This timeline (other suggestions for name will be considered) should be about 'actual or historical entities acquiring greater autonomy' rather than fantasy history.
There is much room for development: the intent is to create a more complex world than in OTL - how would the United Nations look, for example? Jackiespeel 18:04, May 24, 2010 (UTC)
This isn't disimilar to an idea I've been nursing. Presumably any microstates in Britain could be called 'Britadels'. Fegaxeyl 18:12, May 24, 2010 (UTC)
There are various possibilities - eg Germany and Italy remain disunited.
How would Lundy, Hay on Wye and Sealand be incorporated into this project? Jackiespeel 18:36, May 24, 2010 (UTC)
Is this an open/collaborative project? Fegaxeyl 19:23, May 24, 2010 (UTC)
Yes: at present seeing what emerges with a lead on the 20th century. The definition of 'statelet' is also open ended: so multinational companies, 'large cruise ships perpetually traversing the high seas' etc can be included.
Statelets in established timelines can be linked here (eg Danzig) - and there are probably various divergent timelines within this idea (eg Russian Revolution/end of the Soviet Union in both cases ending up in many little states). Jackiespeel 22:32, May 24, 2010 (UTC)
I had a flash of inspiration today: perhaps something involving the free cities of the Hanseatic League could provide some sort of POD? Fegaxeyl 15:28, May 25, 2010 (UTC)
There could well be more than one timeline arising depending on the statelets (and other small entities) people find of interest - we all have our pet historical persons, events and geographical entities etc (g).
With a Medieval-ish starting point - have various bits of what became Germany and Italy, the Spanish-French border entities of which Andorra is the only survivor etc. Other PODs - post-Napoleon and 'start of the 20th century - China fragments after the 1912 revolution, Russia from 1917, Treaty of Versailles and mosaic regions, the Princely States of India etc. Jackiespeel 20:45, May 25, 2010 (UTC)
To avoid excessive-red-linkism I have only put in a few entries so far. Following on from Fegaxeyl - if a 'medieval' starting point is used, other entities could be included - religious communities, the Thurn and Taxis postal system etc. Jackiespeel 16:39, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
A more divided Europe could lead to less pronounced colonialism; we may be looking at a fragmented North America, and a more ethnically-directed and less colonial chunk-directed African political map. Fegaxeyl 16:55, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
I can see two distinct Statelets timelines emerging if there is sufficient interest. One begins in the Middle Ages with, in Europe, the Hanse League, 'the multiplicity of entities that become Germany in OTL', Franco-Spanish border entities etc not merging into larger entities to produce Mosaicworld. The other developing in the 'modern world' the colonies of the US do not unite, the post-Napoleonic settlement, and the development of some modern large states, but with more statelets.
Further suggestions? Jackiespeel 18:08, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
The UAE, a multitude of Singapore-like entities, megacorporations (or analogous entities), stateless cruise-ships, maybe even neutral zones centred on airports which capitalise on duty-free trade to become thriving and incredibly multicultural entities. Going really far back something about the city-states of Ancient Greece could play into this, but I doubt it would have much effect (unless it was some form of literature, lost or forgotten, which was recovered in the renaissance and led to the embracing of a microstate-based political philosophy in Germany and other fragmented areas). I would like to see both Statelets timelines as one larger one, but perhaps we should jot down two separate ones and see what can be combined to create a single larger timeline. Fegaxeyl 18:20, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
- This looks like a lot of fun! I love tiny countries, for whatever reason. Ill Bethisad actually has them in droves, and I've done some work over there. It probably wouldn't make sense to import those pages wholesale over here, but I'll link to them so you can see. I've worked on Gardiners Island, an independent fiefdom off of Long Island that existed in real life up to the Revolution; Beaver Island, a short-lived Mormon kingdom in Lake Michigan; Tokelau, a little Pacific island chain; and Easter Island, my main project in IB. On this site, I've got the Syllanine Order, a monastic mini-state in the Isles of Scilly, and the Cocos Islands, a microstate that endured until the late 70s. Other options for microstates might be Mt. Athos, which also has an IB version (the Monastic Republic) and Swains Island (part of American Samoa). Rough and Ready, California was a self-declared independent republic for a while, and it was hardly the only one. I just bought The Book of Lost States, which gives several similar examples. Benkarnell 19:41, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
Link in anything appropriate or develop the statelets concepts in other contexts as appropriate (g) - eg Germany/Italy ununited/China dividing post 1912 etc: also Political Commentators on small states: religious autonoomous entities (eg the German states whose religion followed the rulers, the Austro-Hungarian empire with its multiple cultures and faiths etc).
Notional names for two possibilities suggested - Mosaicworld (political-geographical entities do not coalesce into their modern forms) and Fractalworld (some of the modern large states emerge). Jackiespeel 23:21, May 28, 2010 (UTC)
I would like to contribute to this timeline as well. I think it has a lot of potential. Just one thing I think we need to keep as a rule when we are making microstates. I.M.O to be counted as countries these microstates should always have
1. A permanent population greater than 100
2. A defined territory
3. An independent government and
4. Capacity to enter into relations with the other states
That way we don't have people doing ridiculous stuff like turning there backyards into independent nations, or have nations based out of moving vehicles. Other than that I love the idea behind this timeline.--ShutUpNavi 18:27, May 29, 2010 (UTC)
- I like Fractalworld, since it's probable that many larger states do exist in this world. And AH.Com has/had something called "Mosaic Earth," IIRC. Another Ill Bethisad project of mine that I forgot to link to: the Commission on Very Small States, a fictional organization promoting the rights and well-being of tiny countries. *There* it's a committee of the League of Nations; in this TL I would imagine they might have an independent organization of some kind. Benkarnell 19:56, May 29, 2010 (UTC)
I think a message to the effect "please use Microwiki (link) if appropriate" would cover some issues. Allowance should be made for "a miscellany of entities with peculiar international aspects" - Sealand, regions which were put before the ICJ/PCJ (Gex, Minquiers and Ecrehous Islands), disputed areas, condominiums (sp?), some religious and other bodies extending across formal national boundaries etc. Or is might be more practical to write up 'the theory of (particular category)'. Jackiespeel 22:45, May 29, 2010 (UTC)
Presumably in Fractalworld we'll see the Allies win World War One, but perhaps force the dissolution of Germany into its pre-imperial states and divide Austria-Hungary up into ethnographic regions. How this could be achieved with the division of the US I'm unsure, unless the Allies manage to enlist a number of loyal American client states to help out from the start. Fegaxeyl 09:41, May 30, 2010 (UTC)
As a definition: a statelet is to a state as a dwarf planet is to a planet - but can also include autonomous enclaves/exclaves.
Perhaps if we start developing the timelines things might start becoming clearer (g). Possibly the Confederation of the States of North America - somewhat like Switzerland - belongs in a different timeline.
While 'real' statelets should be the prime material, if someone develops a non-standard statelet (Olympic Games State - only intermittently active; something based on the Czech Legion on the Trans-Siberian Railway; Multinational companies turning themselves into tax-efficient statelet-like entities etc) they should be considered on their merits. Jackiespeel 20:14, May 30, 2010 (UTC)
There was also a shot-lived "Republic of New Iceland" situated in Gimli, Manitoba.
Yankovic270 18:27, June 7, 2010 (UTC)
Definitions[]
Mosaicworld - medieval divergence, many more 'small entities' than in OTL, confederations and alliances rather than unification (North German Confederation, Hanseatic League and putative South German Confederation rather than German Empire): reflected in similar structures in the Americas, possibly coexisting with local entities; trading posts in Africa and China (possibly imposed/maintained by force). The Industrial and Agricultural revolutions occur, but with lesser levels of mass production.
Fractalworld - division point late 19th century: more states that are familiar from OTL, American Federation paralleling that of Switzerland, France regional parlements take on a more dominant role; more equivalents to Moresnet (possibly after WWI equivalent OTL plebiscite areas are turned in to autonomous/Andorra like set ups), Industrial and agricultural revolutions occur as here, and more imperialism.
Regional stateletism - More like OTL - but only one or certain states fracture (Germany post WWI reverts to pre-Empire states, Russia and China disintegrate after respective revolutions etc) etc - anyone wishing to take up can do so. Jackiespeel 16:30, June 7, 2010 (UTC)
Post offices abroad[]
A list can be found here [1], and the Thurn and Taxis set up at [2]. The Hanse League and other bodies could be included in 'non-state international linkages' of this kind. Jackiespeel 18:16, June 16, 2010 (UTC)
Another component[]
The various liberties [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_(division)]. Jackiespeel (talk) 12:43, August 6, 2013 (UTC)