years Conch declared independence, only insistedminutes, declare war on the United States
Introduction: When people talk about small countries, they may first think of the religious holy city of the Vatican or the extravagant Monaco. However, it is true that there are many small states in the world that have been created for special significance.
The histories and reasons for the formation of these countries are surprisingly diverse. Today, we will explore the "small country" of southern North America, the Conch Republic. At the same time that the country declared its independence, it immediately declared war on the United States, and only a minute after the declaration of war, the country again declared its membership in the United States of America.
For this reason, many people refer to it as a "short-lived" state that only exists for a minute. Why, then, did the Conch Republic declare war on the United States when it declared independence?What happened then?
And how do the local residents view the establishment of an independent state?
Let's travel back in time to the United States in the 80s of the last century and explore the origins of the Conch Republic. Key West, the southernmost island city in Florida, is the heart of the independent nation.
Although it is picturesque and has a pleasant climate, it is hundreds of kilometers away from Miami, the capital of Florida. Although Key West has a permanent population of 25,000 people, the island's lack of resources means that citizens regularly drive across the bridge to Miami to buy groceries.
The one-way drive time for this sea-crossing bridge is an hour and a half, which makes the islanders have to spare a whole day to make big purchases, and the convenience of life is relatively backward.
However, despite the difficulties in procuring supplies, the island's residents still enjoy the leisure time that comes with Procurement Day. It wasn't until 1982 that Florida** passed a bill that broke the otherwise peaceful pace of life in Key West.
In the 80s of the last century, Florida in the southern part of the United States became the hardest hit area for drug smuggling and illegal smuggling. To address this issue, in 1982, the U.S. federal state required Florida to adopt stricter entry testing.
Florida** immediately introduced the strictest immigration control laws in history, and several border cities, including Miami, have set up immigration checkpoints.
While checkpoints are set up to prevent illegal behavior, each inspection is highly detailed, including vehicle structure, identification and body searches, and takes about 10 minutes per check, causing severe congestion on roads outside of Miami.
For Key West citizens, these checkpoints are a great inconvenience to their daily lives.
Indigenous peoples' troubles: Miami is difficult to procure, and checkpoint congestion takes a long time With the increasing importance of Miami procurement, residents of Key West are beginning to face significant challenges.
Procurement, which used to take only one day, has now become extremely difficult due to the strict management of checkpoints. They often leave in the morning and don't arrive in Miami until the evening, and the journey home takes a whole day, which has a huge impact on their daily lives.
In addition to these, there is not only one checkpoint on the journey from Key West to Miami, and you will need to show proof of U.S. identity every time you cross over. However, the United States does not have a unified hukou and ID system, which makes it difficult for Key West citizens to prove their credentials.
And the standards of the border police are different, today this document can be used, tomorrow that document may not work. This is a great shame for the citizens of Key West, as an American, why does it take so much trouble and effort to enter the cities of their own country?
To make matters worse, Key West's mainstay is tourism, with more than 80 percent of residents working and earning from tourists. Due to congestion on the bridge, residents of the United States have gradually abandoned vacationing to Key West, which has led to a significant decline in local tourism revenues.
For the residents of Key West, they have endured the difficulties of purchasing and the trouble of identification, but they are absolutely unacceptable to not be allowed to make money.
The Key West Council, unhappy with the establishment of the checkpoint, filed a lawsuit in Florida** for its revocation, but the court dismissed the lawsuit because the removal of the checkpoint could cause Key West to become a haven for crime.
Mayor Dennis felt a great responsibility and began to communicate with the state, but never received a satisfactory response. Despite the establishment of checkpoints, the problem of drug smuggling and smuggling persists.
New Copy: Key West's drug problem is getting worse as checkpoints spike in drugs** and more Americans are being poisoned by drugs. At the same time, the problem of illegal immigration is becoming more and more serious, and the problem of illegal immigration has not been effectively resolved.
All this made Dennis angry, and he threatened that Key West would declare independence if no immediate action was taken to address the issues. The state laughed at this, Puerto Rico has been a member of the United States for many years, but it is difficult to join, and it is not easy for Key West to become independent.
Faced with such ridicule, Dennis decided to take action, and he and the rest of the staff began planning an independent event for the City of Key West. After intense preparations, three days later, the islanders received notice that a rally would be held in the central square to announce something important.
Declaration of Independence] On April 22, 1982, the citizens of Key West gathered in the downtown square to express their dissatisfaction with the United States of America**. Mayor Dennis stood in the square**, holding two pieces of parchment, and declared to the citizens: "The voices of the citizens are ignored, and the interests of the citizens are ignored."
We are free and sovereign. Therefore, I announce that with immediate effect the city of Key West will officially be renamed the Conch Republic, and everyone in the square will be a citizen of the new country. ”
With the announcement, a blue national flag was raised on both sides of the road, and the flag was printed with their local conch pattern, symbolizing their independence and sovereignty.
Applause was thunderous, the crowd cheered, and the downtown square was filled with the excitement of a new nation. Mayor Dennis volunteered at this time to become the first Prime Minister of the Conch Republic.
He stood on the stage and read aloud the Declaration of Independence of the Conch Republic, which was similar to the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Immediately afterwards, he announced the appointment of 16 ** staff members, who will serve as various ministers of the state.
At this time, the reporters of the television station were nervously recording this historic moment. The square was full of people and was very noisy. Since Dennis informed the United States in advance that there will be a large rally today, Miami police are constantly coming to maintain order outside the square.
Little did they know, however, that what would happen would surprise them.
Dennis stood on the stage, facing the crowd and waved for everyone to be quiet. He announced something that made his heart beat faster - a declaration of war on the United States! However, this time the response was not as enthusiastic as before, and everyone was confused by the sudden news.
Before anyone could react, Dennis threw an expired baguette at the police and slammed it into the SWAT officer's blast shield. He picked up the microphone and announced in a loud voice: "Now, we are at war with the United States!" ”
Seeing the prime minister taking the lead in the charge, the mood of the people in the square reached a climax again, and some people even copied **, ready to fight with the police. However, just as they were about to rush to the police, Dennis sent someone to stop all the citizens in the square.
Then, he made an important speech: "In view of the disparity in national power, I declare - the unconditional surrender of the Conch Republic to the United States of America!" "The police and journalists in the square were shocked by the news, and they could not believe their ears - less than a minute after the declaration of war on the United States, the prime minister took the lead in surrendering.
What's going on here?
Faced with a curious question from a reporter, Mayor Dennis replied: "The Conch Republic has become a defeated country, and our citizens are prisoners of the United States. Hopefully, the United States** will take care of the needs of life on our island. ”
It turned out that Mayor Dennis's "independent statehood" was a special way of demonstrating that was intended to draw the attention of the United States to the islanders. Although nominally an independent state, the Conch Republic of 25,000 of its citizens were actually American prisoners of war.
At the inauguration ceremony, Mayor Dennis jokingly threw baguettes at the police, believing that this is what it should be like when war is declared, but it should not really hurt the police.
Although this act was originally just a joke, I didn't expect someone to take it seriously, and as a result, the Conch Republic became a defeated country in the United States within a minute of its founding.
Florida television aired a special news item that night, the Conch Republic's declaration of independence, which attracted national attention. This independence event attracted the attention of the Americans, and people began to understand the impact of the establishment of checkpoints on the inhabitants of the island.
After Dennis's skillful operation, Florida** began to pay attention to the needs of the islanders, and a month later, all checkpoints from Miami to Key West were dismantled and traffic returned to normal.
In addition, Florida** has also begun regular deliveries of daily necessities to the island for the convenience of Conch Republic nationals. As a result of the smooth passage of roads, tourism began to recover gradually, and the independence of the Conch Republic was no longer mentioned by the residents.
This independent event has piqued the interest of tourists from all over the United States, who are curious to see Key West for themselves. In this way, tourism on the island not only returned to its previous level, but also became especially popular because of the independent theme of the Conch Republic.
The local tourism industry retains the flag of the Conch Republic and the "Congress Hall" and promotes the country's independent spirit to tourists. Of course, Dennis also reported to the United States**, saying that the Conch Republic is only a "spiritual state" and does not have the functions and attributes of a state.
The independent spirit of the Conch Republic has enriched the cultural industry of local tourism, and various Conch Republic peripheral products such as national flags, keychains, pillows, etc. are often sold out within a few years.
The local population retains the culture of the Conch Republic, life is better than before, and this ending seems to please everyone.
Epilogue] In the process of the city's transition from a conflict between citizens and ** to an independent downtown area, Mayor Dennis has been doing his best to fulfill his duties.
His innovative actions have become an important symbol of the local tourism industry, not only meeting the living needs of the islanders, but also promoting the development of the local tourism industry, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Amazingly, the "spiritual state" of the Conch Republic still exists today. The island even has its own army, navy and air force, with the army using antique Napoleonic smoothbore guns, the navy with six sailing ships, and the air force with three reconnaissance aircraft retired from World War II.
During a U.S. exercise, the U.S. military forgot to inform the islanders in advance that military exercises would be held in the waters near the island, and Mayor Dennis discovered a new business opportunity. When the U.S. military sailed to the port of Key West, the smoothbore guns without ammunition on the shore of Key West sprayed gunpowder, and the sailboat headed towards the water cannons, and three reconnaissance planes in the sky announced to the U.S. Navy: This is the territory of the Conch Republic, and the actions of the U.S. military are illegal invasions, and it is necessary for our ** team to take defensive measures.
After saying that, the reconnaissance plane dropped a roll of toilet paper and pulled out a long white belt ...... in the airOf course, the U.S. military also knew that the citizens were joking with them. After the military exercise, the United States apologized to the residents of the island for not notifying the exercise in advance.
On that day, the islanders witnessed the war between their own soldiers and the United States, and suddenly added a touch of joy.
Although on the official website of the Conch Republic, they call themselves a "spiritual country", but they do not want to annoy the United States**. In fact, as a small border island of the United States, they very much hope to receive more care and attention from the United States.
And the United States** did not interfere too much, acquiescing to the existence of a "spiritual state" like the Conch Republic.