Help - General Information and FAQs
Click here to see this site in the Portuguese Language
Help - General Information and FAQs
Click
here to see this site in the Portuguese
Language
1.0 - What is the Holy Empire of Reunion?
The Holy Empire of Reunion defines itself as a MICRONATION, that is to say, a miniature of a nation. A micronation is based upon an established national culture, symbols and institutions, as well as a perception of a colective past and future - a common destiny. Réunians understand that a micronation may involve several dimensions: political exercise, societal conviviability, actual personal relations, live cultural experiments and so on. Within well-known micropatrology, we should qualify better as a mix of political exercise and nationhood categories.
Réunion was founded in August, 1997, and since then has acquired members from all over the world, having been portrayed by international media, and mentioned in most of the bibliography about the subject of micronationalism and micronationry. There are articles on the internet from newspapers and magazines as known as the New York Times, La Repubblica and La Liberation portraying micronationalism and mentioning the Empire. Second oldest lusophone (portuguese-speaking) micronation,
Réunion is considered a "school of micronationalists". Through its history, it has annexed and given birth to many micronations, such as Choconia, Soveraat, Pasargada, Male Caliphate, Ludonia, Valsgraphenstein, Allameigh and many others. The country is an active member of many Leagues of Micronations, such as the League of Secessionist States, the League of Micronations, Comity of Peoples, United Virtual Nations Organization and others.
The nation's founding fathers are Claudio de Castro (a.k.a. Emperor Claudio), Eduardo Iatauro, Bernardo Bauer and Fernando Genesine, of whom only the Emperor remains as a citizen; right now, the nation has 156 subjects, of which not a single one has acquired citizenship in 1997.
We do NOT exist physically in a place; that is, we are not located in Reunion
Island, and we have citizens (156, as of January, 2006) living all
around the world. Reunion does have a real government, real
institutions, even government dignitaries... It has everything,
according to International law Principles, which is necessary to
be considered a Nation, with the possible exception of a sovereign
territory.
2.0 - Then, Reunion is just a "game"?
No Way! We are much more than a pitiful, simple
"game". The micronational world is formed by
more than a hundred nations (Ephemeral States, micronations,
microstates, virtual nations), a lot like ours. Thousands
of people are involved in this "simulation"; among them
are many business men, students, journalists and teachers. Ok,
there is a confirmed majority of College and High School students,
in this interesting world.
3.0 - Is Reunion some kind of separatist
movement?
It takes a lot of imagination to think of such
a thing. Unlike the americans, we - brazilians - are not - yet -
obliged to use warnings (disclaimers)
saying that we are not rebels; anyway, We thought it would be
interesting to reaffirm that Reunion is NOT a separatist movement.
As we have already explained, Reunion is part of the world of the
micronations, having nothing against the Brazilian Government and
Institutions. The same thought is applicable to all the other
governments throughout the world.
4.0 - Why "Empire of Reunion"?
Bernardo Bauer and I (Cláudio de Castro)
needed two islands more or less unknown, one next to ther otherm
to found our Empire (the defunct Empire of O País!, from which
Reunion secceeded, in 1997, to form the current Holy Empire of
Reunion). Experienced micronationalists
advised us to find a place that existed in the real world. The
Caribbean islands are too famous, and the ones on the Pacific are
independent countries. There was only a way out: to "steal"
the islands of Reunion and Mauritius (where O País! had its
capital city, and where we now have a Vicerouship), located to the East of Madagascar (Indian Ocean),
and found our Empire there. Again, we have nothing against
the real government of Reunion, which is an Ultramarine
Department of France. If you are a native from Reunion, don't
worry; you are not under His Imperial Majesty's supreme power (ius
imperii), neither under the jurisdiction of Reunian Justice. You
only become a Reunian citizen - liable to Reunian Law - by
filling in the Citizenship Form. If
you are an incorrigible industrialist that has money accounts in
that Tax-Free paradise, we are not able to confiscate your wealth
(although we would do it, if we could - believe me).
5.0 - How do I become a Subject of His
Imperial Majesty?
It's as simple as that: fill in the Citizenship Form,
and wait (a lot) for our answer. The Ministry of Tourism and
Immigration is responsible for
analyzing and deciding who joins us and who doesn't. But if you
already are a citizen of another micronation, you must cancel
your citizenship there so that we can accept you here; if you don't,
and we find out, we can have you impaled (*). When you are accepted, you will be included
in one of our CHANDON mailing lists (If you do not speak or
understand Portuguese, you can find a job suitable to you at the
Imperial Chancellery). Another thing: Reunion is a
Democracy, a Parliamentary Monarchy, ruled by a Premier elected
by the representatives of the Reunian People (qualicates).
Also, do not join the Empire in order to acquire a nobility title:
those are given - only - to people who really deserve it.
6.0 - Are there only american micronations?
Not at all! Reunion, as an example, is formed -
in Its majority - by Brazilian citizens. There are dutch, german,
portuguese, japanese, british and many others. If you'd
like to join Reunion, it would be BETTER (not required) if you
were able to speak French, Spanish, Italian or, PREFERABLY,
Portuguese), so that you can read our newspapers and understand
our laws and His Majesty's decrees.
7.0 - Ok, I've got it. But... What's
the big deal?
Well, in the macronational world, our opinions
and political ideals are almost useless (or harmless).
Our candidates not always win, the Mayor never receives us in his
office, we never speak to the president we have elected.
That's the big deal of the micronational world. Here, your
opinion does matter! You can be one of the people that rule
the Empire. As an Imperial Counselor, Qualicate, Ambassador,
Owner of a Big Company, etc, the Reunian government will care
about what you think. You can send messages - that will be
answered - to the Emperor, complaining about whatever you want.
If you are able to get an important job here, you will be able to
communicate with Presidents of other nations, sign important
treaties (break some too). Now, if you hate History, Diplomacy
and Politics, I can say that it would be better for you (and for
us) if you kept away from the micronational world.
8.0 - Oh, nice! A War "Game"!
AAAAAAHHHHHHH....... IT IS NOT A GAME (I'll
have you killed if you repeat that). Second, there is no way of
achieving a 'war' status between micronations. How would one
nation attack the other? The higher it can get when it comes to 'war'
is a Cold War, a diplomatic one.
9.0 - Where can I get more information on
the Micronational World?
If you speak english (somehow I assume you do)
there are a plethora of Websites about micronations. Visit some
of them; you will find links in the Imperial
Chancellery section of the
Official Reunian Website. I suggest you visit the site of the League
of Secessionist States, Comity of Peoples, United Micronations or
MicroWorld, which are some of
the intermicronational entities (like the UN).
10.0 - I don´t understand Portuguese. Can I join?
From 1997 to the year 1999, Réunion was a fully-functioning bilingual
micronation, where all the government decisions, laws and messages exchanged by citizens had
to be written in both English and Portuguese. However, in the middle of 1999, the amount of
lusophone citizens (which was traditionally only a bit higher than that of anglophones) started to rise,
causing problems of representation in the legislative houses. Hence, in October 1999, the Imperial
Government sent a bill to the Imperial Council, which was approved, establishing Portuguese as
the only official language. Citizens like Skinner Layne, Christopher Thieme, Jeremy Johnson,
Chris Loutradis, Daniel Jackson, Jack Santucci, William Myers, Rick Harwood, Justin Harwood,
Micah Kubic and Matt Dabrowski are amongst our most important political figures. However,
the continuos attention given to Réunion by Brazilian and Portuguese newspapers keep making
our number of "lusophones" grow, and thus, unfortunately, all the Réunian affairs are
conducted in the Portuguese language.
Well, that's about it. If you need any further information, please refer to one of the many sites about micronations (you will find some at the Imperial Chancellery) or write to us, by clicking here.
(*) Im.pale (im.pãl') 1 To fix upon a pale or a sharp stake 2 To torture or put to death by thrusting a sharp stake through the body. Also spelled empale.
Snail-Mail Address:
Reunian Embassy to the Federative Republic Of Brazil
Caixa Postal 02
Centro
Rio de Janeiro, RJ - BRASIL - Zip Code 20.011.000
Phone: 55-21-2232-9707
FAX: 55-21-2509-0910
E-mail Internet:
holyempire@reuniao.org
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