At 14, Daniel Founded a Country. Now, Another Nation Wants Him Out
Five years ago, a young boy decided to found the tiny state of Verdis near Croatia, discovering it belonged to no one. But since then, the story has gotten complicated. Will the nation, where he serves as president, remain his?
Hoisting the Liberland flag (illustration)For centuries, the Jewish people longed for a state of their own. Other nations have achieved this after decades at best, but one young man managed to shortcut the process and founded a country in a brief span of time.
A young Brit, Daniel Jackson, created his own nation. Sounds far-fetched? But it's a true story that unfolded quite recently. The young man decided to establish a state—one that would be free of corruption and war, according to him.
Jackson appointed himself as president of the Republic of Verdis, thereby becoming the world's youngest president. This isn't some imaginary land he found and declared a country, but real territory—land nestled between Serbia and Croatia that no country or individual owns. Jackson realized that without an owner, he could claim the land for himself.
Born in Australia, Jackson moved to the UK at a young age and grew tired of local life. He founded this country when he was 14, five years ago, and continues to serve as its acting president. The nation has a few hundred residents and thousands more looking to join. While Jackson doesn't live in his established country, the Croatians argue it's their land and have expelled him. Consequently, he plans to take the matter to court to prove his claim.
In 2019, at 14, he allegedly found the unclaimed land with six friends, right by the Danube River. The land spans just half a square kilometer, making it the world's second smallest country (the Vatican is the smallest). He even created a blue and white flag.
He told The Sun newspaper, "Today, it's a developed nation. More than 15,000 people are trying to register as our citizens. We wanted to see if we could create an example of a small, well-functioning, environmentally conscious country, and then it simply progressed into a major humanitarian nation. We've provided a lot of aid to Ukraine and are working to offer humanitarian assistance to other countries as well."
"On October 12, Croatian authorities entered our permanent settlement and detained us in what we see as a violation of international law, as the land does not belong to Croatia," he added. "I'm currently working on taking the issue to court. Quite a few people have prepared to move to Verdis and protect the land."
Verdis is a small island surrounded by water, so those who wish to visit must sail 9 kilometers from the nearest port. To date, 400 people have registered as Verdis citizens.
