[!IMPORTANT] This principality is not recognized by the authorities, this is unusual and bizarre case but it is real.
Principado da Pontinha
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The Principality of Pontinha, also known as the Principality of "Ilhéu da Pontinha", is a self-proclaimed micronation located on a 178-square-meter (1,920 square feet) rock, 70 meters (229 feet) off the coast of the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira.
The self-proclaimed principality is a creation of the owner of the islet, the self-proclaimed Prince D. Renato Barros II, Prince of "Ilhéu da Pontinha" and Elector of Portugal.
In 2007, the number of citizens of the principality was one, Renato Barros himself, although he does not reside in the territory. In 2014, according to Renato Barros, the citizens of the principality were himself, his wife, and their two children.
On September 25, 2017, Renato Barros was forced to abandon the Fort of São José, until then the seat of the micronation, sold 3 days earlier to immigrants in the course of an insolvency process.
History
In January 2007, Renato Barros, a Visual Arts teacher and owner of the Fort of São José since 2000, announced that he was moving an international process with a view to the creation of a principality on the islet of Pontinha, a rock located 70 meters off coast of the Madeira island, and connected to it by the pier of the Port of Funchal, where the fort is located.
Renato Barros acquired the fort in 2000 for the sum of 9 thousand "contos" (about 45 thousand euros today without inflation), with the intention of studying wave energy. The Funchal Port Master Plan, approved in 2004, provided for the opening of a bar-restaurant, with a terrace and viewpoint at Fort São José. This plan was later amended to remove the tacit "authorization" for the opening of a bar/restaurant/terrace, thus making it impossible to use the fortress for commercial purposes and annulling the claims of the legal owner of the property, which were known to the Regional Government.
Although this was not his original purpose, when he bought the building, Renato Barros developed the intention of recovering the fortress and the rock, whose history dates back to the first voyage of exploration of the island, led by João Gonçalves Zarco, with the aim of giving it a use, through the opening to the public of a bar and a museum space.
Declaration of independence
In November 2007, Renato Barros delivered to the Portuguese Republic's Representative in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Monteiro Diniz, a "request for de-annexation of the Principality of the Ilhéu da Pontinha". On the 29th of the same month, Cesidio Tallini, an activist for the cause of micronations and a fervent supporter of the independence of Long Island, issued a statement on behalf of "Prince D. Renato Barros, sovereign of the Principality of Pontinha", formally announcing the secession of the principality from Portugal, with the Fort of São José becoming the capital of the self-proclaimed country. The "prince" highlighted his good relations with the Brazilian Government, stating that if the principality is recognized, it will be the gateway to Europe.
Renato Barros detention
On September 25, 2017, Renato Barros was detained by the Portuguese Republican Guard after resisting a judicial order to close the facilities. The security forces accompanying the bailiff handcuffed the "prince of the islet", escorting him to the local headquarters, where he was released after being identified, awaiting the legal process of the case, which should pass through the hearing before a judge.
Claim to independent territory
Renato Barros claims that when King D. Carlos sold the fortress in 1903, he did so by granting certain privileges that could justify the territory's independence. The sale not only included the property but also the ownership of the islet where the fortress is located and where it was built. Renato Barros further asserts that the "Torre do Tombo", as the Portuguese authority duly authorized for this matter, acknowledges the full validity of the property and islet ownership sale document. The property was placed at auction and alienated from the National Treasury, with the purpose of using the proceeds of the sale to complete and restore the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu on the larger islet to the east. The Royal Charter, which Renato Barros keeps in his possession, states the following:
Dom Carlos, by the Grace of God, King of Portugal and the Algarves, hereby inform those who see this Charter of pure and irrevocable sale that, following the necessary proceedings, announcement, and the formality of the law and style, Candido Henrique de Freitas acquired through public auction at the Finance Department in the district of Funchal on October 3, 1903, for the sum of 200 "réis", in accordance with the laws of July 13, 1863, and December 22, 1870, the following property that belonged to the National Treasury... It was listed for sale in the list 1446B as follows: Funchal municipality, Part of the Fort of Pontinha with an area of 172.80 m2 in the parish of São Pedro (Funchal); borders to the north and east with the Pontinha pier, south and west with the rock by the sea...– Paço, October 26, 1903
Validity of the claim
According to the historian Alberto Vieira, historically, what King D. Carlos alienated was the building of the fortress, and sovereignty was never transferable. In his view, the islet continues to be as Portuguese as it was before the sale of Fort São José. The same historian also asserts that he is unaware of any prerogative in international law that would lend any merit to Renato Barros's claims.
But even in the case of any lingering possibility of recognition, it can only be invoked in the appropriate forum, the United Nations, and supported by legal instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the United Nations Covenant, in resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations, the Vienna Convention, the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, the Covenant of the League of Nations, the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Council of Europe, or NATO, through which the legitimacy of the claim can be assessed.
Economy
According to the owner of the islet, the island has not been, according to international law, Portuguese territory since 1903. It doesn't control its borders, doesn't require a passport for entry, and doesn't impose taxes on non-locals, aiming to attract a larger tourist audience.
In December 2015, the Principality of "Ilhéu da Pontinha" adopted BITCOIN as its official currency.
Energy
EDP (Energias de Portugal) refused to install electrical power on the property. According to Renato Barros, this occurred due to interference from the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Alberto João Jardim, after Barros declined to sell "Ilhéu da Pontinha" back to the Regional Government. To compensate for the lack of electricity supply, Renato installed a solar panel and a small wind turbine. As a result, the energy produced is 100% from renewable sources.
Political asylum
In February 2017, regional deputy José Manuel Coelho requested political asylum from the Principality of Pontinha after being sentenced to one year in prison for "aggravated defamation".