Republic of Taigh a Bata

Republic of Taigh a Bata
Republico se Taigh a Bata
Republik vus Taigh a Bata
Republic of Taigh a Bata; Republico se Taigh a Bata; Republik vus Taigh a Bata
	Flag Coat of arms
Capital	McMillan (de jure) ; The Bedroom (La Dormoĉambro) (de facto)
Largest city	McMillan
Official languages	National: English, Taigh a Batan; Regional: Caran
Demonym(s)	Taigh a Bata Citizen, Taigh a Batan
Government	Federal Republic, Non-Partesian Direct Democracy
• President	Scott Harwood
Legislature	Government
Establishment	15 June 2009
Population
• Census	3; not including 14 foreign-residing Subjects
Currency	Pound Sterling, Taigh a Bata Dollar
Time zone	UTC, BST
	Website; Official Website

Taigh a Bata, officially the Republic of Taigh a Bata (Taigh a Batan: La Republico se Taigh a Bata, Caran: Republik vus Taigh a Bata) was a territorial European Anglophone micronation. It was located in the northern region of Europe.

Etymology

The name "Taigh a Bata" comes from the house in which The Bedroom is located. In Scottish Gaelic, "Taigh a Bata" means "The Boathouse".

History

Early History

Towards the end of 2008, Scott Harwood picked up a copy of the latest Guinness World Records book. It listed the smallest nation on Earth as being the Principality of Sealand. Harwood was inspired by this micronation, and he decided to create a micronation called the Kingdom of Taigh a Bata. However, Harwood needed more inspiration so he decided to research micronations on the Internet. During this time, he decided to make Taigh a Bata a republic if it declared independence - it seemed more democratic. He soon found the Crown Dependency of Forvik, which inspired him to finally declare independence. And so on the 15th of June 2009, Taigh a Bata was declared independent, with official signage put up outside The Bedroom two days later.

2009

Soon after independence, Scott Harwood listed Lewis Brennan as the Prime Minister of Taigh a Bata. Harwood also needed inspiration to come up with laws for Taigh a Bata other than the Constitution or the Transport Act. Fortunately, Harwood encountered the Empire of Austenasia. They provided Taigh a Bata with inspiration to create laws. On the 27th of June, Outer Alltgobhlach was annexed. The day after, Taigh a Bata opened diplomatic relations with Austenasia, recognising their sovereignity. Austenasia later recognised Taigh a Bata as an independent nation on the 18th of July - Taigh a Bata declared a national holiday on that day. Soon afterwards, Taigh a Bata was recognised by the nations of Suidae Freedom and Camuria. On the 10th of August, Taigh a Bata created its own currency - the Taigh a Bata Dollar. On the 21st of August, Taigh a Bata held its first elections, making it more of a proper democracy. Between then and Christmas, five new states were annexed.

2010

The State of Torr nam Mue was a small state which existed in the Republic of Taigh a Bata for only 20 minutes on the 16th of January 2010, as it was only a temporary occupation at the time. It is most noted for being the launch site of Arachnid 1. In May 2010, a computer crisis caused most of the Acts to be lost. Despite this, Taigh a Bata stayed stable throughout the rest of 2010, with the exception of the Taigh a Bata Flood.

On the 22nd of September 2010, Taigh a Bata was flooded, resulting in a lot of damage and a declaration of a state of emergency.

2011

Through the first few months of 2011, Taigh a Bata was a stable nation. However, in May, the Acts of Taigh a Bata started to be re-made. It was also revealed in May that there were plans to re-open the old hydro-electric dam on Taigh a Bata soil. The states of Outer, Western, Central and possibly Eastern Alltgobhlach would be affected by this.

On the 9th of July 2011, plans were made to re-structure the government of Taigh a Bata to make it more democratic. The plan was to make the government system in Taigh a Bata become more like the one in Landashir. These plans were confirmed on the 6th of September 2011. The following changes took place by the 19th of September:

The system of government changed to a hybrid of a federal republic and a non-partesian direct democracy.
A new constitution was created.
New improved laws were created
The capital moved from The Bedroom to McMillan.
The Taigh a Batan Dollar became the auxillary currency instead of the main currency.
Some territories were merged, renamed or abandoned altogether.
Heavy restrictions on bearing arms were enforced.

2012

Taigh a Bata was declared defunct on the 9th of March 2012.

Government and politics

Taigh a Bata was a combination of a non-partesian direct democracy and a federal republic. All citizens were members of the government of their state, and the only elected positions were the President and the Governors of each state.

Until the 19th of September 2011, Taigh a Bata was run by the President, a Prime Minister, and Ministers and Other Ministers (MPs). However, the members of the government in Taigh a Bata saw Harwood as a de facto dictator, owing to his ownership of a lot of powers. Harwood gave this response:

The reason why I hold a lot of powers is because first of all, I actually live in Taigh a Bata. Secondly, not many people have the ability to run a micronation. I try to distribute powers wherever possible, but I am just using my own discretion. If you want to hold a meeting or suggest new laws, then that's fine by me - I promote that kind of thing. I'm sorry if I seem like a dictator to you, but that's how it is.

Autonomy

Each of the states (with the exception of the Second Capital State of Taigh a Bata and the State of Abergolach) were considered autonomous and sovereign entities in their own right, albeit they could not manage their own foreign relations. Each state maintained authority over all matters that were not explicitly delegated by the Constitution or federal law. However, the Territory of Belnahua maintained authority over all matters with the exception of a few Constitutional provisions.

Law and order

Due to the size of the permanent population, promotion of equality and lack of crime, Taigh a Bata was self-policing. The laws for crime and punishment were mostly based on those of the Empire of Austenasia.

Military

Originally, Taigh a Bata was neutral but it still had its own Armed Forces. In May 2011, after nearly two years of nothing but annexations, the Army was disbanded. Taigh a Bata remained neutral in all international warfare, but still maintained its Navy, at least on paper.

Economy

Taigh a Bata did not offer any exports. As a result, Taigh a Bata derived nearly all of its income from foreign labour. Facilities for producing alcohol and electricity were on the drawing board until Taigh a Bata was abolished.

The official currencies were the British Pound and the Taigh a Bata Dollar, which were pegged at 1:1.

Culture

Languages

Taigh a Bata was a linguistically diverse country, partially due to many attempts at creating constructed languages. The official languages at the federal level were English and Taigh a Batan, with Taigh a Batan being the national language. Caran was an official or de facto language in some areas, and Scottish Gaelic was a minority language in Cara and Belnahua. Some states had official languages at the state level, but others did not.

Media

Many former citizens of Taigh a Bata have a YouTube page. The former President, Scott Harwood, continues to make electronic music from time to time, such as the electronic album Kaoss Masterpiece. Occasionally, they are put on YouTube. The Republic of Taigh a Bata also entered the Microvision Song Festival 2011 with Back In The Fast Lane.

The former Minister for Film and Television, Hamish Finlay, is currently producing the last part of a low-budget Doctor Who-based film called 'Cavemen of the Future', which is set to star the President as a caveman. The fist three parts can be seen on YouTube.

Taigh a Bata used to have a newspaper - the Taigh a Bata Times - but that was disbanded owing to the lack of anything happening in the territory. Taigh a Bata's unofficial newspaper of choice was the Egtavian Star.

Transport

Taigh a Bata tried to make use of transport as much as possible. On the 16th of January 2010, the hill of Torr nam Mue, above Pirnmill on the Isle of Arran, was annexed for a short time by Taigh a Bata in order to launch the hot-air balloon Arachnid 1. An Arachnid 2 balloon was launched later that year from the pier in the village of Corrie, but it burst into flames shortly after lauch. The Arachnid programme was then scrapped.

Taigh a Bata also had interests in land transport. For about a year, Taigh a Bata issued drivers licences and vehicle registrations but stopped due to lack of interest and roads. Taigh a Bata was set to be in control of a proposed national company - Taigh a Bata Transport. It planned to operate transportation services for passengers and freight in the United Kingdom for very little money.

Regions

Taigh a Bata had the following regions before it was abolished:

Name of Region	Names of Counties (if applicable)	Joined Taigh a Bata	Current existance	Governor
Second Capital State of Taigh a Bata (formerly the State of La Ferme)		27 May 2011	Ongoing	Scott Harwood
State of Outer Alltgobhlach		21st June 2009	County of Western Alltgobhlach as of 3 February 2012
State of Eastern Alltgobhlach		7 November 2009	Ongoing	Lewis Brennan
State of Western Alltgobhlach	Southern County, Western County, Outer Alltgobhlach	13 November 2009	Ongoing	Gavin Anderson
State of Fadafeur		17 October 2009	Merged with the First Capital State of Taigh a Bata and renamed the State of Abergolach on the 19th September 2011
State of Northern Alltgobhlach		14 November 2009	Ongoing	Robert Ingham
Condominium Krai of Pheasant Island		1 December 2009	Abolished 27 April 2010
State of Lewania		de jure 2010	Ongoing	Lewis Brennan
State of Torr nam Mue		16 January 2010	Abolished 16 January 2010
Abode of Peace and Language		27 April 2010	Abolished 19 September 2011
Territory of Belnahua (formerly the Colony of Belnahua)		18 August 2010	Ongoing	Scott Harwood
State of Skipness Gate		28 November 2010	Ongoing	Christian Pomeroy
Colony of Cara		28 November 2010	Ongoing	Scott Harwood Lewis Brennan
Colony of Isla Herne		26 December 2010	Abolished 19 September 2011
Colony of Tura		26 December 2010	Abolished 19 September 2011
Associate State of Bir Tawil		28 December 2010	Abolished 6 May 2011
State of Central Alltgobhlach		18 January 2011	Ongoing	Robert Ingham
État se Centro-Nordo Alltgobhlach		26 March 2011	Ongoing	Liam McNeaney
State of Abergolach (a merger of the First Capital State of Taigh a Bata and the former State of Fadafeur	The Bedroom, The Paved Area, The Car Park, Fadafeur	19 September 2011	Ongoing	Scott Harwood
État se Sudo Craw		9 December 2011	Ongoing	Robert Ingham