New Starland

Raoul is a small micronation located on the Polynesian island of Raoul Island in the South Pacific. It was founded by Suzuki Akihonaomi following a string of unsuccessful micronations. Raoul is currently a Micronation in the making, having no established government, nor an economic base.

Etymology
Raoul is named after the South Pacific island where the micronation is located: Raoul Island. The island is also known as Sunday Island.

Raoul was never given a long name, although Raoul Republic has been considered. This is due to Akihonaomi's belief that the people of the micronation should decide what the're government type will be.

History
Stone implements of a Polynesian type have been found on Raoul Island, and there is evidence of a prehistoric settlement on the island. However, the island was found to be uninhabited when first visited by Europeans in the 1700s. There is currently no civilian population, but a group of volcanologists and New Zealand DOC workers have maintained a permanent station their since 1937. Raoul Island is maintained by New Zealand, and claimed by both New Zealand and Raoul.

Early History of Raoul
Raoul was preceded by several unsuccessful micronation attempts founded under Suzuki Akihonaomi's former alias Andrew Clingersmith. Responsible for founding and leading the Starland Republic from 2005 to 2013, the micronation was dogged by disinterest among citizens, government corruption, and the renaming of the country on five separate occasions. Afterwords, Clingersmith changed his name to Akihonaomi, coming out as a transgender female, and abandoning Starland on 13 September 2013, the 8th anniversary of its founding.

Akihonaomi almost immediately created a new micronation attempt called the San Dover Queendom, the official successor state to Starland but with a vastly different legal and economic systems. San Dover managed to last until 6 June 2014 until it too was abandoned.

Raoul's origins hark back to 2008, when Clingersmith discovered a large, mostly uninhabited island in the South Pacific called Raoul Island using Google Earth. Clingersmith did consider claiming this island for the Starland Republic, but eventually decided against it. Raoul Island was, however, continuously brought up as a possible relocation for the people of Starland in National Council meetings, but was dismissed on each occasion. It was deemed too far away from Starland's other territorial claims in and around Havelock, NC, United States. San Dover's Council also considered claiming Raoul Island, but the state collapsed before a decision could be made.

Founding of Raoul
Raoul was founded at 16:00 UTC on 23 July 2015 by Akihonaomi, and is considered to be the successor state of both Starland and San Dover. Although the micronation claims Raoul Island, it's current base of operation lies in Havelock, NC, United States. Akihonaomi says this is only temporary, and that the population will be moved to the island in the next 6 to 8 years. During this time Akihonaomi hopes to have at least 50 citizens, an established government (likely a direct democracy, or variation of), an economic and financial base to grow upon, and supplies to settle Raoul Island. The settlement area is designated as the southern part of Raoul Island, in a heavily forested canyon called Sunshine Valley.

Government
Raoul currently has no established government, due to its lacking of a substantial population. A constitutional assembly is set to meet to establish a governmental system once the population hits 25. The assembly will also choose a longer name for Raoul (i.e. Raoul Republic). Raoul does have a flag, and it is based upon the one used since 2007 for both Starland and San Dover, with minor changes. Green, orange and yellow were chosen based on Akihonaomi's favorite colors, while the deep red star in the white circle represents Raoul's Starlandish heritage. Raoul's capital city has been determined to be Sunshine Valley, a steep-sloped valley bordered to the north by the Moumoukai Range, to the west by the Prospect Range, to the south by the Mahoe Range, and to the east by Milne Bay. The area was chosen for it's seclusion and easy access to the sea. It lies at the fork of two unnamed freshwater creeks and is in a heavily forested section of the island.

Economy
Raoul lacks an economic base, due to the fact that settlement of the micronation's claimed lands have yet to be settled. The island does abound in fish, tropical lumber, and volcanic glass, which will likely be harvested to form a small export economy. Akihonaomi stresses the need for the island to be entirely self-sufficient from the outside world, however. Raoul does have a determined currency. Called the Denham ( D ), it is named for Denham Bay, Raoul's Island's largest bay, which is in turn named after Fleetwood Denham, who died in 1854 and is buried on the Bay's shore. The current currency is not in yet in mint, although preliminary designs are being put forward.

Geography
Raoul is located on Raoul Island, a volcanic island located in the South Pacific, and is part of the Kermadec Island chain. Raoul Island is a heavily forested tropical island that is surrounded by dozens of small islets, all of which are claimed by Raoul. The area of Raoul Island and its many islets is 29.38 km2.

Raoul Island is anvil shaped, and is home to five principle mountain ranges and three volcanoes. The highest point on the island is Mt. Moumoukai at 516 m, and overlooks the Raoul Island's central volcanic crater. To crater houses two flooded calderas, called Green Lake and Blue Lake. Both are active volcanoes, the latest eruption occurring from Green Lake on 17 March 2006, which was responsible for one death and the evacuation of all DOC workers from the island. The eruption the area of forest around the caldera, known as Devastation Ridge. The island has about one to two major (7.0 magnitude or higher) earthquakes a year, although can go for a short number of years without one.

The third volcano is Denham Caldera, located on the Eastern side of the island. It is believed to have destroyed over half of Raoul Island around 2200 years ago. The explosion flooded the caldera and in so doing created Denham Bay, the largest bay on the island. The undersea volcano continues to erupt today, although without as much strength. Several of the islets off the Southern and Western coasts were also created by volcanic vents associated with the larger calderas.

Flora and Fauna
The interior of the island is home to a dense forest of Norfolk Pines, Kermadec Pohutukawa and Nikau Palms. The island has no native mammals, although goats, domesticated cats and polynesian rats were brought to the island by Europeans. They caused significant damage to the native plant life and seabird population until their eradication 1986. Raoul Island is home to 10 native bird species, including the national bird of Raoul, the Kermadec Red-Crowned Parakeet. Other birds include the Harriers, Pukekos, Tuis, Terns, Petrels and Boobies. Raoul Island is listed as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.

The waters off Raoul Island support coral reefs and hundreds of fish species, and is home to five of the world's seven sea turtles. Black Gruppers, Drummers and Chocolate Seastars also inhabit the offshore coral reefs.

The island is home to several invasive plant species that New Zealand DOC Workers are in the process of removing.