The Rain Kingdom (also referred to as the Kingdom of Rain, and the Rain Nation) is an ephemeral political entity established in 2009. The Kingdom claims to be an independent sovereign tribe (or nation), but has never been formally acknowledged by the United States or any other international entity. External commentators generally classify the "kingdom" as a micronation. Its activities are largely limited to the internet. The idea of the kingdom comes from the book, Henderson the Rain King. The kingdom is also based on the historical "rain queens" of the Balobedu tribe of South Africa.