 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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| Languages | English, Malay |
| Capital | Home Island |
| King | John Cecil Clunies-Ross |
| Regent | John George Clunies-Ross |
| Population | approx. 500 |
| Area | 14 km2 |
| Currency | Cocos Islands rupee (r) |
The Cocos Islands lie in the Indian Ocean. They are claimed by the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand as the "Cocos (Keeling) Islands" but have functioned as an independent micro-kingdom since 1983. They are not to be confused with the Isla del Coco, also called Cocos Island, in the Pacific Ocean, a Costa Rican island annexed to Colombia in 2001.
The Clunies-Ross family from Shetland established a coconut plantation on the uninhabited islands in 1827. In 1886 Queen Victoria granted them title to the islands in perpetuity, and the family began styling themselves "kings". In 1955 Britain transferred the islands to Australia, though the family still owned the islands and continued to run them as they had before. It was only in 1978 that Australia forced John Clunies-Ross to sell the islands, keeping only Oceania House, the family seat. In 1979, a 7-seat Shire Council was created to govern the territory.
Three Australian cities were hit by Soviet nukes in 1983. For a long, critical period, the Commonwealth neglected its newest territory, and the Clunies-Rosses were able to reassert control. It was only in 1989 that Australia sent an expedition to the Cocos Islands, and it found John and his son firmly in control and uninterested in returning to Australian rule. The family shipping fleet had secured a lucrative contract from the new government of Indonesia, reconnecting the Cocos to the outside world and providing a source of income.
Late in 1992, Australia hit the Sultanate of Aceh with sanctions after its invasion of Indonesian Sumatra. As a minor act of retaliation, Aceh recognized the Cocos' independence and provided a small amount of aid. So far, neither Australia nor its successor the ANZC have gone to the trouble of taking the Cocos militarily, though they have never dropped their claim to them.
In 2003, King John entered a state of near-retirement, handing over most responsibilities to his son John George.
The creation of the League of Nations in 2008 presented the ANZC with a new avenue for retaking the islands. So far, the issue has not yet been brought before the League - since its foundation it has been completely occupied with one crisis after the other. But the ANZC does plan to raise the issue eventually, and there is no question that the League will side with them and authorize force to retake Australia's wayward islands. So unless the kingdom can find a creative way to maintain its independence, its takeover by the ANZC is probably only a matter of time.
Work in progress.
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