What are micro-nations?

Are you talking about very small states? e.g., The Vatican is a sovereign state – the smallest in the world, by area. So are city-states like Monaco and Singapore.

No, I this case I am inquiring about places such as Molossia and the Dominion of British West Florida.

@AustieZ , I would file those under “joke.” Kind of like Key West, which likes to call itself the “Conch Republic.” The running joke down there is that they seceded from the Union for a couple of hours, but nobody noticed.

Each has its own story. The Republic of Vermont (Actually called “New Connecticut”) existed because, between 1776 and 1791, they could not join the USA. Originally this territory was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York, most of the residents claiming independence from both. New Hampshire dropped its claim to territory west of the Connecticut River in 1776. New York did not drop its claim until 1791, forcing what is now the state of Vermont to exist as an independent nation for 15 years.

I just read about one, called the Principality of Sealand.

Before I found that one, I thought maybe you meant the Native American Nations that are currently being formed in California and many other states to allow casinos to be established. One ‘nation’ recognized by the Federal Government in California has exactly one member, and yet is eligible to build a casino on ‘indian land’.

You learn something new every day. There really is such a thing. Micronations, according to my good friend Wikipedia, “are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are unrecognized by world governments or major international organizations. These nations often exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators.” For a while Anguilla qualified, it is now a dependency under the British crown.

P.S., Wikipedia even has a list!