001 by [[Grand Duke Travis|Travis McHenry]], who proclaimed himself [[Consul-General of the Achaean Territory]] prior to filing his legal claim to the territory. The Achaean Territory was a new country project that evolved into a [[Micronations|micronation]] named Westarctica in June 2004.


In 2016, Westarctica became an extremely popular stop for participants of the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWHES, pronounced ''gish-wes''), an annual week-long competitive media scavenger hunt held each August. That year, one of the items participants were required to collect was a citizenship certificate from an unrecognized country. During the last week of July through the first week of August, [[Grand Duke Travis]] personally processed over 1,000 citizenship applications, creating a personalized citizenship certificate for each new citizen. The extraordinary effort took him between four and eight hours each night.
At the time he discovered the unique political situation of Marie Byrd Land, McHenry had been reading ''The Iliad'' and decided to give his claimed territory a culture that honored the ancient Greeks. It was from the pages of ''The Iliad'' that he chose the name "Achaea." He also decided to declare the seasonally-used [[Byrd Station]] the capital of his new country and re-christened the station Achilles, after the legendary Greek warrior and hero of the Trojan War. Rather than proclaim himself King or Emperor of the territory, McHenry selected a title that reflected his status as a representative of Achaea to the world at large. He declared himself [[Consul-General of the Achaean Territory|Consul-General]]. This title also served as a homage to Napoleon Bonaparte, who held the office of First Consul of France prior to becoming an Emperor.


After seeing how many of new citizens went on to become members of the [[Hereditary Nobility of Westarctica|Hereditary Nobility]] as well as the vast number posting pictures of their citizenship certificates on social media, Grand Duke Travis felt compelled to celebrate and recognize their love of Westarctica by creating a special day to recognize all citizens. As the impetus for the creation of the holiday, the GISHers continue to hold a special place among the citizen rolls of the nation. '''([[Citizen's Day|Full Article...]])'''
'''([[Achaean Territory of Antarctica|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 05:06, 10 June 2025

Achaean Territory Claim.jpg

The Achaean Territory of Antarctica was the original name of Westarctica when it was founded on 2 November 2001 by Travis McHenry, who proclaimed himself Consul-General of the Achaean Territory prior to filing his legal claim to the territory. The Achaean Territory was a new country project that evolved into a micronation named Westarctica in June 2004.

At the time he discovered the unique political situation of Marie Byrd Land, McHenry had been reading The Iliad and decided to give his claimed territory a culture that honored the ancient Greeks. It was from the pages of The Iliad that he chose the name "Achaea." He also decided to declare the seasonally-used Byrd Station the capital of his new country and re-christened the station Achilles, after the legendary Greek warrior and hero of the Trojan War. Rather than proclaim himself King or Emperor of the territory, McHenry selected a title that reflected his status as a representative of Achaea to the world at large. He declared himself Consul-General. This title also served as a homage to Napoleon Bonaparte, who held the office of First Consul of France prior to becoming an Emperor.

(Full Article...)