Pope Island

Pope Island Territory
Motto Ελευθερία και φύση (Greek: Liberty and nature)
Peachtree City, Georgia, United States
Official language(s)	Federal languages, Navārdian, Greek
Short name	Pope Island
Demonym	Pope Islander
Government	Absolute monarchy (de facto)
- Governor	Position Vacant
Established	October 23rd, 2019
Area claimed	1.359 acres
Population	0
Currency	Atlanto US Dollar accepted unofficially
Time zone	UTC-4:30

Pope Island refers to an island in Lake Kedron that has become a hotspot for micronational activity after in was claimed by the Grand Duchy of Navārdia in October of 2019. The island is generally measured as being 1.75 acres in size, including a small portion of the surrounding waters. The Phoklandian Free State currently has the most influence and territory on Pope Island, in the form of its Pope Island Territory, a territory within the Province of Navārdia.

The PIT is the largest land division in Navārdia, more than half an acre bigger than the runner-up, Orbly. Its government is headed by a governor, who is essentially an absolute monarch - since Pope Island has no residents, there’s nobody to protest the governor’s legislation. The position of governor is currently vacant.

Etymology

The name Pope Island was presumably coined by the government of Peachtree City, rather than that of a micronation. As such, the reasoning behind its name is unknown.

History

After Casper von Nothing moved to Peachtree City, Georgia in 2018, he often found himself passing by an island in the middle of Lake Kedron. Despite its natural beauty and ideal location, it never seemed to be used for much of anything by the city or its residents. For over a year, Casper pondered how Pope Island could be used for anything other than just looking nice.

By October of 2019, Casper had founded the Grand Duchy of Navārdia and begun to expand its territory. The annexation of the Todge province (now the City of Todge) occurred primarily due to a great tragedy in the nation, however, so it was decided that the next Navārdian territorial expansion should be inherently good. On October 23rd, Pope Island was claimed as a province of Navārdia under the permission of Grand Duke Casper and the advice of another citizen, Eggs Benedict.

On January 1st, 2020, Navārdia merged into the Phoklandian Free State. Pope Island was turned into a municipality (rather than a province) when the country went through a minor territorial restructuring on the 16th. Later into the month, Phokland relinquished its claims to the western islet, gifting it to New Athens for at least two years.

Geography

Pope Island is a long and thin island in the middle of Lake Kedron. When the lake’s waters are high enough, which they often are, the smaller, western portion of the island becomes separated from the central portion by the water. Because of this, the portions of the island have been referred to as the central and western islets.

West Pope Island

West Pope Island Territory
Peachtree City, Georgia, United States
Official language(s)	English
Short name	West Pope Island
Demonym	West Pope Islander
Established	January 31st, 2020
Area claimed	0.391 acres
Population	0
Time zone	UTC-4:00

On January 31st, 2020, Pope Island was split in two, at the border between the central and western islets. The central islet remained under Phoklandian dominion, while the western islet was ceded to New Athens and became the West Pope Island Territory. The WPIT is the second micronational claim to Pope Island in modern history.

Claimants to Pope Island

Over time, many countries and tribes have claimed the land that now comprises Pope Island.

Government	Area Claimed	Date of Claim	Status	Recognition
Native Americans	All of Pope Island	Unknown	Defunct, circa 1830	N/A
British Empire	All of Pope Island	1732	Defunct, as of 1777	N/A
United States of America	All of Pope Island	4 July 1776	Default Claim	U.N. Recognition
Independent Georgia	All of Pope Island	19 January 1861	Defunct (joined CSA)	Limited Recognition
Confederate States of America	All of Pope Island	8 February 1861	Defunct, as of 1865	Limited Recognition
Phoklandian Free State	Central Islet	23 October 2019 (as Navārdia)	Occupies Territory	Universal Recognition
Free Nation of New Athens	Western Islet	31 January 2020	Minor Occupation	Universal Recognition