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One article a day on global people and geography
WeChat public account: Earth Knowledge Bureau
NO.2332 - "Conch Republic"
Author: No Dream
Proofreader: Gu Hanyin / Editor: Guo
Speaking of the independent forces in the United States, many people must think of Texas, the second largest state in the United States full of martial virtues.
Texas is located (landscape)▼
This place in Texas is really a fierce people, and if you don't obey it, you will do it
(Sa, Photo: Flickr) ▼
On the one hand, Texas was historically incorporated into the United States as a "Lone Star Republic", and there is a gene for pursuing independence; On the other hand, Texas has a developed economy, not only ranking second in the United States in GDP, but also a large amount of oil resources, even if it is really separated from the United States, life will not be bad.
However, even if the Texas independence movement has been raging for more than a hundred years, Texas will remain an important part of the American South, and will not be a substantial independence.
The small convertible is open, the wind is blowing, and the little day is good
(Photo: OneMap)▼
And the protagonist of our article today is different, it not only openly raised the banner of "independence", but even arrogantly "declared war" on the US government as a state ...
There is no theft in the Caribbean, only beautiful scenery
As one of the most prestigious tourist destinations in the Northern Hemisphere, the Caribbean has always attracted tourists from all over the world with its beautiful scenery, mild climate, pleasant sandy beaches, and beautiful men and women.
Indeed, this is a hot and spicy area
(Photo: Flickr)
Although the United States is traditionally a continental country located in North America, Florida in the southeast corner of its territory has probed a tentacle to the edge of the Caribbean Sea, and can finally smell a little rum in the air.
Florida is located (landscape)▼
From the map, we can see that these pearl-like islets extend from the Florida peninsula into the sea, with the Gulf of Mexico on the left and the vast Atlantic Ocean on the right, and only a US Highway 1 connecting the mainland neatly strings these islands, like a tassel tied to the Caribbean Sea, magnificent and supple.
With such natural endowments and infrastructure, these small islands in Florida have quickly become the top destinations on many Americans' vacation lists, and the southernmost and farthest city from the mainland, Key West, is one of the best.
The city is located▼
Since the 80s of the 20th century, millions of tourists have flocked here every year to indulge in spending, and even the President of the United States has bowed down in front of such a mesmerizing view, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and many other presidents have chosen to spend their holidays here, and there is an exclusive attraction on the island called the Little White House.
The Key West Branch of the White House is here
(Photo: TripAdvisor & Wiki).
Trump also came to Key West on a business trip (Photo: Flickr).
However, this geographical pattern of being surrounded by the sea and connecting continents has brought Key West a huge amount of tourism revenue, but it has also brought an unexpected problem - a steady stream of stowaways from other countries in the Caribbean and some Latin American countries. The security and drug problems behind the smuggling problem soon followed.
Over the years, Americans have exhausted all kinds of means
It is still not possible to stop this trend (stowaways' shoes)▼
Because U.S. law states that if a person sets foot on U.S. soil, he retains his eligibility to apply for refugee status and remain in the U.S., but if a stowaway is caught at sea by the Coast Guard, he faces only one path to repatriation.
As the southernmost point of U.S. territory, Key West is only 153 kilometers from Cuba and 171 kilometers from Havana, the capital of Cuba. In this way, for those smugglers who are bent on setting foot on American soil, Key West is undoubtedly the best window to change their destiny.
Key West and Havana across the sea▼
For those stowaways, Key West was just a transit point, and their ultimate goal was to take a car to the United States through Route 1 after going ashore, so the lives of Key West people were not greatly affected. But for the U.S. government and the Florida government, these stoways from Cuba, Haiti and other South American countries are a big problem.
Whether by land or sea, head to near the U.S. border first
Then choose the opportunity to smuggle (Photo: Shutterstock) ▼
After all, Miami, Florida's largest city, was and still is at the top of the U.S. crime list, and Americans naturally believe that this must be a problem for Latin immigrants and stowaways.
Driven by this logic, the Florida government took action against Key West, a tourist destination.
The place is small, the scenery is nice, feel it
(Photo: keywest.com & Shutterstock).
Declaring war to pay compensation in seconds, in one go
In March 1982, a long queue of cars formed on Highway 1 from the Florida island chain to the continental United States, blocking the road for tourists returning from Key West and Key West locals driving to do errands. According to the official website of the city of Key West, the queue in traffic jams at the worst time was 17 miles (about 27.35 kilometers) long, and there was no alleviation at all, the only difference was the length of the convoy.
For a time, there was a lot of resentment on the road, and only the Border Patrol members responsible for checking whether the vehicles were hiding stowaways and drugs were calm.
Yes, in order to prevent stowaways without US citizenship from entering the country with drugs, the US federal government instructed the Border Patrol to set up a checkpoint on the side of the road returning to the US mainland, and every vehicle was searched, which led to this protracted traffic jam...
Today, there are still long queues at checkpoints along the U.S. border
Blocking like this is mostly for the purpose of inventory (Photo: Flickr)▼
Obviously, the establishment of checkpoints has not only greatly improved the clearance time, but also harmed the interests of Key West locals and tourists. Not only has it become difficult for locals to get out, but many out-of-town tourists will no longer come here for holidays because of this long customs clearance time, which has greatly hit the tourism industry on which the locals depend for their livelihood.
In the face of this double whammy, Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow chose to come forward, first protesting to the U.S. government in the name of the City Council, and then suing the state government in federal court in Miami, but with no satisfactory results. The U.S. government ignored protests in the small city of Key West, and the judge held that the state government did not need to remove checkpoints on the grounds of opposing illegal immigration and drug control.
In the face of difficulties, how does Dennis break the game? (Photo: Flickr)
In a fit of rage, Dennis returned to Key West angrily, and equally disgruntled city council members and local residents gathered around him, ready to give the U.S. government a big one.
So, on April 23, 1982, witnessed by many journalists, Dennis accompanied by the applause and cheers of the surrounding crowd to the stage in front of the city council, took out a small blue flag outlined with a conch pattern from the shirt pocket on his chest, and declared that Key West officially separated from the United States "independence".
The new country was named the "Conch Republic" after the local specialty conch, and he served as the prime minister of the new country, and then held a flag-raising ceremony.
Dennis announces the establishment of the Conch Republic (Photo: wiki)▼
The flag of the Conch Republic looks like this (Photo: wiki)▼
Since we want to open independence, we must fight a "war of independence." As the "flag" was raised, Dennis took a piece of Cuban bread that had been prepared early and smashed it hard at a uniformed coast guard next to him. Later, in front of reporters, Dennis issued an innocent statement, saying, "In view of the current unfavorable war situation, independence from the federation is obviously impossible, so we have decided to surrender."
And just like that, a minute after the declaration of independence, Dennis, with the "officials" of all levels of the Conch Republic, surrendered to the coast guard who was thrown Cuban bread ...
At the end of the day, it's just performance art
In the popular saying nowadays - the whole work
（图：State Archives of Florida）▼
But while the Conch Republic had surrendered to the U.S. government as a veritable "defeated nation," the surrender came with conditions — the federal government had to pay Key West a billion dollars to compensate the locals for the inconvenience caused to locals during the month of opening the checkpoint.
At this point, I believe that discerning people have seen that whether it is "independence" or "war", it is just a way for Key West people to express their inner dissatisfaction. Compared to it, the calls for independence in Texas look so presentable.
But it's this playful whole job
Unexpected benefits for Key West in the future
(Photo: Flickr)
Ask for money to participate in national defense, the conch is on fire
The checkpoints he set up to rectify illegal immigration and drug problems ended up in an "independent country", and the federal and state governments were a little crying and laughing for a while. But since the name of the Conch Republic has been typed, things always have to be resolved.
After consideration, although the $1 billion in compensation could not be paid to the Key Westers, the federal government finally dismantled the checkpoint and restored smooth passage on Route 1, and the Conch Republic's "resistance" finally paid off.
Hang the flag for the hard-won "victory"
（图：Florida keys news bureau）▼
Seeing the federal government's "withdrawal", the top officials of Key West, including Mayor Dennis, were all excited, and the locals were also energetic, so they made a full set of plays and continued to earn benefits and attention for themselves in the name of the Conch Republic.
In 1994, the Summit of the Americas was held in Miami, the largest city in Florida, and the leaders of the Conch Republic learned about it on television news. We couldn't go to the distant meeting, Miami was on the doorstep of Key West, and the excited conch people decided to try their luck at this high-level meeting.
On such a big occasion, of course, it is necessary to seize the opportunity to publicize a wave
（图：Summit-Americas）▼
Unexpectedly, the application sent by the Conch Republic to the US State Department for the conference was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no response, which of course was also expected by them, but this difficulty alone could not stop the enthusiastic Conch people. After several understandings, the Conch Republic successfully inquired about the hotels where all the delegates were staying and proudly booked the presidential suite of the hotel.
In the lobby of the hotel, Key West proudly set up display panels, proudly introduced the history and founding history of Key West to the representatives of various countries, and promoted their tourism industry by the way, and for those interested in the Conch Republic, Key West generously invited them to the presidential suite he had chartered, and gave each of them a diplomat passport of their country.
To develop tourism, a sense of service must be in place:
The passports are all done, and you still don't come?
(The upper left red book is a diplomat's passport Photo: Florida Archives)▼
After this incident, the Conch Republic can be regarded as a little famous in the circle of American countries.
What's even more outrageous is that the Conch Republic even has three armed forces, navy, land and air, and its navy consists of more than ten sailing ships, and the flagship is called the "Seawolf". In addition, the Conch Republic is publicly issuing peace bonds to the world to build the country's first aircraft carrier, the Dennis Wardlow (yes, the mayor who founded the country).
The "Sea Wolf" is one of the spiritual symbols of the Conch Republic
There are still organizations raising funds to maintain their voyages
(Photo: KWPARTY) ▼
Buy bonds to help build the Dennis Wardlow
You can also get an official certificate of honor▼
On the Army side, an old-fashioned rifle, a Civil War-era 1.5-inch smoothbore gun and a mortar served as the main force. In the sky, the Conch Republic did not explain its detailed military strength, only revealed that it had a number of World War II-era propeller aircraft, and brave pilots were enough to defend the Republic from air invasion.
Anyway, the navy, land and air force are fully equipped, so we can't ask more about it
(Photo: ConchrepublicMilitary Forces)
Supported by such a "huge" military force, the Conch Republic also thwarted an "invasion" from the US military. On September 20, 1995, the 478th Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve held an island-seizing exercise in Key West, but the exercise was conducted without prior notification to Conch Republic officials. Seeing the opportunity coming, the spirit of the drama spirit on the conch person was rekindled again.
In the face of the menacing US troops, the Conch Republic was in strict formation, not only sending an admiral to command the sailing ship "Western Union", attacking enemy ships with water-filled balloons and Cuban bread (in response, the US military returned fire with high-pressure water guns), but also fired at the opponent with the above-mentioned smoothbore cannons (rest assured, only gunpowder was loaded without shells). In the end, two propeller fighters were dispatched and dropped a large amount of toilet paper from the air, successfully completing the bombing mission.
Even with rudimentary weapons, in the face of the mighty American army
The Conch Republic still has the spirit of "nationhood" of resisting to the end
(Photo: FloridaKeys)
Under the repeated attacks of the Conch Republic, the 478th Battalion quickly "lost the battle", not only suspended the exercise, saying that it had no intention of offending the sovereignty of the Conch Republic, but also held a surrender ceremony two days later...
As a magnificent epic victory, the victory of this self-defense counterattack made the locals very excited. Every year on Conch Independence Day, locals pull on U.S. Coast Guard ships to repeat the course of the campaign, which has become a well-known project to promote the development of local tourism.
Once a year, I love to eat and play
(Photo: DestinationFloridakeys)
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 40 years ago, Key West people have made a lot of money under the blessing of the big IP of the Conch Republic, which has not only greatly promoted the local tourism industry, but also sold a large number of peripherals, such as their own passports, sailing models engraved with conch, conch flags, etc.
From t-shirts to mugs, the surrounding souvenirs are quite complete
(Photo: Conchrepublic).
Independence celebration poster for 2023
(Photo: Conchrepublic).
Perhaps, even Dennis, the mayor who instigated the independence of the conch, did not expect that his unintentional move to protest the construction of the checkpoint would later leave an inexhaustible cash cow for the people of Key West.
Resources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_West
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariel_boatlift
4. https://conchrepublic.com
5. http://www.conchrepublicmilitaryforces.com
*The content of this article is provided by the author and does not represent the position of the Earth Knowledge Bureau
Cover: Shutterstock
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