Yabaque Republic

Yabaque is a constituent republic of Lucaya Commonwealth.

Yabaque Republic
Acklins and Crooked Islands
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Lucaya Commonwealth
Accession	1930, as part of the Alford Agreement
Area	537 km²
Capital	Spring Point
Languages	English, Bahamian Creole
Population	14,686

The Yabaque Republic is a constituent republic of Vekllei in the Atlantic Ocean, comprising Acklins Island, Crooked Island and the Samana and Plana Cays in the southeastern Lucayan Archipelago. The islands form a crescent around a vast shallow lagoon known as the Bight of Acklins, creating protected waters that have sustained communities for centuries. The landscape is characteristically Lucayan – low limestone islands fringed with white sand beaches and inland salinas that once supported a salt-raking industry.

The republic’s scattered settlements reflect its complicated history. Unlike the plantation economies that dominated other Caribbean islands, Yabaque developed primarily through loyalist settlers fleeing the American Revolution who established cotton plantations that quickly failed in the thin soils. What followed was a period of subsistence farming and fishing that created a distinct local culture of self-sufficiency. The population declined through the 19th and early 20th centuries as young people migrated to Nassau and abroad, leaving behind aging communities and abandoned homesteads.

Commonwealth accession reversed this decline through deliberate settlement policy. The republic became a destination for professional sailors, maritime pilots and flight instructors who established training facilities taking advantage of the protected waters and isolation. The Commonwealth Marine Aviation School maintains its main Caribbean training centre at Spring Point, where candidates for the country’s many flying boats conduct practical pilot training in the Bight.

The Plana Cays, a series of small cays on the eastern edge of the republic, host the ASRE tracking station that monitors spacecraft and satellites passing over the Caribbean. The facility’s isolated location and clear skies make it ideal for optical and radio tracking. A small community of technicians and their families live at the station, connected to the main islands by weekly supply flights. The station also serves as a weather monitoring post, providing hurricane tracking data for the entire Lucaya Commonwealth.

Acklins Island contains most of the population in settlements connected by a coastal road and tramway running along the western shore. Spring Point, the capital, has expanded substantially with dormitories for maritime students, a teaching hospital specialising in diving medicine, and workshops for boat repair and construction. The town of Pinefield further north serves as the republic’s agricultural centre, where village farms grow vegetables in greenhouses that protect crops from salt spray. The eastern coast remains largely uninhabited save for a few fishing camps and the occasional hermit homesteader.

Crooked Island across the harbour maintains its traditional character more strongly. The settlement of Colonel Hill preserves buildings from the loyalist period and serves as a living history site where residents demonstrate traditional boatbuilding and sail-making techniques. Students from across the Commonwealth come for apprenticeships in these dying trades, learning skills that have practical value in maintaining Vekllei’s wooden sailing fleet. The island also hosts a sea turtle monitoring programme operated by the LSRE, tracking nesting patterns and studying threats to marine wildlife.

The republic has become known for producing exceptional seaplane pilots and navigators who serve throughout the Vekllei maritime fleet. Growing up surrounded by treacherous shallow waters and shifting sand banks creates an intuitive understanding of tides, currents and weather that no amount of classroom instruction can replicate. Many Yabaque families have multiple generations serving in maritime and marine aviation roles.

Transport around the republic relies on boats as much as trams. The sheltered Bight allows small craft to cross safely between islands in most weather. A ferry service connects the main settlements, supplemented by mail boats that deliver supplies to isolated homesteads. The republic maintains a small airport at Spring Point with flights to Nassau and other Lucaya republics. A rail line runs along Acklins’ western coast from Spring Point to the northern settlements, primarily carrying students and supplies to the maritime academy.

The population speaks English with a distinct Lucayan accent that differs noticeably from other Lucaya republics. Yabaquans have a reputation for laconic speech and dry humour, perhaps shaped by generations of isolation and maritime hardship. They maintain old Lucayan traditions including rake-and-scrape music and storytelling that preserve memories of the loyalist settlement and subsequent struggles. Community life centres on churches and the maritime academy, with most social events involving both institutions. It is a good place of escape for people at odds with the rapid development of the larger Commownealth islands.

Climate

Subtropical and dry, with less rainfall than northern Lucayan islands. The exposed position and constant trade winds create challenging conditions for agriculture but ideal weather for maritime training.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day 1 Jan
• Spring Carnival
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Whit Monday
• Commonwealth Day 1 May
• Republic Day 10 Jul
• Emancipation Day 1 Aug
• Independence Day 10 Oct
• Christmas Day 25 Dec
• Boxing Day 26 Dec