Austenasia
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Austen (“an English surname”) + -ia (“used in forming the names of countries”), further etymology uncertain. Declared 20 September 2008 by Jonathan Austen and named for the ruling house (dynasty). The inclusion of -as- may have been by analogy with terms like Australasia, Eurasia and Malaysia.
Proper noun
[edit]Austenasia
- A micronation, a purported constitutional monarchy, claiming sovereignty over a suburban house in the Wrythe, Carshalton, London Borough of Sutton with several claimed exclaves around the world; officially the Empire of Austenasia. Capital: Wrythe.
- 2008 September 20, Jonathan Austen, Act 1 (The Constitution) [Austenasian Constitution of 2008][1], Empire of Austenasia, archived from the original on 19 April 2018:
- Cabinet is formed out of one representative from each town in Austenasia. The representatives are elected by the residents of the respective town every year.
- 2011 September 23, “Carshalton "micronation" pushes for independence from Sutton”, in Yourlocalguardian[2]:
- Austenasia was created on September 20, 2008, when founding father Terry Austen, now aged 43, and his son Jonathan, now aged 16, declared independence from the Sutton suburb.
- 2014 July 9, Tom Gillespie, “Leader of 'independent micronation' Austenasia in Carshalton donates land to Renasia”, in Telegraph & Argus[3], archived from the original on 10 October 2017:
- The leader of Austenasia has given a plot of land to the people of Renasia, in a deal that has strengthened ties between the two nations. Emperor Jonathan I handed over the patch of grass on Saturday, June 28. The 19-year-old ruler held a special ceremony at the spot in Poulter Park, Carshalton, to declare his nation would be releasing the land.
- 2016 August 31, Travis Elborough, “Curiocity review – a love letter to London”, in The Guardian[4]:
- In 1977, the squatter residents of Freston Road in Notting Hill attempted to establish the breakaway Independent Republic of Frestonia. Another example: since 2008, the father and son-founded, budding dominion of Austenasia, composed of a handful of terrace houses not far from Croydon Ikea, has been making its own bid for freedom, if so far only obtaining recognition from a no less eccentric micronation in Manitoba.
- 2020 March 25, Gavin Haines, “How micronations are responding to the coronavirus”, in Lonely Planet[5]:
- Following similar moves by the EU, the Empire of Austenasia – a constitutional monarchy that rules over 24 properties in the United Kingdom – has restricted entry to many of its territories, including Palasia, a landlocked semi-detached house near Thetford, England.
- 2020 June 21, James Hookway, “Fake Countries Have a Hard Time Dealing with the Pandemic, Too”, in The Wall Street Journal[6], archived from the original on 21 June 2020:
- Austenasia's emperor, Jonathan Austen, 25, has had to follow the shelter-in-place guidelines imposed by Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the other side of his front door.
- 2023, Geraint Johnes, Economics for Lovers of Literature, Springer Nature, →ISBN, pages 50–51:
- Austenasia is a micronation formed when a father and son (the Austen family) declared independence from the UK, a declaration that the UK government treated with the contempt it (probably quite rightly) thought.