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NEWS October 2024
OCTOBER 2024 The recent cyber attack on the Internet Archive is deplorable and can be reasonably compared with the repeated burning of the Great Library of Alexandria. I have used the Wayback Machine extensively, but, until the full extent of the permanent damage is clear, I am unable to assess its effect on Atlantipedia. At […]Read More »
Joining The Dots
I have now published my new book, Joining The Dots, which offers a fresh look at the Atlantis mystery. I have addressed the critical questions of when, where and who, using Plato’s own words, tempered with some critical thinking and a modicum of common sense.Read More »
Principality of Pontinha
Micropatrology
Micropatrology or the study of small countries is quite peripheral to the subject of Atlantis, but it is a curious fact that a number of the attempts to establish new independent states have their titles inspired by the name of Plato’s lost island. They include Atland, Atlantis, and the Principality of Atlantis & Lemuria. There was even an attempt by Leicester Hemingway, the younger brother of the famous author, to have New Atlantis established and recognised internationally(a). Its ‘territory’ just consisted of a thirty-foot barge off the coast of Jamaica and had as its primary objective the generation of revenue through the issuing of postage stamps.
The Madeira archipelago (a minor Atlantis candidate) in the Atlantic includes the tiny independent Principality of Pontinha(e), which today has bitcoin as its official currency!
Arguably one of the most attractive micronations is the Republic of Uzupis, which occupies less than one sq.km of Vilnius the capital of Lithuania(f). The Republic of Le Saugeais, sandwiched between France and Switzerland is also popular with tourists(g)
In East Germany, we have “Königreich Deutschland” (Kingdom of Germany) ruled by Peter the First (Peter Fitzek)(j).
Coins have been issued in the name of a non-existent ‘Kingdom of Atlantis’, by the World Proof Numismatic Association(h), which is a one-man show owned by Edward J. Moschetti.
One of the more ambitious creations is the Empire of Atlantium(b)(c), established in 1981 by three Australians when they declared their independence from the Commonwealth of Australia and proclaimed George Francis Cruickshank as its ruler with the title of His Imperial Majesty George II. Understandably, I worry about the fate of George I! Australia has a number of other micronations as recently reported by the BBC(d).
Places That Don’t Belong is a fascinating “BBC Travel series that delves into the playful side of geography, taking you through the history and identity of geo-political anomalies and places along the way”(i).
There are currently (March 2023) five micronations within the United States(k), none of which claim any association with Atlantis(k).
>>I was not really surprised that one of the more recent claims related to Antarctica, where Grand Duke Travis rules over Westarctica(l).<<
This strange subject is discussed in a book by Erwin S. Strauss [482] and additional information can be obtained from the International Micropatrological Society, 4554 McPherson Ave., Saint Louis, Missouri, 63108.
(b) See: https://web.archive.org/web/20191123080317/https://www.atlantium.org/
(c) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Atlantium
(d) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-38964465
(e) See: https://web.archive.org/web/20170905084632/https://principality-pontinha.com/index.html
(f) https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181014-uupis-a-tiny-republic-of-free-spirits
(g) https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200311-a-tiny-country-between-france-and-switzerland
(h) Kingdom of Atlantis Coin, Ruler and brief History (archive.org)
(i) Places That Don’t Belong – BBC Travel
(j) The self-proclaimed kingdom that doesn’t recognise Germany – BBC News
(k) The kingdom in my backyard: 5 micronations within the United States (msn.com)
(l) Westarctica: The micronation with a real-world purpose – Big Think *
Madeira
Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, is a small group of islands in the Atlantic, just north of the Canaries. The archipelago includes the tiny independent Principality of Pontinha(a), which today has bitcoin as its official currency.
The French philosopher, Voltaire, seems to have been somewhat sceptical about the existence of Atlantis, remarking in his Essai sur le moeurs [1504] that“ if it were true that such a part of the world ever existed. Most likely it was none other than the island of Madeira.”
Ignatius Donnelly proposed it as one possible location for Atlantis. This followed soundings taken in the area at the end of the 19th century, which suggested that there existed a submerged 
ridge linking the islands with the European mainland. Madeira is frequently linked with the Azores and the Canaries as visible remains of Atlantis.
In the 1920s Edwin Bjorkman noted [0181.68] that many of his peers, including Richard Hennig(d), considered Madeira to have been Homer’s Ogygia, itself frequently associated with Atlantis.
>By way of balance, I must include reasons offered by Stelios Pavlou for not identifying the Madeiras as one the remnants of Atlantis
1.) There is no evidence that this archipelago was once a larger island.
2.) There is no evidence that it was ever connected to the Canary Islands or the Azores.
3.) There are no traces of a megalithic civilization there(f).<
Atlantisforschung has published a short list of other commentators who have considered the Madeiras as possible remnants of Atlantis,
- Enrico Alberto d’Albertis (1846-1932)
- Pierre Mille (1864-1941)
- Francisco Luis Pereira de Sousa(1870-1931)
- João de Almeida (1873-1953)
- Alexander Braghine(1878-1942)
- Maria Lamas (1893-1985)(e)
Andrew Collins in Gateway to Atlantis [072.80] refers to a work by Pseudo-Aristotle, On Marvellous Things Heard, in which the author describes a prosperous island with navigable rivers, outside the Pillars of Heracles. There are no rivers on Madeira, a fact that has not gone unnoticed. Cyrus H. Gordon wrote that ‘west of Africa there are no navigable rivers until Haiti, Cuba and the American mainland’. Cuba being Collins’ preferred Atlantis location, such comments tenuously supported his claim and also ruled out Madeira.
Some commentators such as Gilbert Pillot[742.46] have remarked on the similarity of Madeira to the island of Aeolia described in Homer’s Odyssey.
There are a couple of YouTube clips(a)(b) that purport to show the remains of Atlantis on Madeira. In fact, all they show are ruins, subjectively identified as Atlantis. Apart from this, unlike Atlantis, Madeira is obviously not submerged.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid the closest you’ll come to Plato’s famous island of Madeira is in a bottle of Blandy’s Atlantis rosé wine.
(a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Rkg1T2dl4
(b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGswJuo0cE8
(c) https://web.archive.org/web/20170905084632/https://principality-pontinha.com/index.html
(d) Neue Erkenntnisse zur Geographie Homers”, Rheinischen Museum für Altphilologie (N. F) Band 75, 1926, S. 266, 282
(e) Madeira (Archipel) – Atlantisforschung.de (atlantisforschung-de.translate.goog)
(f) Maria Lamas – Atlantisforschung.de (atlantisforschung-de.translate.goog) *