Conch Republic

Conch is part of Commonwealth Lucaya

Conch Republic
Archipelago of Key West
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Lucayan Commonwealth
Capital	Key West
Population	42,039
Area	168 km²
Languages	English, Lucayan
Vekllei Accession	1948, as part of the West Indies Agreement

The Conch Republic (sometimes called Key West or Cayo Hueso) is a constituent republic of Vekllei. It comprises a number of large cays in the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys archipelago, which borders the United States. The republic has the closest neighbouring country of any Vekllei republic, with just a 1.2 kilometre gap between Molasses Cay (Vekllei) and Pigeon Cay (United States/Dallas America). Prior to the American Secession Crisis, the republic had close economic and cultural ties with the US and allowed regular travel between them. Since the crisis and instability in local Floridian government, the border has been closed to tourists and migrants. Its closest neighbour republic is Bahama.

The cays that make up the Conch republic have a colourful history and have changed hands several times. The UK seized the islands in 1763 when it wrested control of Florida from Spain. Because they had a reliable supply of water, the British established a naval station and barracks there. After the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, Spain regained control over a number of its former territories but were unable to reclaim the Conch Cays, which had been rapidly fortified by loyalists during the revolution and were seen as necessary to the defence of the Bahamas. The cays were sometimes referred to as the “Gibraltar of the West Indies,” despite its proximity to the North American continent. American interest in the cays has been persistent since the purchase of Florida, but they remained British until 1948, when the Cays voted to join the West Indies Federation as a member of the British Atlantic Territories. Upon accession of the Federation to Vekllei, the Conch Republic was established as a member of the Lucayan Commonwealth.

The people of the Conch republic, themselves called “Conchs” (pronounced ‘conks’), reflect the cays’ location at the intersection of American, Cuban and Lucayan waters. The islands have a particularly close relationship with the United States, with which relations have waxed and waned throughout its history. One of the strongest symbols of this relationship its the Commonwealth-American railway, a transport link running from the capital of Key West to the Floridian city of Miami, which opened in 1918. Many Conchs have American ancestry, and had strong economic and social ties to American Southern culture.

Many others are descended from Cubans and Lucayans, including the ancestors of European and mixed-race colonists as well as black and Indian populations. They speak mostly English or local creoles with a peculiar accent that hybridises London English and US Southern English. Locals work mostly for the local and Commonwealth governments, which retains a number of military and civic institutions there. These include Naval Air Station Conch, the largest airbase in Lucaya, and the Commonwealth Chamber of International Commerce.

Conch is the primary point of entry for American business in Vekllei, and many of its local companies facilitate trade and investment with the United States. This relationship was disrupted by the American Secession Crisis and the quasi-indepence of Florida under the Dallas coalition, and effectively killed regular commerce between Conch and the US. Now thrust into a new and precarious security situation, the republic is navigating new challenges including Floridian incursions into territorial waters and a looming refugee crisis on its border. Passenger rail service to Miami resumed in 2062, but immigration remains restricted and the easygoing cross-border day trips between Vekllei and the US are unfortunately a thing of the past.

Climate

Hot and wet, alleviated by strong breezes. Tropical storms and cyclones ravage the cays periodically.

Public Holidays:

• New Year’s Day 1 Jan
• Republic Day 2 Mar
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Whit Monday
• Commonwealth Day 1 May
• Culture Day 10 Oct
• Christmas Day 25 Dec
• Boxing Day 26 Dec