Challenge: More modern Continental Microstates in Asia, Africa, and the Americas

[GameBawesome]

As we know, the Microstate us a nation with a that is very small. In some cases, they are City-States, independent Cities, or Island Nation, confined to their size due to geography. Some examples include Monaco, Vatican City, Liechtenstein, and San Marino, and the example of Island nations are Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu. Other historical examples of City-States (Though, expanded greatly) are Athens, Sparta, Venice, and Genoa.

However, a majority of the surviving Microstates are in either Europe or the Pacific. There are few microstates in Asia, Africa and the Americas, and the only one I can think of is Singapore, (You can count Hong Kong and Macau, but that's a hot topic).

The challenge here is to create more small microstates in Asia, Africa and the Americas that survive as independent entities to this day.

Sidenote: I said continental in the title because we're excluding Island Nations. So, the Microstates would have to be on the mainland and not an island nation.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

@garabik created a bunch of European ministates. For Africa, more Lesotho type enclaves could be the way to do it.

As always, I must suggest the Rwenzururu subnational kingdom in Uganda, which had its own secessionist movement in the past, and also a great flag.

 

[Warthog]

There have been small geography secessionist groups in Africa, but these have tended to be due to arbitrariness of colonial borders: Cabinda, Cassamance for example.

That said, where does population fit in Microstation definitions? Gambia at 2.5 million looks like a microstate. Gabon is geographically big, but has a smaller population than Gambia. Djibouti has a smaller population than Cassamance, only slightly bigger than Cabinda

 

[Strategos' Risk]

Swaziland is also tiny too, forgot to mention

 

[Analytical Engine]

I would not categorise Djibouti (9,000 sq mi), Lesotho (11,720 sq mi) or Eswatini (6,704 sq mi) as microstates by any definition. Even the Gambia is pushing it (4,361 sq mi).

Meanwhile, Singapore is 281 sq mi. Microstates are tiny.

I don't think we should consider population at all. There are plenty of really big states with very low population density. Would anyone consider e.g. Namibia to be a microstate, with a population of 2.5 million? Or Mongolia, with less than 3.5 million?

 

[pompejus]

For Africa I thnk we need to avoid colonisation (or at least the scramble). For Asia avoiding colonisation might work too, but another thing that might help would be if India and Indonesia were colonised by multiple colonial powers. For example if the English keep Bencoolen in Indinesia and the Dutch keep their Indian colonies, after independence they might not end up part of the larger countries of India and Indonesia. Actualy something similar might have happened to Portuguese Goa and French Pondichery.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Could a difference set of battles in the War of 1812 lead to some sort of small, disputed region that ends up becoming allowed to be a nation in the Treaty of Ghent? Or perhaps that tiny bit of Mane that was disputed between the British and United States before being agreed upon in 1842. Perhaps if the treating negotiations go on longer and then President Tyler is killed in that explosion on the ship in 1844 which he narrowly avoided (I forget the name of the ship), but the British might just agree that things are getting a little crazy there in the United States and they don't really want to fight for it so everyone just agrees that that disputed piece will become its own independent nation.

Come to think of it, I think that's the one reason Daniel Webster was willing to remain on as Secretary of State, to finish that treaty.

I guess it's kind of hard to have one come about just by treaty like that, but if the United States and Britain are determined to maintain cordial relationships then I can see it coming to that as a compromise.

This thought process begin with me wondering if some alternate settlements to the American Revolution would allow New York City, which the British held, to put it up to a vote rather than being definitely handed to the United states. However, because of the location I can't see the city being allowed to remain independent for long, I think that the United States would gradually pressure it into joining the USA, although it is possible that that could lead to it becoming its own state. The other two on the other hand seem possible.

If the forces stop at the yellow, or just short, would the remainder of North Korea be small enough to be considered a microstate? Probably not, it seems a bit big when I think of the map.

Is there a chance Hong Kong would have been allowed to be an independent nation? Maybe if the British started moving it toward Independence before the Communists took China.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Is there a chance Hong Kong would have been allowed to be an independent nation? Maybe if the British started moving it toward Independence before the Communists took China.

The Chinese army would just invade and take over. There's no way Hong Kong is defensible.

The same thing happened with Goa - India wanted negotiations with Portugal, who refused. Eventually, India just invaded and took over anyway.

 

[Laqueesha]

Them small islands off the West Coast of North America (Vancouver Island, Santa Catalina, et. al.) could be microstates.

 

[Metempsychosis]

For Africa I thnk we need to avoid colonisation (or at least the scramble). For Asia avoiding colonisation might work too, but another thing that might help would be if India and Indonesia were colonised by multiple colonial powers. For example if the English keep Bencoolen in Indinesia and the Dutch keep their Indian colonies, after independence they might not end up part of the larger countries of India and Indonesia. Actualy something similar might have happened to Portuguese Goa and French Pondichery.

Part of me feels the opposite for Asia, at least in East Asia: we need to go full in on multiple spheres of colonization to form microstates, splitting China between provincial lines and establishing larger and more permanent treaty ports. Same for South Asia, where Britain doesn't have an unchallenged hegemony and more princely states survive and develop their own identities as they play the various powers against one another. And the East Indies with the Netherlands. If Malaysia didn't become a federation, it'd be a bunch of tiny sultanates and British colony ports like Penang and Singapore. And without Dutch hegemony, Eastern Indonesia would be a bunch of small regional sultanates and Chinese kongsi republics.

 

[GuildedAgeNostalgia]

New Orleans becomes a independent city that plays GB, US, and Spain/Mexico against each other to maintain its independence.

Panama City and it's rail/canal zone becomes a independent microstate while most of the land of otl Panama is divided up between Costa Rica and Colombia.

 

[GameBawesome]

Just a heads up, I’ll allow this thread to be revived

 

[Lothal]

Some choices:
Penang, it genuinely got screwed by the British in decolonization and got stuck with Malaysia when it was more similar to Singapore in status.

Depends on your definition of "micro-state" but Neuchatel and Biel/Bienne in Switzerland reasonably could be independent post 1815. Realistically Switzerland could have multiple microstates released from it, ie the Three Leagues/Raetia, Valais, and St Gallen, etc. Voralberg after the fall of the Austrian Empire voted for entry into Switzerland and couldve been a microstate as well.
Duchy of Bouillon in Belgium
Trieste, Cattaro, Ragusa, Fiume
Aran Valley, Couto Misto

 

[ArchimedesCircle]

A different end for the Xinhai Revolution could result in the Forbidden City remaining 'independent' a la the Vatican City. Maybe if the emperor wasn't a five year old at the time.

Maybe something like Neutral Moresnet could pop up in the DMZ?

A surviving Free City of Danzig or Free City of Krakow would fill the role (on hundred bonus points to anyone that can reasonably come with a timeline in which they coexist).

Schleswig and Holstein might get made into neutral buffer states if Denmark is able to put up more of a fight against Prussia?

 

[Aron MacEanraig]

For Africa I thnk we need to avoid colonisation (or at least the scramble). For Asia avoiding colonisation might work too, but another thing that might help would be if India and Indonesia were colonised by multiple colonial powers. For example if the English keep Bencoolen in Indinesia and the Dutch keep their Indian colonies, after independence they might not end up part of the larger countries of India and Indonesia. Actualy something similar might have happened to Portuguese Goa and French Pondichery.

Someone pointed out in another thread that many African colonies started out as trading posts and single fortifications so those might go microstate way.

The OTL subnational monarchies are definitely a good place to start at. Also, the associated states and territories of Australia, Aotearoa, France, Norway, etc. as well as federated units (Harar, Dire Dawa, Penang...) could be potential microstates too.

In Asia the mueangs of mainland southeast Asia could be explored. The Ryukyu Islands are slightly larger but still an interesting idea.

The Americas are a tricky one, the colonies were notably large there so large states gained independence. Panama is a bloody good idea though. Or maybe surviving Aztec city-states?

In general, the European microstates are usually found either as ports or valleys of mountain ranges. So maybe the western slopes of the American mountain ranges could host some?

In Australia, Darwin has similar role in the These Fair Shores timeline.

And I think the Graham Peninsula could host a few great microstates as well.

What would be cool though is Athos-like microstates. Any idea?