Canary Republic

Canary is a constituent republic of Atlantic Commonwealth.

Canary Republic
Island of Gran Canaria
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Atlantic Commonwealth
Accession	2020, as part of the Canary Delegation
Area	1,560.1 km²
Capital	Palmas
Languages	English, Portuguese, Canarii
Population	1,025,636

The Canary Republic is a constituent republic of Vekllei, occupying the island of Gran Canaria in the Atlantic. It is the second most populous island of the Canary archipelago, and gives the archipelago its name. It is also the most varied in terrain: a traveller crossing from south to north in under an hour passes from desert sand dunes through scrubland and terraced farmland, into pine forest and mountain peaks, before descending to a humid, green north coast. Old Canarii called it “the continent in miniature.”

The Canarii, a Berber people who arrived from the Sahara some 2,000 years ago, had a complex society by the time the Portuguese reached the islands in the 15th Century. Their seigneuries were divided between guanartemes and faycanes, and they kept a rich oral tradition. Portuguese colonisation met considerable resistance, especially in the mountainous interior. The large, muscular Presa Canario dog was bred on the island to hunt rabbits across its volcanic terrain, and gave the islands their name. Palmas’s food and festivals draw on both Canarii and Iberian traditions.

The capital, Palmas, is the largest city in the Atlantic Commonwealth and one of its more cosmopolitan. It sits on the northeast coast around a natural harbour. Traders, migrants and fishermen have crossed the narrow sea between Canary and the West African coast for centuries, and the people of the Commonwealth now make the same crossing, now reflected in Palma’s new residents and cuisine. The Vegueta cathedral district survives largely intact from the colonial period, and the old port handles significant commercial traffic.

At the island’s southern tip, the dunes of Maspalomas push almost to the water’s edge, replenished by wind off a Saharan coast less than 150km away. The dunes are protected, and the Ministry of Landscape keeps tight controls on development nearby.

Canary’s economy is the largest in the Atlantic Commonwealth after Tenerife, and the most industrialised. The port at Palmas handles considerable transshipment between Africa, the Americas and the rest of the Commonwealth. Bananas and tomatoes are the main agricultural exports, alongside rum and cigars. The island also has manufacturers of consumer goods and textiles, and the Commonwealth Oil refinery at Palmas is among the largest in the archipelago.

Climate

The south is hot, arid and receives almost no rain. The interior mountains are cooler and occasionally cold at altitude. The north coast is warm, humid and receives significant winter rainfall.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day 1 Jan
• Epiphany 6 Jan
• Good Friday
• Easter
• Commonwealth Day 1 May
• Canary Day 8 Jun
• Assumption Day 15 Aug
• Canary Republic Day 12 Oct
• All Saints Day 1 Nov
• Feast of Imm. Con. 8 Dec
• Christmas Day 25 Dec