I Founded My Own Country我的王国

by Renato Barros Joyce 译

I Founded My Own Country我的王国

by Renato Barros Joyce 译

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 on1)Funchalharbour.It’s in2)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.

我的父亲不是国王，他是个出租车司机，但我是个王子——庞蒂尼亚公国的王子雷纳托二世。庞蒂尼亚公国是丰沙尔海港的一个岛，位于葡萄牙的马德拉群岛——我长大的地方。1419年，库克船长来到这里，发现了这个地方，这里还保有一些记录他来到此处的画作。

1903年，由于葡萄牙政府没有足够的资金修建海港，所以当时的国王就把这块地卖给了一个专门酿造马德拉酒的英国豪门——布兰迪家。十四年前，这家人决定以25000欧元（19500英镑）的低价出售这块地。这块地对于他们来说没有什么用处。但也没有其他人想买下它。我在一个派对上遇到了布兰迪，他跟我说了关于庞蒂尼亚公国的事情。他问我想不想买下这个岛。我说当然想，但是我没有钱，我只是一个美术老师。

我试着寻找生意伙伴，但他们都认为我疯了，居然想买下一个根本就是块大石头的地方：里面有一个小洞穴，顶上是平地，没有电力和自来水。于是我变卖了一些财产，加上存款买下了这个地方。当然，我的妻子、家人、朋友——他们所有人都觉得我疯了。

Captain Cook 库克船长

詹姆斯·库克，（James Cook，1728年—1779年），人称库克船长（Captain Cook），英国皇家海军军官、航海家、探险家和制图师，他曾经三度奉命出海前往太平洋，带领船员成为首批登陆澳洲东岸和夏威夷群岛的欧洲人，创下首次有欧洲船只环绕新西兰航行的纪录。1779年，库克在第三次探索太平洋期间，与夏威夷岛上的岛民发生打斗，遇害身亡。

库克对航海科学和地理学方面的知识作出了极大的贡献，他对后继者的影响一直持续至20世纪。不过，他的探索成就却也引启了西方国家后来对太平洋地区的殖民化，使当地原住民的生活面貌和方式产生巨大转变，这方面的影响长久以来都是政界和学术界的争论焦点。

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 rocky3)outcropon 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 pacifst, and I don’t need any money.

1 ) Funchal [fʊn'ʃɑːl] n.丰沙尔（北大西洋中东部葡属马德拉群岛首府）

2 ) Madeira [mə'dɪərə] n.马德拉群岛

3 ) outcrop ['aʊtkrɒp] n.露出地面的岩层

葡萄牙的国王在1903年卖出这个岛时，他和所有的官员签下了一份文件，表示卖出岛上所有的“财产及领土主权”。这就意味着我可以用它来做任何事——我可以开一家餐馆，或者一家电影院，但没有人想到会有人想建立一个国家。我就这么干了：我决定它不再只是丰沙尔海港上一块突出的岩石，而是我的岛——大概有一间一居室那般大。

当我买下这个岛后，我去找了马德拉的总督说明情况。我做了自我介绍，解释说我是一名马德拉公民，但现在同时也是他邻国的统治者。他马上要求买下我的岛。当然，我拒绝了。他说除非我把这个岛卖回给葡萄牙，否则他不会给我供电。所以现在，只要我不惹出什么麻烦（比如，向停在那里的轮船收费），他们就不会管我。我有一个太阳能电池板和一台小风车，也许将来我可以利用庞蒂尼亚公国周围的海水发电。我是个和平主义者，我也不需要钱。

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 fag—it could be blue today, red tomorrow.Of course, my power is only absolute here, where I am the true sovereign.

The Portuguese4)gastronomicspeciality is5)bacalhau.But we are running out of6)codin 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 fash.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.

我同时拥有葡萄牙和庞蒂尼亚公国的护照（我的庞蒂尼亚公国的护照号码是0001）。庞蒂尼亚公国有四个公民：我、我妻子、儿子和女儿。我是这个国家的警察、花匠，任何身份。我想当什么就当什么——这是所有人的梦想，不是吗？如果我决定要一首国歌，那我就可以选一首，还能随时换一首。国旗也是——今天它可以是蓝色，明天它可以是红色。当然，我只有在这里才享有绝对的权利，在这里我是真正的君主。

葡萄牙的国菜是马介休。但现在我们海里的鳕鱼都吃光了，我们就从另一个国家购买回来。所以，我的美食，我的国菜是——外卖。

我并不是每天都住在我的国家里，但我经常在那儿。我家人有时会过来，每天都会有其他人过来，因为这里是对游客免费开放的。我从来也不会因为坏天气而关闭这里。有时只有我一个人，在那些我被葡萄牙过大的权力所困扰的日子里。有时，当我感到愉悦飘然时，在我喝了一些酒后，我也会过来这边。

马德拉四面环海，但出于某种原因，我们现在必须得付费才能在海里的游泳区游泳。怎么会这样的呢？但如今我有了自己的岛，这就意味着我可以随时过来这里游泳——就像有人给了我一把通向大海的钥匙。

我们的人生如白驹过隙。我儿子今年27岁，如果我在他这样的年纪，那么我很可能会把这座岛卖掉，然后买一辆法拉利。但我今年56岁了，我只想享受我拥有的一切。庞蒂尼亚是“一个点”的意思。世上所有事物的变化都始于某些很小的事物，这就是我的国家——只是小小的一个点。

4 ) gastronomic [,gæstrəʊ'nɒmɪk] adj.美食的，烹任的

5 ) bacalhau 马介休（葡萄牙传统美食，由一种非常特别的 黑色银鳕鱼腌制而成）

6 ) cod [kɒd] n.鳕鱼