Paria

Paria is a constituent republic of Antilles Commonwealth.

Paria Republic
Los Roques Islands
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Antilles Commonwealth
Capital	Bethlehem
Population	4,200
Area	109 km²
Languages	English, Papiamento, Spanish
Vekllei Accession	2022, as part of the Curacao Treaty

The Republic of Paria is a constituent republic in the western Caribbean Sea comprising many islands and archipelagoes that fringe the coast of Venezuala. It is situated east of Bonaireand continues east as scattered islands until the Witness Islands southwest of Cama and west of Kairi.

Paria has a small population clustered in Bethlehem, the only city and capital of the republic. Life there is remarkably similar to other Vekllei towns in the region, and rarely do Parians spend any time in the 60-70 uninhabited islands and cays that can be found in clusters east and west of the Botutuo Archipelago. Many are low-lying, wooded and sandy, but there are also rocky monumental island chains in the east.

The scattered coral atolls and limestone islands that comprise Paria – among Vekllei’s most culturally isolated republics – have always resisted conventional history. The Guaiqueri people, accomplished seafarers who once commanded these waters, treated the archipelago as seasonal waystations rather than permanent settlements, leaving behind conch shell middens. When Spanish explorers charted the surrounding waters in 1529, christening them “Los Roques” with characteristic bluntness, the islands proved too small for sugar, too remote for administration, and too beautiful for serious exploitation – becoming instead a perfect refuge for pirates and pearl divers.

Pearl diving gave Paria its first real economy through the 17th and 18th centuries, though by 1780 most beds were worked by free divers who had simply declared themselves beyond colonial authority. The capital Bethlehem acquired its biblical name from Methodist missionary Josiah Whitmore, who arrived on Christmas Eve 1847 and proclaimed he had found “a new Bethlehem under tropical stars.” This zeal carried on to the first Caribbean Federation in 1910, when the Pariense delegation insisted the new capital be chosen not for convenience but for beauty, declaring that “government should conduct itself where it cannot forget the grace of creation.”

The capital, Bethlehem, is pretty but underdeveloped and has only a few large buildings by the harbour. Life and property is communal on the island, and is disturbed only by the Bethlehem Hospital and the interests of the Littoral Service in the region. Many Parians work at the hospital, which sees many people coming and going from all parts of Vekllei. East of the Botuto islands is a littoral service air station located on Orchilla, which polices Venezualan intrusions into Commonwealth waters and occasional smuggling. Few of Paria’s islands are inhabited permanently, and they inspire many rumours of escaped madmen, pirates, criminals, shipwrecks and hermits that have renounced Commonwealth society.

Modern Paria has perfected what Vekllei federalists call “strategic municipalism,” maintaining local customs that keep development manageable while fostering a society both timeless and contemporary. The republic’s famous “Midnight Parliament” still meets under the stars on occasion, while Bethlehem’s harbourfront cafés host debates between CUWI-trained marine biologists and fourth-generation fishing captains. Visitors find a people friendly but not eager, helpful but not dependent – perhaps the Vekllei Caribbean’s most successful example of cultural resistance wrapped in civilised hospitality.

A tramway exists in the capital, but otherwise the only way to get around is by boat. Fast ferries run between the Botutuo Archipelago and Scallop Island. The airstrip in the capital is popular among private seaplane pilots.

Climate

Warm and dry, with the heat eased by constant trade winds. Rain falls between September and January.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day 1 Jan
• Good Friday 30 Apr
• Commonwealth Day 1 May
• Ascension Day
• Whit Monday
• Assumption Day 15 Aug
• Republic Day 10 Oct
• All Saints Day 1 Nov
• Christmas Day 25 Dec
• Boxing Day 26 Dec