Ever wondered what makes a nation tick? Over centuries, sovereign entities have taken on many shapes, earning varying degrees of global recognition. Some rose from the fires of war, others as havens from conflict. A few were mighty kingdoms, while others were quirky micronations. In this roundup of the top 10 places that once called themselves countries, we’ll travel from Himalayan peaks to outer space, tracing each story from birth to dissolution.
Top 10 Places That Were Once Their Own Countries
10 1975)
Now India’s least‑populated state, Sikkim – tucked in the northeastern corner of the subcontinent and sharing borders with Bhutan, Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region – enjoyed centuries of sovereignty. Legend tells of a 14th‑century Tibetan prince, Khye Bum‑sa, who arrived in the region after a divine vision promised him riches. In 1642, his descendant Phuntsog Namgyal was consecrated as the priest‑king of the newly founded Kingdom of Sikkim.
Leveraging strategic alliances and the natural fortress of the Himalayas, the kingdom fended off invasions for generations. The 1700s saw Sikkim repel raids from both Bhutan and Nepal, even after the Nepalese destroyed the capital of Rabdentse. In the 1800s, with the British Empire dominating neighboring India, Sikkim aligned with the British against a common foe, Nepal. During the Gurkha War of 1814, Nepal briefly overran Sikkim, but Britain restored Sikkim’s autonomy in 1817.
The final blow came from inside: citizens clamored for democracy. When India achieved independence in 1947, the Sikkim State Congress pushed for integration with India and self‑governance. Though Sikkim boasted literacy rates and per‑capita incomes double those of its neighbors, civil unrest persisted until May 1975, when Sikkim formally became India’s 22nd state. Today, it’s a magnet for climbers; a third of its terrain lies within Khangchendzonga National Park, home to Mount Kangchenjunga, India’s highest peak and the world’s third‑tallest.
9 1)
Everyone knows Texas once sported its own flag, but for fourteen years in the late 18th century, the small New England state of Vermont also stood as an independent republic. During the mid‑1700s, while the future United States remained under British rule, Vermont was embroiled in a bitter land‑grant dispute with its neighbor New York, which claimed most of the territory as its own. By the 1770s, the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen, were harassing New York officials and rent collectors.
In 1777, as the American Revolution roared, Vermonters declared themselves free from both Great Britain and New York, establishing the Vermont Republic. The fledgling nation adopted a progressive constitution—the first in North America to outlaw slavery and eliminate property qualifications for voting—and even minted its own currency.
Vermont’s ultimate aim was statehood within the United States. When Congress refused to acknowledge it as separate from New York, the republic even petitioned the British to join Canada, a request that never materialized. Finally, in 1791, Vermont negotiated admission as the 14th state by compensating New York with $30,000 for the disputed land.
8 1920)
For more than a century, a 900‑acre parcel of land in what is now Belgium existed as the sovereign state of Neutral Moresnet. The state’s birth followed the 1815 Congress of Vienna, which redrew Europe’s map after Napoleon’s defeat. A border dispute between the newly formed Netherlands and Prussia centered on a zinc‑rich district. To defuse tensions, the parties agreed to create a jointly administered, officially independent territory—yet without a final ruling to settle its status.
Neutral Moresnet issued its own currency and flew a flag inspired by the colors of a local zinc‑mining company. When the zinc deposits dwindled, both Prussia and the newly independent Belgium (which split from the Netherlands in 1830) began to exert influence. Belgium generated revenue through a casino and commemorative stamps, while in the 1890s Prussia attempted—unsuccessfully—to make the micro‑state the world’s first Esperanto‑speaking nation.
The state’s existence ended abruptly with World War I. Germany first invaded, then abandoned Neutral Moresnet. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles finally resolved the century‑long dispute, awarding the territory and surrounding areas to Belgium.
7 27)
Nine years before the Republic of Texas, the short‑lived Republic of Fredonia attempted to break away from Mexico. In December 1826, settler Haden Edwards seized the town of Nacogdoches—now part of modern‑day Mason County, Texas—and proclaimed an independent democracy.
Edwards was an empresario, a land‑grant holder who recruited settlers for Mexico in remote eastern Texas. Mexico hoped to develop the area to deter encroachment by the expanding United States. Edwards flipped the script, claiming the land as his own and establishing a Wild West‑style nation with its own flag. He and fifteen fellow “Fredonians” formed a government, signing a treaty with the Cherokee tribe, who distrusted the Mexican authorities.
However, Stephen Austin—another prominent empresario known as the “Father of Texas”—convinced Cherokee leaders to abandon the rebellion. On January 31 1827, barely a month after its birth, Mexican troops and Texian militia marched into Nacogdoches, restored order, and the Cherokee chief who had initially supported Fredonia was killed by his own people. Edwards fled eastward to the United States, ending the brief experiment.
6 35)
Half a century after Vermont’s brief independence, a 300‑person community in neighboring New Hampshire declared its own nation—though they weren’t quite sure which country to inform. The area, then called Indian Stream, sat at the heart of a border quarrel between the United States and British‑controlled Canada, each laying claim to the valley.
When two sets of tax collectors arrived, the residents, in July 1832, sent both Uncle Sam and his British counterpart a notice stating that Indian Stream was now an independent republic. Their freshly printed constitution declared home rule would persist “till such time as we can ascertain to what government we properly belong.” Both American and Canadian officials served warrants, sparking several violent incidents.
It took three years for the New Hampshire militia to prioritize the issue. By mid‑1835, under gunpoint, the Indian Streamers agreed to merge with New Hampshire. The British initially refused to recognize the arrangement, and later that year a British debt collector arrested an Indian Streamer over an unpaid bill, prompting an international incident. The British eventually backed down. Indian Stream was renamed Pittsburg and became U.S. territory after an 1842 treaty clarified the U.S.–Canada border.
5 No One Cares)
Known in antiquity as Hermea—and believed to be the burial site of Pope Pontian after his 235 AD arrest and abdication—the limestone island of Tavolara stretches just five kilometres long and one kilometre wide. Its modest size and proximity to Sardinia, Corsica and modern‑day Italy made it a tempting launchpad for invaders, from 9th‑century Arab raids to a failed 19th‑century attempt by Napoleon’s brother‑in‑law Joachim Murat to reclaim the Kingdom of Naples.
The island’s most flamboyant chapter began in 1836, when shepherd Giuseppe Bertoleoni, the sole resident at the time, claimed that King Charles Albert of Sardinia had appointed him “King of Tavolara” during a recent visit. Whether or not the decree held legal weight, Bertoleoni brought both of his families to the fledgling kingdom and, in 1845, passed the crown to his son Paolo, who reigned for over four decades.
In 1868, the newly unified Italian state set up a lighthouse on the island, yet the royal family persisted. The imaginary crown passed to Paolo’s daughter Mariangela, then to Paolo II and Carlo II. Remarkably, Tavolara still functions as an unrecognized kingdom today, with Antonio Bertoleoni—known as Tonino—running a namesake restaurant and holding the title of monarch.
4 1949)
Canada’s easternmost province, Newfoundland, once existed as an independent nation well into the 20th century, even fighting under its own banner in World War II before joining Canada in 1949. Basque fishermen first settled the island in 1563, and it soon became a British possession—the first permanent English foothold in North America.
Newfoundland flourished as a fishing powerhouse. In 1854, Britain granted the island a degree of self‑governance called Responsible Government. By 1907, it achieved full dominion status, similar to Canada’s.
The First World War proved costly: Newfoundland’s regiment suffered catastrophic losses at the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Post‑war debt, combined with the financial strain of constructing the Newfoundland Railway and a precipitous drop in fish prices during the Great Depression, plunged the island into economic crisis. In 1933, to secure guaranteed loans, Newfoundland surrendered its Responsible Government.
Although promises were made to restore self‑rule once the economy recovered, the people voted in July 1948 to join Canada. Along with the neighboring territory of Labrador—linked in the late 1920s—Newfoundland became the nation’s tenth province the following year. Today, the province retains a quirky distinction: its time zone sits half an hour ahead of the rest of Atlantic Canada and 90 minutes ahead of Eastern‑time cities like Montreal and Toronto.
3 1973)
Off Nova Scotia’s southern tip lies Outer Bald Tusket Island. In the 1930s, the three‑acre island hosted the world’s premier international tuna‑fishing tournament. In 1948, American businessman Russell Arundel bought the island from two locals for $750, envisioning a sovereign, men‑only nation of fishermen.
Arundel drafted a Declaration of Independence proclaiming that “fishermen are a race alone… endowed with the following inalienable rights… freedom from question, nagging, shaving, interruption, women, taxes, politics, monologues…” The fledgling nation, dubbed Outer Baldonia, adopted a charter, a fish‑adorned flag, passports and even a modest navy. Arundel crowned himself “Prince of Princes,” and any citizen who caught a bluefin tuna and paid a $50 fee earned the rank of prince.
The venture ran smoothly until 1953, when Soviet state media published a scathing critique of the odd charter. In response, Outer Baldonia declared war on the USSR on March 9 1953. The 69‑admiral “navy” never saw action, and eventually Arundel lost interest. In 1973, he sold the island to the Nova Scotia Bird Society; today it serves as the Earle E. Arundel Breeding Bird Sanctuary.
2 1964)
Zanzibar, an island off Tanzania’s eastern coast also known as Unguja, has been inhabited for at least 20,000 years. Ancient Greco‑Roman sources called it Menuthias, and by the 1st century AD it hosted both Bantu‑speaking Africans and refugee Arabs.
European interest began with Vasco da Gama’s 1498 visit; Portugal claimed the island shortly after, maintaining a largely hands‑off rule until 1635, when the Sultan of Mombasa orchestrated a massacre of Portuguese residents, prompting the construction of a Portuguese fort. In 1698, the Sultan of Oman seized control, turning Zanzibar into a hub for the East African slave trade.
Mid‑19th century British influence led to the abolition of slavery, and Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890. The British eventually granted independence, and in December 1963 a constitutional monarchy was established—only to last a single month. A coup d’état exiled Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah, birthing the socialist People’s Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba.
Just months later, in April 1964, Zanzibar merged with its mainland neighbor Tanganyika, forming the United Republic of Tanzania, a union that endures to this day.
1 ?)
This final entry is truly out there—literally. Known as the Space Kingdom, Asgardia was launched in October 2016 by a group that placed a satellite into Earth’s orbit. Its founders, dubbing themselves Asgardians, declared sovereignty over the space occupied by their satellite, Asgardia‑1, treating the craft as a mobile nation.
The Asgardians adopted a constitution whose preamble vows to unite “the future humanity as trans‑ethnic, trans‑national, trans‑religious, ethical, fair, peaceful, looking into the infinite Universe, based on equality and dignity of every human being.” Think of Sputnik meeting a peace‑loving activist—#NoJusticeNoGravity.
While its long‑term ambitions remain nebulous, Asgardia has concrete near‑term goals: pioneering free access to outer space, establishing a permanent lunar settlement by 2043, and facilitating humanity’s first childbirth in space—a step they deem crucial for species immortality.
Founder Igor Ashurbeyli, who set up the Asgardia Independent Research Center, serves as the nation’s head of state. A 150‑member parliament governs alongside a proposed cryptocurrency called Solar, envisioned as the legal tender.