Congress Hurford

Kingdom of Hurford
Dependency of the Sitkan Empire
Countryside of the Congress Kingdom of Hurford
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Dei sub numine viget (Latin) "Under God's Spirit she Flourishes"
Sovereign state	Sitkan Empire
Established	15 April 2024
Official languages	English
Demonym(s)	Hurforder
Government	Semi-constitutional monarchy
• King	Dustinian I
Area
• Total	0.107 km2 (0.041 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 census	0
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time
Date format	mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1

Congress Hurford, formally known as the Kingdom of Hurford or Congress Kingdom of Hurford, is a semi-autonomous dependent territory of the Sitkan Empire. It is governed as a semi-constitutional monarchy, with Sitka's autocratic emperor also ruling as its king.

Despite being the largest administrative division of the Sitkan Empire, it is claimed as a purely ceremonial territory that is notable for having a permanent population of zero.

Etymology

The name Hurford takes its name from the Hurford Hill Nature Park, a protected land convercancy which the kingdom encompasses. The nearby roadway, Hurford Avenue, most likely contributed to the naming of the nature park upon its incorporation as a land trust in 1996. Upon the establishment of the Sitkan Empire in 2024, a series of intermicronational meetings that became known as the Congress of Comox resulted in Hurford Hill being claimed as a new territory for the fledgling micronation. Congress Hurford henceforth became the de jure name used to describe the land claim within the micronational sphere.

History

Hurford Hill Nature park first came to the attention of a small group of aspiring micronationalists in 2019, who initially claimed the territory as the Vancouver Island Soviet Socialist Republic (VISSR). The VISSR later reestablished itself as the Dominion of Vancouver Island in 2021 and began to focus its territorial aspirations on other regions of Vancouver Island, while direct involvement with Hurford Hill began to dwindle. The dominions claim over the region was mostly abandoned by 2023 and the following year, the Sitkan Empire was founded with physical land claims in the nearby town of Comox. During the Congress of Comox, the Dominion of Vancouver Island granted its permission for Sitka to establish a territorial claim over Hurford due to its attention being focused elsewhere. Due to the fact that Hurford is a protected reserve with no physical settlements being permitted, Sitkan Emperor Dustinian I established a ceremonial claim to the land with limited direct involvement in its day-to-day governance.

Politics and government

Officially, Congress Hurford functions as a puppet state in a personal union with the Sitkan Empire. But in practice, the kingdom is Sitka's most liberal territory and its only territory with any formal limits on the emperors autocratic power. As as land conservancy of the Canadian province of British Columbia, human settlements are prohibited and its borders are open for the public to freely traverse the region as they please. There is no local seat of government or embassy, and the flag of Congress Hurford is only temporarily raised during visits by Sitkan subjects or the emperor himself. Governance of the kingdom is administered from the Imperial Palace in the Sitkan capital of Platova.

Geography and climate

Hurford's geography is comprised of grassland with horseback riding trails, wetlands, and large forests of Sitka spruce. Most notably, it is home to several species of ducks and other wild birds. It has a Mediterranean climate defined by the Köppen classification as having temperate weather year-round. Summers are warm and dry, while winters are mild and wet with the temperatures rarely falling below freezing.