If you watched any of our Hurricane Ian series, you’ll know that this hurricane season hit way too close to home. We’re thrilled to say goodbye to that aspect of 2022, and today in Key West, we’re on our way to a celebration of the end of hurricane season. The Conch Republic Navy even holds a mini ceremony where they burn storm warning flags.
Let’s pause here for a second. Did you just read that and think, “What on earth is the Conch Republic?”
That was pretty much our reaction when we first heard about it, too.
The Conch Republic is the tiny ‘nation’ which formed when Key West jokingly seceded from the U.S. in 1982. The federal border patrol had set up a checkpoint for cars going in and out of Key West, and when the hassle of the whole thing put off tourists from coming, Key West’s mayor asked Congress to remove the checkpoint.
Unfortunately, his application failed, so he came back to Key West and declared the area was seceding from the U.S. ‘War’ was declared, complete with assault by Cuban bread loaf and the infamous “Bloody Battle” against a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. We’re talking a full-on offensive involving marinara sauce, linguini, rotten guavas, and even toilet paper.
Adventure Crews News heads back in time to 1982 and reports live from the field. Sorry, high school history teachers, but history lessons don’t really get much better than this. Check out the video and discover what we discovered: being hit with stale Cuban bread can hurt, and the people of Key West will find any excuse to have a party.
