Kingdom of Redonda

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Kingdom of Redonda
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Motto: Floreat Redonda
Musical Anthem: God Who Gave Our Island Soil
Type of entity: Hypothetical micronation
Location: The island of Redonda, Leeward Islands, West Indies
Area claimed: 400-640 sq km (est)
Membership: Less than 100. (Population of island itself is zero, not counting goats.)
Date of foundation: 1865
Leadership: Various competing claimants
Purported organisational structure: Absolute monarchy
Language: Spanish, English
Currency: none

The "Kingdom of Redonda" is a somewhat humorous name for the tiny uninhabited island of Redonda, which is situated between the islands of Nevis and Montserrat, within the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain, in the West Indies. The island is now part of the country of Antigua and Barbuda.

This small island may, arguably and briefly, actually have existed as an independent kingdom, the title to which is still to this day contested in a half-serious fashion. The "Kingdom" is also associated with a number of supposed aristocratic members, whose titles are given out freely by whomever is currently the "King".

According to a story told many years later by his son, who was a fantasy fiction writer, in 1865 Matthew Dowdy Shiell, from the nearby island of Montserrat, proclaimed himself to be the rightful, and supposedly legal, "King" of the island of Redonda. This story may be partly or entirely fictional.

The small (approx 1 square mile) island of Redonda, is essentially one very large rock. It is the remnant of an ancient volcanic core, and the land rises extremely steeply from sea level, mostly as sheer cliffs. Although to Columbus the island appeared to be round when viewed from the side, it is in reality long and narrow. Redonda is uninhabited, except by wildlife and a flock of feral goats, who manage to survive on the poor grazing on top of the island. For more information on the island, see Redonda.

Contents

[edit] History of the "Kingdom"

A view of the "Kingdom" of Redonda from the island of Nevis, with Montserrat faintly visible in the distance.
A view of the "Kingdom" of Redonda from the island of Nevis, with Montserrat faintly visible in the distance.

The history of the "Kingdom" of Redonda is shrouded in doubt and legend, and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. M. P. Shiel, an author, was the first person to ever mention the idea of the "Kingdom of Redonda" and that was in a promotional leaflet for his books.

According to one of several different versions of the story, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, a banker from Montserrat, claimed the island when his first son, Matthew Phipps Shiell, was born. Supposedly the father felt he could legitimately do this, because it appeared to be the case that no country had officially claimed the islet as territory.

Sheill senior also is said to have requested the title of King from Queen Victoria, and as legend has it, she granted it to him as long as there was no revolt against colonial power. [1] However, the whole story appears to have originated decades later with the son, subsequently known as M.P. Shiel, a fantasy and science fiction writer, and so it is possible that some, or most, or possibly all of the story, may be pure invention.

In any case, again according to one version of the story, M.P. Shiel in later life gave the title, and the rights of his work, to the writer John Gawsworth, who seems to have sold the title several times, due to permanent bankruptcy. Gawsworth in turn is considered to have bestowed the title, and the rights to his and Shiel's work, to Jon Wynne-Tyson.

Tired of the problems of the kingdom, Wynne-Tyson supposedly resigned his title in 1997, when he decided to name Javier Marías as his successor (and bearer of the rights of the work of both Shiel and Gawsworth). Wynne-Tyson chose to do this because of the positive way in which Marías portrayed Gawsworth in his novel Todas las almas (published in English as All Souls).

There might be many different people claiming to be King of Redonda. Part of the incentive to be the recognized sole "King" of Redonda might be because of the rights to Gawsworth's literary sales, but a greater part of the appeal seems to be simply the lure of the fabled and ridiculous, and the joy of telling tall tales.

[edit] Historical "Kings"

[edit] More recent and contested succession of "Kings"

[edit] Scenario 1 (Literary)

[edit] Scenario 2

  • Arthur John Roberts, 1967 - 1989 (also styled as King Juan II)
  • William Leonard Gates, 1989 - present (styled as King Leo) [followed Roberts]

[edit] Scenario 3

  • Robert Williamson, 1984/5 - present (styled as King Robert the Bald)

[edit] Scenario 4

  • Max Leggett, 1950 - present

[edit] Some notes on the current individual "Kings"

[edit] Javier Marías

The Spanish writer Javier Marías, one of the current claimants of Redonda, tells the story of his "coronation" in Negra espalda del tiempo (published in English as Dark Back of Time). He operates a vanity publishing house under the name of Reino de Redonda ("Kingdom of Redonda"), and has created a literary prize with the same name. The reward is several thousand euros and a Redondan duchy.

Several Spanish and foreign artists and writers have been granted Redondan titles, including Pedro Almodóvar (Duke of Trémula), Francis Ford Coppola (Duke of Megalópolis), Alice Munro (Duchess of Ontario), J. M. Coetzee (Duke of Deshonra), Arturo Pérez-Reverte (Duke of Corso), Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Duke of Tigres), A. S. Byatt (Duchess of Morpho Eugenia), and António Lobo Antunes (Duke of Cocodrilos).[2]

[edit] William Leonard Gates, aka "King Leo"

William Leonard Gates lives in Norfolk, England, and his claim to be King (government in exile) is through the line of succession that involves King Juan II, aka Arthur John Roberts. King Leo has an organization called "The Redondan Foundation" which has numerous members, and which publishes a newsletter called "The Times of Redonda".

[edit] Notes

  1. Matthew Phipps Shiell changed his surname to Shiel.
  2. John Gawsworth is the pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong.

[edit] References

[edit] External links