Austenasia

The Empire of Austenasia is a micronation and self-declared sovereign state based in the UK. It operates under constitutional monarchy and comprises five properties that have declared themselves independent under the leadership of a house in south London.

History
Austenasia was created on 20 September 2008 by Jonathan Austen (born 1994), a student, and his father Terry Austen (born 1961), a security guard turned gardener. After sending a declaration of independence for their house in Carshalton to their local Member of Parliament, Tom Brake, Terry was named Emperor and Jonathan was named Prime Minister. Two subsequent declarations of independence were sent to Gordon Brown and the British Home Office, as no reply had been received from any of the previous declarations.

Terry abdicated in February 2010, and was succeeded by Emperor Esmond III, who after a "civil war" and various internal disputes was replaced by a new leader, Declan MacDonagh, in December later that year. Jonathan met with Tom Brake MP in May 2011, who contacted Foreign Secretary William Hague to enquire about the criteria by which the UK recognises new states on Jonathan's behalf. Jonathan then became emperor after Declan abdicated in January 2013 for personal reasons. The micronation has been featured in several local and international publications, and has a certain amount of fame within Cashalton as being a local "quirk".

Politics
The Empire of Austenasia operates under a constitutional monarchy, with an emperor as head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Each town has a Town Council composed of its population, and elects a Representative - these Representatives form the legislature. The prime minister is elected through general elections, and two left-wing political parties exist.

Geography
Austenasia claims three "towns" and two "crown dependencies" The first three areas of land claimed by Austenasia - Wrythe, Zephyria and Glencrannog - are all non-contiguous and located in Great Britain. Wrythe, the capital, and Zephyria both consist of suburban houses in the London Borough of Sutton, whereas Glencrannog consists of an uninhabited square foot of land in the Scottish Highlands. The two latter claims are both overseas - Axvalley comprises a farm in Brazil, whereas New South Scotland consists of part of a university campus in Australia.