So, the logic behind my question is: to have a country, you need an army. To have an army you need the kind of money only a country would have... unless you happen to have mercenaries at your disposal.
So, my question is: would it be possible for a nation to be formed in the New Word (or even Africa or Oceania) at the time of the colonization without the support of an existing country?
Would it be recognized by other countries?
Was it ever attempted?
The only kind of similar story I know is the story of Felipe de Brito, that made himself a small kingdom in Asia, but he immediatly needed the support of the King of Portugal and therefore the kingdom became just another colony.
Yes it would be possible. But usually to become a "country" it requires other large and influential nations to recognize you as a nation state. So if no other country claimed the land you wished to build your new nation upon, you could claim it's an independent state. But the realistic outcome during that time period would most likely taken over by another empire who didn't recognize your new nations sovereignty. Most likely you wouldn't be recognized by another empire unless you were of value to said empire. I can't think of any examples of this happening during the colonialism period, but there's a few modern day examples, such as Sealand and Liberland, neither of which are recognized as countries. Hope this blob of texts helps.