The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day on April 23
Wednesday, 3 April 2013 - 01:07 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika General , Miami / South Florida
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Flag of the Conch Republic © Jmckean/cc-by-3.0
🔊 Listen to this Post
The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a
tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of
Key West ,
Florida from the
United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city since. Since then, the term “Conch Republic” has been expanded to refer to “all of the Florida Keys, or, that geographic apportionment of land that falls within the legally defined boundaries of
Monroe County , northward to ‘Skeeter’s Last Chance Saloon’ in
Florida City ,
Dade County , with Key West as the nation’s capital and all territories north of Key West being referred to as ‘The Northern Territories’.”
While the protest that sparked the creation of the Conch Republic (and others which have occurred since then) have been described by some as “tongue-in-cheek”, they were motivated by frustrations over genuine concerns. The original protest event was motivated by a U.S. Border Patrol roadblock and checkpoint which greatly inconvenienced residents and was detrimental to tourism in the area.
Office of the Secretary of State of the Conch Republic © Karl-Heinz Weis/cc-by-sa-3.0-de
As part of the protest, Mayor Wardlow was proclaimed Prime Minister of the Republic, which immediately declared war against the U.S. (symbolically breaking a loaf of stale
Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a naval uniform), quickly surrendered after one minute (to the man in the uniform), and applied for one billion dollars in foreign aid.
The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day every April 23 as part of a week-long festival of activities involving numerous businesses in Key West. The organization – a “Sovereign State of Mind,” seeking only to bring more “Humor, Warmth and Respect” to a world in sore need of all three according to its Secretary General, Peter Anderson – is a key tourism booster for the area.
Read more on
Conch Republic Military Forces and
Wikipedia Conch Republic .
VIDEO
Recommended posts:
[caption id="attachment_203325" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Doc Searls/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Hunts Point Cooperative Market, a 24/7 wholesale food market located on 60 acres (24 ha) in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, is the largest food distribution center of its kind in the world. Its revenues exceed $2 billion annually.
Located at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which houses the Fulton Fish Market and a produce market, the Hunts Point Coopera...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_165890" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Canyon of Wadi Mujib © YousefTOmar/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Wadi Mujib, known as the biblical River Arnon, is a river in Jordan which enters the Dead Sea c 420 metres (1,380 ft) below sea level. During the last Ice Age the water level of the Dead Sea reached 180 metres (590 ft) below sea level, about 240 metres (790 ft) higher than it is today. It flooded the lower areas of the canyons along its banks, which became bays and begun to accumulate sedime...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_201384" align="aligncenter" width="590"] George Washington Bridge, Hudson River and Hudson Palisades as seen from West 187th Street and Chittenden Avenue© Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Hudson Heights is a residential neighborhood of the Washington Heights area of Upper Manhattan, New York City. Most of the residences are in apartment buildings, many of which are cooperatives, and most were constructed in the 1920s through 1940s. The Art Deco style is prominent, along with Tudor Rev...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_150625" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Vieques - Shoreline at Esperanza © Rar285/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Spanish Virgin Islands, formerly called the Passage Islands and also known as the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands, primarily consisting of the islands of Culebra and Vieques, are part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and are located east of the main island of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican tourist literature uses the name Spanish Virgin Islands, but most general maps and atlases...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_153738" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Băile Tușnad © Aakmaros/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Băile Tușnad is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town and the surrounding area are famous for their spas and mineral waters received from seven springs. Nearby is the Lake Sfânta Ana, a famous volcanic crater lake, the only one of its kind in Romania.
With a population of 1,600, it is the smallest town i...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_160647" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Town Hall © Patrick.charpiat[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Calais is a town and major ferry port in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the metropolitan area at the 1999 census was 125,584. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is on...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_153277" align="aligncenter" width="590"] View of Guardiagrele © Zitumassin[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Guardiagrele is a town and comune in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is in the foothills of the Maiella mountain at an elevation of around 576 metres (1,890 ft). Its population numbers about 10,000. Known throughout Abruzzo for its wrought-iron craft, copper craft and gold-work, Guardiagrele was the home of the great goldsmith and sculptor Nicola da Guardiagrele, wh...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_153936" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Orzysz Lake © JaGr[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland (Polish: Pojezierze Mazurskie; German: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria. It contains more than 2,000 lakes. The district had been elected as one of the 28 finalists of the New7Wonders of Nature. The Lakeland extends roughly 290 km (180 mi) eastwards from the lower Vistula River to the Poland-Lithuani...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_151940" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © yacht-transport.com[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT) is the world's leading yacht logistics company, and offer hassle-free yacht transport & boat transport to the world’s most desirable cruising grounds. DYT serves its customers with a global network of 10 offices and many highly-qualified representatives. The goal is to help make yacht transport as smooth and simple as possible. With its own fleet of three semi-submersible, dedicated y...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_239196" align="aligncenter" width="590"] 1381 Madison Avenue © Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the east and north. Despite its name, it is generally not considered to be a part of Harlem proper, but it is one of the neighborhoods included in Great...
[ read more ]
