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Difference between revisions of "Territorial claims in Antarctica"
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[[File:All Antarctica, territorial claims.jpg|thumb|400px]] | [[File:All Antarctica, territorial claims.jpg|thumb|400px]] | ||
Seven sovereign states and several micronations maintain '''territorial claims in Antarctica'''. These countries have tended to cite their scientific observations and study facilities in [[Antarctica]] as justification for claiming territory on the continent | Seven [[sovereignty|sovereign states]] and several [[micronations]] maintain '''territorial claims in Antarctica'''. These countries have tended to cite their scientific observations and study facilities in [[Antarctica]] as justification for claiming territory on the continent. | ||
==British / Australian / New Zealand claims== | ==British / Australian / New Zealand claims== | ||
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Following the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the government of the United Kingdom relinquished all control over the government of New Zealand and Australia. This however had no bearing on the obligations of the governors-general of both countries in their capacity as Governors of the Antarctic territories. | Following the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the government of the United Kingdom relinquished all control over the government of New Zealand and Australia. This however had no bearing on the obligations of the governors-general of both countries in their capacity as Governors of the Antarctic territories. | ||
==France== | Currently, the only land claimed by a former British protectorate and now claimed by Westarctica is the [[Balleny Islands]] group. | ||
==Other European countries== | |||
===France=== | |||
The French government laid claim to a strip of the continent in 1924. The basis for their claim to [[Adélie Land]] lay on the discovery of the coastline in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who named it after his wife, Adèle. The British eventually decided to recognize this claim and the border between Adélie Land and Australian Antarctic Territory was fixed definitively in 1938. | The French government laid claim to a strip of the continent in 1924. The basis for their claim to [[Adélie Land]] lay on the discovery of the coastline in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who named it after his wife, Adèle. The British eventually decided to recognize this claim and the border between Adélie Land and Australian Antarctic Territory was fixed definitively in 1938. | ||
== | No part of the French claim on Antarctica conflicts with the Westarctican claim. | ||
===Norway=== | |||
Norway maintains [[Norwegian Antarctic claim|several claims]] to land south of the [[Antarctic Circle]] including [[Queen Maud Land]] and [[Peter I Island]], which is contested by [[Westarctica]]. | |||
===Nazi Germany=== | |||
From 1938 - 1939, Nazi Germany explored a portion of the Norwegian claim and the area was christened ''[[New Swabia|Neu-Schwabenland]]'', but this claim was never formalized and was not recognized by any other nation. It does not conflict with any claim made by Westarctica. | |||
==South American countries== | |||
According to Argentina and Chile, the Spanish Empire had claims on [[Antarctica]]. The ''capitulación'' (governorship) granted to the conquistador Pedro Sánchez de la Hoz explicitly included the lands south of the Straits of Magellan (''Terra Australis'', ''Tierra del Fuego''). This grant established, according to Argentina and Chile, that an ''animus occupandi'' existed on the part of Spain in Antarctica. Spain's sovereignty claim over parts of [[Antarctica]] was, according to Chile and Argentina, internationally recognized with the ''Inter caetera'' bull of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. Argentina and Chile treat these treaties as legal international treaties mediated by the Catholic Church that was at that time a recognized arbiter in such matters. | |||
===Argentina=== | |||
[[Argentine Antarctica]] is claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory consisting of the [[Antarctic Peninsula]] and a triangular section extending to the [[South Pole]], delimited by the 25° West and 74° West meridians and the 60° South parallel. | |||
It is located entirely within but is not as broad as the [[British Antarctic Territory|British claim]], and overlaps significantly with the [[Chilean Antarctic Territory|Chilean claim]]. | |||
===Chile=== | |||
The [[Chilean Antarctic Territory]] ranges from 53° West to 90° West and from the South Pole to the 60° South parallel, partially overlapping the Argentine and British Antarctic claims. It is administered by the Cabo de Hornos municipality in the South American mainland. | |||
===Brazil=== | |||
[[Brazilian Antarctica]] is a hypothetical Antarctic territory south of 60°S and from 28°W to 53°W, proposed as "Zone of Interest" by Brazil. It exists completely within the British claim as well as the Argentine one. Its claim is based on the legally questionable concept of [[frontage theory]]. | |||
===Uruguay=== | |||
Uruguayan Antarctica (Spanish: ''Antártida Uruguaya'') is the sector of [[Antarctica]] where Professor Julio César Musso believes the Republic of Uruguay should exercise its sovereignty. It was not assigned a specific definition nor meant as a territorial claim, but rather was intended as an area of natural action of the southern maritime projection of Uruguay. Uruguay is part of the [[Antarctic Treaty]] System as a consulting member, and it reserved the right to make a territorial claim. | |||
== | ==Micronational claims in Antarctica== | ||
Claims to Antarctic territory by [[micronation]]s are largely governed by the [[Antarctic Micronational Union]], although many micronations with claims have chosen not to participate in the Union. The [[Talossa|Kingdom of Talossa]] maintains a claim over [[Marie Byrd Land]], which they call the Pengöpäts Antarctic Territory. Although this claim is in direct conflict with Westarctica's claim, at [[MicroCon 2017]], [[Grand Duke Travis]] entered a pact with the Governor of Pengöpäts promising to resolve any differences peacefully. | |||
===Westarctica=== | |||
On 2 November 2001, [[Grand Duke Travis|Travis McHenry]] claimed over 1,600,000 km2 of [[Marie Byrd Land]] for himself and named the claimed area the [[Achaean Territory of Antarctica]]. This new country project later evolved into a largely unrecognized sovereign nation named [[Westarctica]]. To this original territory he has added [[Peter I Island]] (previously claimed by Norway) and the [[Balleny Islands]] (previously claimed by New Zealand). | On 2 November 2001, [[Grand Duke Travis|Travis McHenry]] claimed over 1,600,000 km2 of [[Marie Byrd Land]] for himself and named the claimed area the [[Achaean Territory of Antarctica]]. This new country project later evolved into a largely unrecognized sovereign nation named [[Westarctica]]. To this original territory he has added [[Peter I Island]] (previously claimed by Norway) and the [[Balleny Islands]] (previously claimed by New Zealand). | ||