Ascension Republic

Ascension is a constituent republic of Antarctic Commonwealth.

Ascension Republic
Island of Ascension
Constituent Republic of Vekllei
Part of the Antarctic Commonwealth
Accession	1836, as part of the British Atlantic Territories
Area	88 km²
Capital	Adara
Languages	English
Population	34,232

The Ascension Republic is a constituent republic in the Atlantic Ocean, and part of Commonwealth Antarctic. Rocky, isolated and arid, Ascension is over 1,000km away from Helena, its closest neighbour.

Ascension is home to around 14,000 people, most of whom work for or are associated with the Vekllei World Astroport and the air service base outside the capital, Adara. Its proximity to the equator and strategic centrality in the Atlantic have encouraged military development of the island republic, including air bases, telecommunications facilities, intelligence systems and satellite tracking. It is also home to a large naval dockyard, and rumoured to be part of the Vekllei air-delivered strategic nuclear arsenal.

Ascension was first settled by the UK in 1815, but remained a military outpost until the late 19th Century during the formation of the British Atlantic Territories. When the British Atlantic Territories became the independent Commonwealth of Oceans in 1935, Ascension became a dependent territory of the new country, and eventually inherited membership as a republic in Vekllei in the postwar period.

Around 90 square km, Ascension is a desert of volcanic lava flows and craters. Green Mountain has most of the island’s vegetation, including small forests and land for growing fruits and vegetables, which are watered by small springs and catchment basins.