The word "country" can be hard to pin down.
It can mean nation, state, nation-state, the outdoors,
or a genre of music.
But how does a country become a country?
In today's programme, we'll look at what it takes to change the world map.
Welcome to Map Men.
We're the men
And here's the map.
♫ Map Men, Map Men ♫ Map Map Map Men, Men.
The world map is reassuringly solid with clear thick black lines to let you know what's one thing
and what's not that one thing.
It appears so fixed, people are willing to get it tattooed onto their skin
presumably so they can then colour in the countries they visit
to show everyone how cultured and worldly and annoying they are.
But of course the world map does change, as new countries spring into existence.
The most recent examples include Timor Leste in 2002,
Montenegro in 2006, and...
♫♫♫
South Sudan in 2011.
The good news is, anybody can claim a country.
All you have to do is say "this is mine".
The bad news is, getting the rest of the world to agree with you is mega hard.
We're going to have a look at what separates those who have been successful
from those that have been not, or "un" successful.
And few people have been more not successful than Englishman Stuart Hill
who, in February 2011 "founded" the "country" of Forvik.
Stuart Hill's story begins during a failed attempt
to circumnavigate Great Britain in a rowing boat with a windsail stuck in it.
After eight expensive rescue call-outs, Stuart wound up in hospital in the Shetland Islands
from where he soon discovered the tiny uninhabited island of Forvik.
Stuart liked Forvik so much, he set his sights on being the supreme ruler of it.
After doing lots of careful reading into the history of the Shetland Islands
he summarised what he'd read into a dubious argument:
that they were technically still part of the old Norse Empire, not Scotland
and therefore Forvik was free to claim.
First Minister:
Stuart Hill.
Population:
Stuart Hill.
Name:
Stuart Hill.
Stuart was so convinced of Forvik's sovereignty
he refused to pay vehicle tax and was sent to prison.
Stuart issued a statement saying:
"I'm right and they're wrong."
Stuart Hill.
Although his country has a flag, and a website
Forvik remains part of Scotland on all world maps
except those drawn by Stuart.
So how do you go about creating a new country that appears on everyone else's world maps?
The thing you need to get most maps to give you a thick black outline
is a seat at The United Nations.
The international body that agrees international things.
But how do you get that seat?
Whose email address do you need?
Should you sign off yours sincerely or yours faithfully
and will that make the difference?
The UN have a strict set of requirements all applicants have to meet in order to be considered.
The first of which is...
Do you have a historical connection to the land?
Is this where Stuart, an Englishman claiming part of Scotland, went wrong?
What if Stuart's family had lived on Forvik for thousands of years?
Is an ancestral link enough to convince the UN you're a country?
Let's look at an example that answers that very question.
The black hills of northern USA have been the ancestral lands of the Lakota native Americans for centuries.
And, in 1868, the US government recognised this in a treaty that promised the land to the Lakota forever.
But "forever" did not, it turned out, mean "until we find gold" which happened shortly after.
The Lakota were offered compensation of half a billion dollars for the stolen territory
but they're always refused the money, insisting their ancestral lands are not for sale.
In 2007, the Lakota of Dakota declared an independent nation of Lakotah
breaking away from the United States
taking with them the giant faces of four American presidents in a mountain.
With the legal treaty providing indisputable evidence that the Lakota technically owned the land
surely the UN would make good straight away and confirm a shiny new country.
Unfortunately for them, their coloniser also happened to be the richest country in the world
with enormous influence on what does and doesn't get ratified.
America looked at their proposal, thought very hard, and said no.
And absolutely nobody was surprised.
Hard evidence in the form of clear documentation wasn't enough to get independence.
But consider this example from the other side of the planet:
A claim to independence based on a lack of documentation.
The Murrawarri Aborigines have never accepted that their land officially belongs to Australia.
Nobody ever signed a treaty with them, beat them in a war
or even so much as set foot in their territory when Australia was founded.
In March 2013, the Murrawarri wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Australia
and the Queen of England, head of state in Australia, long story,
asking to see documents proving that Australia were their rightful owners.
After 21 days, the Murrawarri decided to interpret the ensuing silence as recognition.
In March 2013, they formally declared the continuance of their statehood
and asked the UN to recognise a new country twice the size of Denmark
But without any real geopolitical power behind them
the UN just loudly ignored their declaration
to this day, leaving Australia in charge of collection Murrawarri bins.
So sometimes you need to do more than politely submit a proposal.
The UN might also consider...
Have you fought any lengthy or bloody civil wars?
If you want to make the UN really sit up and pay attention
you need what's creepily referred to as a "monopoly over violence"
or total military control.
This can be a surefire route to recognition
Examples include Bangladesh, Venezuela, the USA, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Pakistan,
Algeria, Latvia, Namibia and Portugal to name but twelve.
A more recent and more ongoing example can be found in east Africa.
When ex-British Somaliland got independence in the 60s
they joined with their ex-Italian neighbours, to become one happy Horn of African country.
This happiness quickly became unhappiness under a brutal dictatorship.
And, following a devastating civil war,
Somaliland once again declared independence in 1991.
Today, Somaliland have their own separate military, passports, even currency.
Somaliland sent a request to the UN asking for their seal of approval
but despite fitting all the criteria for becoming a new country,
the UN still hasn't lifted a finger.
It doesn't help that other African nations refuse to acknowledge Somaliland's independence.
Countries like Mali and Morocco with separatist movements of their own
are terrified of an independence domino effect.
So, Somaliland remains in limbo as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Despite its clearly enforced border, Google Maps doesn't even bother with a dotted line
let alone a solid one.
Why is it so hard to get the attention of the UN?
How come Somaliland didn't manage it, but South Sudan did?
South Sudan successfully became the world's newest proper recognised by the UN country in July 2011.
Exactly like Somaliland, they had a historical claim to their land,
fought a civil war,
and were just as politically obscure in the eyes of the world's richest countries.
So, what was that final missing piece that made the UN pay attention?
Hello, I'm George Clooney.
And I think South Sudan should be a new country.
(both) Ahhhh!
- That's why! - Of course!
Hollywood humanitarian George Clooney has been raising awareness about the plight of the Sudanese
ever since the Darfur conflict in the mid-2000s.
Nobody cares about. Sudan.
I said I'm George Clooney!
And I can make people care about South Sudan, because I say I care.
I mean, because I do care!
I'm not acting now, this is real.
Damnit.
Oh my god, you are George Clooney!
Winner of an Oscar for best supporting actor.
Sudan in two, you say? Consider it done.
I'm a hero!
And therein lies the lesson for Stuart Hill.
What he should have done was get Reese Witherspoon
to do a tweet about Forvik's cruel subjugation by the British
and he just might have got somewhere.
Around the world, there are bedozens more examples of are they or aren't they countries.
Many behave exactly like countries with passports, governments and currencies.
and whilst not having a comfy chair at the United Nations, do still feature
on the maps of their political allies.
Palestine, Taiwan and Kosovo to name but two and a half.
Despite the UN being a very popular method by which to judge the country-ness of a country
at the end of the day, there's no such thing as official.
The world map looks different depending on which country you're looking at it in.
And country-ness will always be a grey area.
Does that mean I can declare my half of the desk an independent country?
Yes, but I'd only invade.
And I'd deserve it.
Jay, hi.
Where've you been? It's 2:04 in the afternoon, which means there's only...
Six minutes until Countdown starts on Channel 4.
I know. The thing is, Jay...
I know how much you love Countdown and how important it is to you that we both watch is every single day
and compare our scores afterwards
And compare our scores afterwards, of course.
And I love that, I do, but today... I can't.
Why?
I'm in Hawaii.
What?
I've gone to Hawaii, and very sadly that means I can't watch Countdown with you.
I don't understand.
Well, you can't watch Channel 4 outside the UK, so I'll have to pass and just...
...enjoy the sun.
But you can just use Surfshark.
What?
Surfshark! It's a VPN.
An app and browser extension that lets you virtually place your phone, laptop, tablet, or TV in any country.
With Surfshark, no matter where you go in the world you can take the internet from home with you.
Well, I'm not sure I've got time before Countdown, it sounds very technical.
It's really not. You just download it, set up an account, and start watching content from anywhere in the world.
Also, using a VPN like Surfshark makes your internet more secure by masking your IP address
and making your internet safer from trackers and hackers.
But isn't it expensive?
Not at all. In fact there's a special offer for Map Men viewers.
If you click the link in the description below and use the code "mapmen"
you get 83% off Surfshark plus an extra 3 months for free.
And there's a 30 day money-back guarantee so you can try it out and see if you like it.
Can I(?)
Which means you never need to miss an episode of Countdown ever again.
Oh good.
The thing Jay, I'm sort of on holiday, and maybe
actually I should just have a little break from Countdown and just enjoy Hawaii.
It looks quite cold for Hawaii.
I've got some air conditioning on.
Isn't it just past 4am in Hawaii?
Yes.
And therefore dark?
That's right.
Mark, do you just not like Countdown?
Not really, no. I'm sorry Jay.
Mark, it's fine, you should have said.
We don't have to watch Countdown ever again.
Really?
Because now you're going to sign up to Surfshark, we can tune into France Trois
and watch 'Des Chiffres et des Lettres' instead!
The numbers and the letters?
It's exactly what it sounds like!
Non! Mon dieu!