Holy Empire of Reunion

The Holy Empire of Reunion
Micronation
Flag
Motto: Fiat Justitia Pereat Mundus
Status Current
CapitalSaint Denis
Official languages Portuguese
Ethnic groups Mostly Brazilian
Demonym Reunian
Organizational structure Absolute Monarchy
 •  Emperor HHIM, Emperor Claudio I
Establishment
 •  Declared August 28, 1997 
Population
 •  estimate 900 (2015)
Purported currency Cifra
ISO 3166 code RE

The Holy Empire of Reunion (in Portuguese Sacro Império de Reunião) is a micronation that was founded 28 August 1997 as a political and constitutional simulation.

History

It claims the territory of the French ultramarine department of Réunion Island, but has no sovereign territory of its own and has never been recognized by any other sovereign state. Its creators were students of the Law School of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and to date, most of its adherents are thought to be Brazilian.

The "Empire" has minted its own coins, printed its passports, and produced flags for its citizens since 2000. The micronation claims its main objective is a deep political interaction amongst its citizens. In that same year, The New York Times mentioned its behind the scenes politics as having "intrigues that have not been seen since Louis XIV, wielding influence through Reunion's virtual courts and chambers."[1] The reunians engage in political battles in their online forums and discussion boards, and meet every year in an annual convention.

Reunion is also featured with a double page article on the book Ils ne siégent pas a l'ONU,[2] by Professor Fabrice O'Driscoll, of the Aix-Marseille University. In the book, it is mentioned that the country uses a political system known to its subjects as "potentially absolute monarchy".

The micronation has been portrayed by the media of dozens of countries, and has been the star of a front page article of Reunion Island newspaper, Le Quotidien (above, on the left), which use it to trace a parallel between its independence and the idea of having independence from France.[3][4][5][6]

In 2006, the country joined the Kiva Intermicronational Team, having lent, together with micronations like the Republic of Molossia, money to more than 115 people in need around the world.[7]

According to the BBC, the Holy Empire of Reunion has contact with 175 other micronations.[8]

On 17 July 2014 Leadership of the micro nation was passed to John White of Limerick, Ireland through excession of the previous Leadrship's term limits as defined by the Reunion Constitution. The terms of the constitution which allowed this come to pass were i) any citizen of the world may consider themselves a citizen of Reunion, ii), the constitution allows any citizen with three nominations be considered for any position of government, iii) and uncontested nominations are automatically deemed elected. Given the lack of scheduled elections, the change in leadership was deemed valid under reunion law although most citizens were not aware of the transition.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The New York Times: "Utopian Rulers, and Spoofs, Stake Out Territory Online", 25 May 2000.
  2. ↑ "Ils ne siegent pas a l'ONU": ''Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU''. Webcitation.org. Retrieved on 2012-07-15. ISBN 2-87867-251-8
  3. ↑ (Portuguese)(1998-08-05). Micronação sai do quarto para a Internet . Folha de S.Paulo.
  4. ↑ Taglioni, François. "INSULARITY, POLITICAL STATUS AND SMALL INSULAR SPACES" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  5. ↑ "Człowiek-wódka patrzy na lepszy świat" (in Polish). Kurier. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  6. ↑ Iolis, Andrea. "Teoria delle Micronazioni" (in Italian). Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  7. ↑ "Kiva". Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  8. ↑ Birth of a cybernation. BBC News.

Further reading

External links

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