Micronations boom
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A micronations boom or micronational boom is a period marked by a sudden increase in the number of micronations, micronational activity and interest in micronationalism in a particular area. A type of fad or trend, there are multiple factors which can cause a micronations boom, such as interest via word of mouth, social networking or macronational attention in media and the arts. Micronations booms have often resulted in advancements in micronationalism; the hosting of the first intermicronational summit, intermicronational sporting event and the foundation of MicroWiki were each the results of micronations booms.
Historical examples (pre-1995)
Before the advent of the Internet, micronations booms were often the result of macronational attention, whether by the media, influential figures (celebrities) or attention in the arts. Micropatriologist Zabëlle Skye argues that the large number of seasteading micronations founded during the mid-1960s and largely inspired by writer Leicester Hemingway's micronation of New Atlantis, including Atlantis, Isle of Gold, Grand Capri Republic (both 1965) and Operation Atlantis (1968), can be described as an early micronations boom—the Micronational Seasteading Boom (1964–1973). Several micronations were founded in Australia between 1970 and 1981, with about half being directly inspired to do so by media attention of the Principality of Hutt River. A second nationwide micronations boom commenced in Japan between 1978 and 1991, and resulted in a large micronational community in the macronation which continues to exist, albeit in smaller capacity. The boom was ended by the Japanese asset price bubble. Peaking at as many as 150 micronations, the boom saw several milestones in micronationalism like the hosting of the first intermicronational summit in 1983 and intermicronational sporting event in 1986.
Examples since 1995
In the mid-1990s, the emerging popularity of the Internet made creating state-like entities possible with relative ease via an entirely electronic medium—GeoCities, Tripod.com (both launched in 1995) and Angelfire (1996), early web hosting services, allowed any Internet user to create their own web pages. As a result, a micronations boom occurred resulting in the revitalisation of the League of Secessionist States (April 1996) and establishment of the United Micronations (March 1997), and the creation of online services such as MicroWorld (January 1998), Micronations on the Web (April 1998) and Steven F. Scharff's Micronation and Sovereignty Website Index (January 1999).
MicroWiki, the largest micronational encyclopaedia, was founded as a result of the Maryland micronations boom in May 2005. Despite its name, the boom was self-contained in Chopticon High School and only resulted in the establishment of three micronations. At least two more micronations booms occurred at schools in the 2000s; at Chatham Park Elementary, Pennsylvania, in late 2005 and early 2006, resulting in the foundation of the United Chatham Park Micronations, and Kelvin Hall School, East Riding of Yorkshire, England in October 2008, resulting in the creation of the Hontui Sector.
Since the 2010s, there have been large developments in the number of micronations in Indonesia, the Czech Republic and France, which could be argued to each be gradual micronations booms.