Aerican Empire#History

The Aerican Empire was founded on May 8, 1987 by Canadian Eric Lis{{cite news |last1=Shapiro |first1=Jody |title=Minding the Micronations, Jody Shapiro, National Post, 2010 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/national-post-minding-the-micronations/169096077/ |access-date=29 March 2025 |work=National Post |date=22 October 2010 |pages=49}} and a group of friends. For the first ten years the Empire was almost completely fictional, claiming sovereignty over a vast galaxy of feigned planets and engaging in wars against other micronations (although never resulting in physical contact). In 1997, the Empire created its own website.O'Driscoll, F: Ils ne siègent pas à l'ONU, {{ISBN|2-87867-251-8}}

In 2007, Aerica first issued "novelty passports." The first issued passport was exhibited in the Palais de Tokyo 2007 Micronational art exhibition.Aerican Mailing List Archive, [https://archive.today/20120630053110/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aerican/message/10814], December 2, 2006 Aerica issued stamps for the first time in 2015.Aerican Empire Post, [http://www.aericanempire.com/post.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813081122/http://www.aericanempire.com/post.html |date=2020-08-13 }}, May 8, 2015

The Empire's mission statement is: "The Empire exists to facilitate the evolution of a society wherein the Empire itself is no longer necessary."The Montreal Mirror: [http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/081706/news3.html The Montreal Mirror] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124095707/http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/081706/news3.html |date=November 24, 2006 }}, 17 August 2006, "The little empire that could"The Boston Phoenix: [http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/00/10/12/MICRONATIONS2.html The Boston Phoenix] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506180741/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/00/10/12/MICRONATIONS2.html |date=May 6, 2006 }}, October 2000, "States of Mind".CBC Daybreak: [http://www.cbc.ca/daybreakmontreal/ Daybreak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109101446/http://www.cbc.ca/daybreakmontreal/ |date=2017-01-09 }}, 13 July 2006, "The Aerican Empire: Interview With Eric Lis". Montreal: CBC Radio It describes itself as having a parliamentary system, with various elected bodies and offices, under the oversight of an Emperor (currently the founder, Eric Lis).Le Soleil, Quebec City: Le Soleil, 18 January 2001, "Vive Eric 1er, empereur virtuel!" Lis, who founded the Aerican Empire as a child, obtained his M.D., C.M. from McGill University and has been published in the Journal of Psychiatry and NeuroscienceJournal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1863557/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022101/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1863557/ |date=2020-11-12 }}, 2007, "Neuroimaging and genetics of borderline personality disorder: a review". and Weird Tales magazine.Weird Tales Magazine: Weird Tales, 2008, "My True Lovecraft Gave To Me".Weird Tales Magazine: Weird Tales, 2011, "A Contract Without Loopholes".

The group's activities are permeated by a great deal of humour and a love of science fiction and fantasy, with recurrent references to Star Wars, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and similar works. Annually, the Empire holds story-writing contests, role-playing and wargaming days, and such events as the Dog-Biscuit Appreciation Day Scavenger Hunt. It also developed a religion called Silinism, the worship of the Great Penguin; originally intended as a joke, but which the group says has thirty practitioners worldwide. It has holidays and "niftydays" (such as Saint Bill’s Day, "honoring the ultimate nerd"Context Magazine: [http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?src=/archives/200104/ManAndMachine.asp Context Magazine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017070301/http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?src=%2Farchives%2F200104%2FManAndMachine.asp |date=October 17, 2006 }}, April–May 2001, "Altered States". and Topin Wagglegammon, "the Niftiest Day of the Year"{{Cite web |url=http://www.aericanempire.com/calendar.html |title=Aerican Empire: Calendar |access-date=2020-06-12 |archive-date=2020-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221124719/http://www.aericanempire.com/calendar.html |url-status=live }}).

Delegations from the Aerican Empire were in attendance at the Polinations academic conference in London in 2012Delafontaine, L., Les Micronations, Montreuil-sur-Brêche, Diaphane, 14 September 2013, pages 160, {{ISBN|978-2-919077-19-9}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsFXU6mCOIk |title=Radio France: 15 July 2012, archived at |access-date=16 July 2017 |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610064409/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsFXU6mCOIk&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }} and the MicroCon micronations convention in Atlanta in 2017. Aerica was also represented at MicroCon 2023 in Joliet, Illinois.{{cite news |last1=Motum |first1=Robert |title=Westarctica, Sancratosia, Slowjamastan, and other fake nations may have some real things to teach ones |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-2023-microcon-robert-m/169095966/ |access-date=29 March 2025 |work=The Boston Globe |date=3 September 2023 |ref=2023 MicroCon |pages=K2}}

Their flag is similar to the flag of Canada, with a yellow smiling face instead of the red maple leaf in the white square (although the red rectangles on the sides have different side length ratios). The national motto of the Aerican Empire is "The world is ridiculous; let’s keep it that way".{{Cite web|title=Aerican Empire – De Facto|url=https://defactoborders.org/places/aerican-empire|access-date=2020-07-06|website=defactoborders.org|archive-date=2020-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706141631/https://defactoborders.org/places/aerican-empire|url-status=live}}

The Aerican Empire first issued coinage in November 2009, and a second coin was minted to celebrate Aerica's 25th anniversary in 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aericanempire.com/money.html |title=Aerican Empire: Economics |access-date=2015-01-29 |archive-date=2020-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218184346/http://www.aericanempire.com/money.html |url-status=live }} Banknotes were issued for the first time in 2017.

• List of micronations

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• [http://www.aericanempire.com The Aerican Empire] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20000620111853/http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Surf/6818/aerica.html Earlier Archive]

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Category:Micronations in Canada

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Category:States and territories established in 1987