My father wasn’t a king， he was a taxi driver， but I am a prince—Prince Renato II， of the country Pontinha， an island on 1）Funchal harbour. It’s in 2）Madeira， Portugal， where I grew up. It was discovered in 1419； Captain Cook has been here， and there are paintings of his visit.

In 1903， the Portuguese government didn’t have enough money to build a harbour port， so the king sold the land to a wealthy British family， the Blandys， who make Madeira wine. Fourteen years ago the family decided to sell it for just €25，000 （￡19，500）. It was of no use to them. But nobody else wanted to buy it either. I met Blandy at a party， and he told me about Pontinha. He asked if I’d like to buy the island. Of course I said yes， but I have no money—I am just an art teacher.

I tried to find some business partners， but they all thought I was crazy to want to buy what is essentially a large rock： it has a small cave， a platform on top， and no electricity or running water. So I sold some of my possessions， put my savings together and bought it. Of course， my wife， my family， my friends—they all thought I was mad.

When the King of Portugal originally sold the island in 1903， he and all the governors signed a document， selling all the “possessions and the dominions” of the island. It means I can do what I want with it—I could start a restaurant， or a cinema， but nobody thought that someone would want to start a country. So that’s what I did： I decided that this would no longer be just a rocky 3）outcrop on the port of Funchal， it would be my island， about the size of a one-bedroom house.

When I bought it， I went to speak to the governor of Madeira. I introduced myself and explained that I was a Madeiran citizen and was also now the ruler of his neighbour state. He immediately asked to buy my island. Of course， I said no. He said that unless I sold it back to the state， he wouldn’t let me connect to any electricity. So now， as long as I don’t cause any trouble （for instance， trying to charge cruise ships that dock here） they will leave me alone. I have a solar panel and a small windmill， and maybe in the future I’ll be able to generate power from the ocean around Pontinha. I am a pacifist， and I don’t need any money.

I have both a Portuguese passport and a passport for Pontinha （where my passport number is 0001）. There are four citizens： me， my wife， my son and my daughter. I am the police， the gardener， everything. I am whatever I want to be—that’s the dream， isn’t it？ If I decide I want to have a national song， I can choose it， and I can change it any time. The same with my flag—it could be blue today， red tomorrow. Of course， my power is only absolute here， where I am the true sovereign.

The Portuguese 4）gastronomic speciality is 5）bacalhau. But we are running out of 6）cod in our oceans now， and we buy it from another country. So my gastronomy， my country’s speciality， is takeaway.

I don’t live in my country full time， but I am there quite often. My family sometimes drops by， and other people come every day because the country is free for tourists to visit； I never close for bad weather. Sometimes I am alone， on the days I feel more troubled by the excessive power of the Portuguese state. Sometimes I come here when I’m feeling lively， after a few drinks.

Madeira is surrounded by water， but for some reason we all have to pay to swim in the ocean now， at the swimming spots. How did that happen？ Still， I have my island， which means I can go swimming whenever I want—it’s as if someone has given me the key to the waters.

Our lives are gone in a flash. My son is 27 and if I were his age， I would probably sell the island and buy a Ferrari. But I am 56 years old， and I want to enjoy everything I have. Pontinha means “a point”. All change in the world begins with something very small， and this is my country—just a little point.

我的父親不是國(guó)王，他是個(gè)出租車司機(jī)，但我是個(gè)王子——龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)的王子雷納托二世。龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)是豐沙爾海港的一個(gè)島，位于葡萄牙的馬德拉群島——我長(zhǎng)大的地方。1419年，庫(kù)克船長(zhǎng)來(lái)到這里，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)地方，這里還保有一些記錄他來(lái)到此處的畫作。

1903年，由于葡萄牙政府沒(méi)有足夠的資金修建海港，所以當(dāng)時(shí)的國(guó)王就把這塊地賣給了一個(gè)專門釀造馬德拉酒的英國(guó)豪門——布蘭迪家。十四年前，這家人決定以25000歐元（19500英鎊）的低價(jià)出售這塊地。這塊地對(duì)于他們來(lái)說(shuō)沒(méi)有什么用處。但也沒(méi)有其他人想買下它。我在一個(gè)派對(duì)上遇到了布蘭迪，他跟我說(shuō)了關(guān)于龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)的事情。他問(wèn)我想不想買下這個(gè)島。我說(shuō)當(dāng)然想，但是我沒(méi)有錢，我只是一個(gè)美術(shù)老師。

我試著尋找生意伙伴，但他們都認(rèn)為我瘋了，居然想買下一個(gè)根本就是塊大石頭的地方：里面有一個(gè)小洞穴，頂上是平地，沒(méi)有電力和自來(lái)水。于是我變賣了一些財(cái)產(chǎn)，加上存款買下了這個(gè)地方。當(dāng)然，我的妻子、家人、朋友——他們所有人都覺(jué)得我瘋了。

葡萄牙的國(guó)王在1903年賣出這個(gè)島時(shí)，他和所有的官員簽下了一份文件，表示賣出島上所有的“財(cái)產(chǎn)及領(lǐng)土主權(quán)”。這就意味著我可以用它來(lái)做任何事——我可以開(kāi)一家餐館，或者一家電影院，但沒(méi)有人想到會(huì)有人想建立一個(gè)國(guó)家。我就這么干了：我決定它不再只是豐沙爾海港上一塊突出的巖石，而是我的島——大概有一間一居室那般大。

當(dāng)我買下這個(gè)島后，我去找了馬德拉的總督說(shuō)明情況。我做了自我介紹，解釋說(shuō)我是一名馬德拉公民，但現(xiàn)在同時(shí)也是他鄰國(guó)的統(tǒng)治者。他馬上要求買下我的島。當(dāng)然，我拒絕了。他說(shuō)除非我把這個(gè)島賣回給葡萄牙，否則他不會(huì)給我供電。所以現(xiàn)在，只要我不惹出什么麻煩（比如，向停在那里的輪船收費(fèi)），他們就不會(huì)管我。我有一個(gè)太陽(yáng)能電池板和一臺(tái)小風(fēng)車，也許將來(lái)我可以利用龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)周圍的海水發(fā)電。我是個(gè)和平主義者，我也不需要錢。

我同時(shí)擁有葡萄牙和龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)的護(hù)照（我的龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)的護(hù)照號(hào)碼是0001）。龐蒂尼亞公國(guó)有四個(gè)公民：我、我妻子、兒子和女兒。我是這個(gè)國(guó)家的警察、花匠，任何身份。我想當(dāng)什么就當(dāng)什么——這是所有人的夢(mèng)想，不是嗎？如果我決定要一首國(guó)歌，那我就可以選一首，還能隨時(shí)換一首。國(guó)旗也是——今天它可以是藍(lán)色，明天它可以是紅色。當(dāng)然，我只有在這里才享有絕對(duì)的權(quán)利，在這里我是真正的君主。

葡萄牙的國(guó)菜是馬介休。但現(xiàn)在我們海里的鱈魚都吃光了，我們就從另一個(gè)國(guó)家購(gòu)買回來(lái)。所以，我的美食，我的國(guó)菜是——外賣。

我并不是每天都住在我的國(guó)家里，但我經(jīng)常在那兒。我家人有時(shí)會(huì)過(guò)來(lái)，每天都會(huì)有其他人過(guò)來(lái)，因?yàn)檫@里是對(duì)游客免費(fèi)開(kāi)放的。我從來(lái)也不會(huì)因?yàn)閴奶鞖舛P(guān)閉這里。有時(shí)只有我一個(gè)人，在那些我被葡萄牙過(guò)大的權(quán)力所困擾的日子里。有時(shí)，當(dāng)我感到愉悅飄然時(shí)，在我喝了一些酒后，我也會(huì)過(guò)來(lái)這邊。

馬德拉四面環(huán)海，但出于某種原因，我們現(xiàn)在必須得付費(fèi)才能在海里的游泳區(qū)游泳。怎么會(huì)這樣的呢？但如今我有了自己的島，這就意味著我可以隨時(shí)過(guò)來(lái)這里游泳——就像有人給了我一把通向大海的鑰匙。

我們的人生如白駒過(guò)隙。我兒子今年27歲，如果我在他這樣的年紀(jì)，那么我很可能會(huì)把這座島賣掉，然后買一輛法拉利。但我今年56歲了，我只想享受我擁有的一切。龐蒂尼亞是“一個(gè)點(diǎn)”的意思。世上所有事物的變化都始于某些很小的事物，這就是我的國(guó)家——只是小小的一個(gè)點(diǎn)。

Captain Cook 庫(kù)克船長(zhǎng)

詹姆斯·庫(kù)克，（James Cook，1728年—1779年），人稱庫(kù)克船長(zhǎng)（Captain Cook），英國(guó)皇家海軍軍官、航海家、探險(xiǎn)家和制圖師，他曾經(jīng)三度奉命出海前往太平洋，帶領(lǐng)船員成為首批登陸澳洲東岸和夏威夷群島的歐洲人，創(chuàng)下首次有歐洲船只環(huán)繞新西蘭航行的紀(jì)錄。1779年，庫(kù)克在第三次探索太平洋期間，與夏威夷島上的島民發(fā)生打斗，遇害身亡。

庫(kù)克對(duì)航?？茖W(xué)和地理學(xué)方面的知識(shí)作出了極大的貢獻(xiàn)，他對(duì)后繼者的影響一直持續(xù)至20世紀(jì)。不過(guò)，他的探索成就卻也引啟了西方國(guó)家后來(lái)對(duì)太平洋地區(qū)的殖民化，使當(dāng)?shù)卦∶竦纳蠲婷埠头绞疆a(chǎn)生巨大轉(zhuǎn)變，這方面的影響長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)都是政界和學(xué)術(shù)界的爭(zhēng)論焦點(diǎn)。