Welcome to the British Arctic Territory
:: Authorised BAT Website

The British Arctic Territory was created on April 1st, 1995 as an April Fool's joke. The hoax, as it was, hoped to achieve several minor goals, but ended up having a much larger impact than ever expected. The initial idea of the hoax was to promote a set of new British flags and ensigns that the Vexillological community could have a bit of fun with. However, the hoax was taken seriously by several readers, and at one point in time, the British government would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the BAT.

Because of the robust success of the hoax, the British Arctic Territory began to gather a substantial cult following.

The BAT literally began to have a life of its own, even if it wasn’t an actual territory.

After a period of time, it was decided by the BAT board of trustees. that good use might be made of the BAT and its established infrastructure. So, on its 10th anniversary as a virtual territory, mock government was established.

The BAT now serves as a virtual platform for use in Social Studies classrooms. Students are appointed as caretakers of the BAT and work within its mock parameters to practice “governance”.

Welcome to Mock Government! Welcome to the British Arctic Territory.