This angler bought a Nova Scotia Island to fish for tuna—and wound up declaring war on the USSR

CONFLICT WITH THE U.S.S.R

Although Outer Bald Tusket Island always remained Canadian territory, several news outlets published the story of Arundel’s tongue-in-cheek declaration of independence. What happened next was the 1950s equivalent of a viral video, with news of the upstart little nation hopping from one publication to the next across Canada, the U.S. and eventually overseas.

In 1952, the story reached a West German newspaper, which reported the small Atlantic nation of Outer Baldonia had declared its independence from Canada. To many, the humor was evident, offering a reprieve from the fear and tension around international relations many felt at the height of the Cold War.

However, the German-language paper also had readers behind the Iron Curtain who were eager to digest news from the west. And it seems they weren’t entirely in on the joke. In some quarters of the Soviet Bloc, in fact, rumblings began to spread of a potential new adversary developing in the West. At the time, the U.S.S.R often seemed to act like the whole world was against it. So, perhaps it wasn’t a stretch for the Russians to think a new nation might issue strongly worded declarations that went against their ideologies, and even threaten to take up arms against them.

As far as the U.S.S.R was concerned, an imperialistic haven was rising on a small island nation in the Atlantic

In another interview, Arundel elaborated on Baldonia’s “trade policy,” stating the nation’s constitutionally protected exports were largely fish and empty rum bottles. Officials in the U.S.S.R. allegedly took objection to this policy (along with tenets of the declaration of independence) on the grounds it was dehumanizing to its citizens. What they didn’t know was that the island’s only residents were seals, birds and a few sheep.

As far as the U.S.S.R was concerned, an imperialistic haven was rising on a small island nation in the Atlantic. Later that same year, Moscow launched an editorial attack on Outer Baldonia, claiming it was a puppet state for Wall Street. “Arundel established this dominion over the island,” thundered the Moscow publication Literaturnaya Gazeta. “He set himself the aim of turning his subjects into savages. He grants his subjects the unrestricted right to tell lies, to be rude. In a word, the right not to adhere to the ethical and moral laws which have been established by civilized mankind.”

Clearly missing the humour, the publication also declared Arundel was nothing but an evil despot, ruling over a lawless island, and encouraging depravity and debauchery amongst his citizens. In January 1953, the local paper where Arundel lived in Virginia, the Fauquier Democrat, ran the front-page headline, “Russians Rise to Defend Poor Islanders from Fauquier Ruler.” That only added more fuel to the fire, and global interest grew about this perplexing new country, which was stealing headlines and punching far, far above its weight in Cold War politics and global influence.

Despite the dangers of provoking an actual international incident, Arundel doubled-down on the joke, and wrote to Russian leaders pretending to be outraged. He demanded Literaturnaya Gazeta publish a retraction and apology, while also threatening to sever ties with the U.S.S.R. As well, he claimed the tuna swimming within the waters of Outer Baldonia were his “coast guard,” and under his domain and protection. As such, he demanded the Russians keep their fishing trawlers out of Baldonia’s waters. After all, he said, every honourable Baldonian knew the only honest way to catch a tuna was with a rod and reel.

At this point, Arundel’s whimsical hoax took on a life of its own. The governments of Canada and the U.S. stepped in to lend support to the fledgling nation, which was being picked on by the communist superpower. With word of potential conflict spreading across the world, offers of aid began to flood in to support Outer Baldonia’s war effort. One of the most substantial military aid packages came in the form of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, which offered Outer Baldonia’s navy the use of all of its boats.

The hoax took on a life of its own when the governments of Canada and the U.S. lent their support to the fledgling “nation,” under threat from a communist superpower

Then matters went even further. One prominent member of the yacht squadron was a Nova Scotian politician, who made an emotional plea in the provincial legislature. He called for unity against their common communist foe, as well as for support and recognition for Outer Baldonia during its time of need. To the surprise of many—and likely Arundel himself—the legislature agreed to recognize the principality, on the condition it continue to pay property taxes to the Treasury of Nova Scotia. Outer Baldonia agreed to the terms.

Both Canadian and American governments then issued official white papers, highlighting and mocking the U.S.S.R for bullying a much smaller (and made-up) country. Apparently not phased by the predicament he found himself in, and not one to miss an opportunity to deliver a punchline, Arundel was quoted as saying, “We never asked the United States to recognize our independence. We haven’t recognized theirs.”

In the end, Arundel never received any formal communications from the Soviets in response to his letters and declarations. According to his grand-niece, Wendy Arundel, the Prince of Princes confidently stated, “And that is how I won the war against Russia.”