Yuma

Yuma is a constituent republic of Lucaya Commonwealth.

Yuma Republic
Island of Long Island
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Lucaya Commonwealth
Accession	2025, as part of the Lucayan Federation
Area	596 km²
Capital	Clarence
Languages	English, Bahamian Creole, Lucayan Taino
Population	17,644

The Republic of Yuma is a constituent republic of Vekllei in the northern Caribbean Sea, just south of Curateo. It is among the most distinctive islands in Lucaya, stretching nearly 130 kilometres from north to south while rarely exceeding 6 kilometres in width.

Yuma is one of the least densely populated Lucayan republics despite its substantial landmass, with just under 18,000 people distributed along the island’s slender length. The population clusters in small coastal settlements connected by a single rail line that runs the island’s spine, creating a ribbon of communities rather than concentrated urban centres. This dispersed settlement pattern reflects both the island’s geography and its substantial Lucayan Taino population, who maintain traditional informal relationships with specific coastal territories and inland caves.

The island was continuously inhabited by Lucayan Taino people for over a millennium before European contact, and their descendants make up nearly 40% of Yuma’s current population. This is among the highest proportions of indigenous people in any Lucayan republic. The Taino presence is visible in settlement names, agricultural practices and the island’s distinctive cave culture. Many communities maintain traditional relationships with specific cave systems, which serve both practical purposes as water sources and cultural functions as ceremonial sites. The island’s name, Yuma, comes from the Taino word for cassava, which grew abundantly in the interior.

Spanish colonisation disrupted but did not destroy the Taino population here as thoroughly as on other islands. The island was disregarded throughout much of the early colonial period and was protected by minor Cassava trade, allowing inland communities to persist. British colonial administration later established cotton plantations along the more accessible northern coasts, but the interior remained largely self-governing. Yuma joined the Commonwealth as part of the Lucayan Federation accession in 2025.

The island’s extreme length presents unique infrastructural challenges that characterise Yuman daily life. A single CommRail line runs north to south, stopping at 14 settlements along its 120-kilometre route. This railway functions as the island’s primary artery, with branch lines extending short distances to coastal villages. Travel from the northern settlement of Seymours to the southern capital of Clarence Town takes nearly three hours, making Yuma one of the few republics where inter-settlement travel requires genuine journey planning rather than casual movement.

This geography has influenced how the commons economy functions in Yuma. Rather than centralised distribution from a automatic warehouses, the island operates through a network of smaller township warehouses spaced along the rail line. Each settlement cluster maintains its own depot stocked by regular freight trains, creating a system of distributed supply that accounts for the impracticality of daily travel to a central market. Fresh fish is caught and consumed locally – in fact, there is not much fresh food imported at all.

Agriculture remains more important in Yuma than in most Lucayan republics. The interior supports cassava, sweet potato and citrus cultivation, while coastal settlements maintain small fishing fleets. Traditional Taino farming techniques, including conuco hillside cultivation, persist alongside mechanised agriculture in the flatter northern sections. The island produces enough staple crops to achieve near self-sufficiency in carbohydrates, unusual among the smaller Lucayan islands that typically import most food through the regional supply network.

The island’s cave systems play an outsized role in both practical infrastructure and cultural life. The extensive limestone caverns store fresh water in underground lenses, tapped by wells serving inland settlements. Several caves feature Taino petroglyphs and remain important ceremonial sites protected by the state. The Cave Research Station (a subsidiary of Lucaya University) conducts archaeological and geological work at the Great Blue Hole – one of the world’s deepest marine caves. Traditional cave ceremonies, including the annual Cohoba ritual, are recognised cultural practices under Commonwealth law.

Yuma’s slender geography means almost every settlement sits within walking distance of both the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts, creating a distinctive maritime culture. Residents typically identify with their specific coastline — windward Atlantic communities have different fishing traditions and boat designs than leeward Caribbean settlements. The republic maintains separate Atlantic and Caribbean fishing offices.

The capital, Clarence, sits roughly two-thirds down the island’s length on a rare widening of the landmass. It houses the Republic Assembly and coordinates services across the scattered settlements, though the distributed geography means most administration occurs at the municipal level. The town’s twin churches — one Catholic, one Anglican — stand on adjacent hilltops, and celebrate their historic rivalry with an annual football match. Clarence is also home to the only hospital and district secondary school.

Settlement architecture varies along the island’s length. Northern communities feature more substantial colonial-era buildings in traditional Bahamian style, while southern settlements retain more vernacular Taino-influenced construction with oval-shaped foundations and palmetto thatch roofs alongside modern structures. The distribution of building styles along the rail line creates a visible gradient of cultural influence from north to south.

Transport infrastructure adapts to the island’s shape through necessity. The rail line includes passing sidings every 15 kilometres to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass, making the schedule a carefully choreographed system of meets and waits. Coastal settlements maintain small harbours for fishing boats and inter-island ferries, though most passenger travel between Lucayan republics departs from the ferry terminals at either end of the island. A small airstrip near Clarence Town handles inter-republic flights, though most air connections route through Nassau.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day 1 Jan
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Whit Monday
• Commonwealth Day 1 May
• Labour Day (First Friday in June)
• Emancipation Day 1 Aug
• Republic Day 10 Jul
• Cohoba Festival 15 Sept
• Discovery Day 12 Oct
• Christmas Day 25 Dec
• Boxing Day 26 Dec