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Conch Republic
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Conch Republic
Micronation
Flag
Motto: We Seceded Where Others Failed
(also: The Mitigation of World Tension
through the Exercise of Humor)
Under United States Control
Status
Official languages
English
Organizational structure
Republic
• Founding Prime Minister Dennis Wardlow
• Secretary General
Sir Peter Anderson
Establishment
• Declared
April 23, 1982
Area claimed
• Total
Purported currency
15.4 km2
6 sq mi
Conch Dollar
(US Dollar de facto)
The Conch Republic (República de la Concha) 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, Florida, northward to 'Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon' in Florida City,
Dade County, Florida, 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 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 that greatly inconvenienced residents and tourists.
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.
The official stringed instrument of The Conch Republic is the Conchalele. The Rock Lives On
Millionaire Gallery, on Duval Street in Key West, has one on display. Bob MacPhail is the creator of
this instrument.
History
The sign "WELCOME TO THE CONCH REPUBLIC" greeting those arriving at Key West
International Airport.
In 1982, the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock and inspection point on US 1 just north of
the merger of Monroe County Road 905A/Miami-Dade County Road 905A onto US 1 (they are the only
two roads connecting the Florida Keys with the mainland), in front of the Last Chance Saloon just south
of Florida City. Vehicles were stopped and searched for narcotics and illegal immigrants. The Key West
City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience for travelers to and from Key West,
claiming that it hurt the Keys' important tourism industry. Eastern Air Lines, which had a hub at Miami
International Airport, saw a window of opportunity when the roadblocks were established; Eastern was
at the time the only airline to establish jet service to Key West International Airport, counting on
travelers from Key West to Miami preferring to fly rather than to wait for police to search their vehicles.
When the City Council's complaints went unanswered by the U.S. federal government and attempts to
get an injunction against the roadblock failed in court, as a form of protest Mayor Dennis Wardlow and
the Council declared Key West's independence on April 23, 1982. In the eyes of the Council, since the
U.S. federal government had set up the equivalent of a border station as if they were a foreign nation,
they might as well become one. As many of the local citizens were referred to as Conchs, the nation
took the name of the Conch Republic.
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.
Conch Republic officials were invited to the Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994, and Conch
representatives were officially invited to 1995's Florida Jubilee.
The faux secession and the events surrounding it generated great publicity for the Keys' plight — the
roadblock and inspection station were removed soon afterward. It also resulted in the creation of a new
avenue of tourism for the Keys.
Invasions of 1995
On September 20, 1995, it was reported that the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion of the United States Army
Reserve was to conduct a training exercise simulating an invasion of a foreign island. They were to land
on Key West and conduct affairs as if the islanders were foreign. However, no one from the 478th
notified Conch officials of the exercise.
Seeing another chance at publicity, Wardlow and the forces behind the 1982 Conch Republic secession
mobilized the island for a full-scale war (in the Conch Republic, this involved firing water cannons from
fireboats and hitting people with stale Cuban bread), and protested to the Department of Defense for
arranging this exercise without consulting the City of Key West. The leaders of the 478th issued an
apology the next day, saying they "in no way meant to challenge or impugn the sovereignty of the
Conch Republic", and submitted to a surrender ceremony on September 22.[6]
During the U.S. federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996, as a protest, the Republic sent a flotilla
of Conch Navy civilian and fire department boats to Fort Jefferson, located in Dry Tortugas National
Park, to reopen it. The action was dubbed a "full scale invasion" by the Conch Republic. Inspired by
efforts of the Smithsonian Institution to keep its museums open by private donations, local residents had
raised private money to keep the park running (a closed park would damage the tourist-dependent local
economy), but could find no one to accept the money and reopen the park.
When officials attempted to enter the monument, they were cited. When the citation was contested in
court the following year, the resultant case, The United States of America v. Peter Anderson, was
quickly dropped.
The annexation of Seven Mile Bridge
Seven Mile Bridge
In yet another protest on January 13, 2006, Peter Anderson (the defendant in the Dry Tortugas case from
1995–1996) purported to annex the abandoned span of Seven Mile Bridge, which had been replaced by
a parallel span in 1982. The move was in response to a recent event regarding Cuban refugees. On the
previous January 4, fifteen Cuban refugees reached the bridge, but were returned to Cuba by the U.S.
Border Patrol because the U.S. government had declared the bridge a "wet feet" location under the wet
feet, dry feet policy. The rationale was that, since two sections of the span had been removed and it was
no longer connected to land, it was not part of U.S. territory subject to the "dry feet" rule, and thus the
refugees could not stay.
Anderson, seizing upon the U.S.'s apparent disavowal of the abandoned span, claimed it for the
Republic. He expressed hope to use the bridge for affordable, ecologically friendly housing. In response,
Russel Schweiss, spokesman for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, declared "With all due respect to the
Conch Republic, the bridge belongs to all the people of Florida, and we're not currently in negotiations
to sell it." The refugee decision was later overturned, but only after the refugees had been returned to
Cuba.
Recent history
In another protest, beginning in 2008, the northern keys including Key Largo formed a separation of the
Conch Republic known as the Independent Northernmost Territories of the Conch Republic. Proponents
claim this separation is a result of disagreements over the definition and use of the term 'Conch
Republic'.
Souvenir passports and vehicle registration
A Conch Republic flag hanging from a balcony.
Through their website, the Republic issues souvenir passports. These are issued as souvenirs, but some
have evidently bought them in the mistaken belief they are legitimate travel and identity documents.
Shortly after the September 11 attacks, FBI investigators thought that hijacker Mohamed Atta had
possibly purchased a Conch Republic passport from the website. International Country Code stickers
can also be purchased from vendors in Key West, bearing the initials KW and "CR"—the country codes
for Kuwait and Costa Rica, respectively.
Military
The Conch Republic actively maintains an Army, Navy, and Air Force whose primary duties are to help
re-enact the Great Sea Battle of 1982 and the retaking of Fort Jefferson. The Navy comprises no fewer
than 10 civilian boats and the schooner Wolf under the command of Rear Admiral Finbar Gittelman. The
Army consists of the 1st Conch Artillery, garrisoned in Fort Taylor. The Conch Republic Air Force has
more than a dozen appointed aircraft in its fleet. The flagship, a 1942 Waco, was flown by Fred R.
Cabanas, a legendary stunt pilot and Ambassador for the Conch Republic at air shows worldwide. He
flew "Conch Fury" in the 2005 Reno Air Races. Fred was declared General of the Air Force by the
mayor of Key West after intercepting a defecting Cuban MiG-23 with his Pitts Special in 1991.
Following his death in January 2013 Fred was succeeded by his son, Raymond Cabanas.