Pax Islandia

The *Pax Islandia* (A mistranslation of "island peace" into Latin) is a four-year span in Bump Island history which is identified as a golden age of cultural prosperity and good fortune. It is generally considered to have started in 1990 with the sucessful thwarting of Monsanto in their attempts to commercialize the Island's naturally pink cotton plants, extending to the end of 1994 with the International Science and Engineering Fair being held on Bump Island, with Bump Islander Flora Nwanyinkwo winning the largest prize.

## Events of the Pax Islandia

### 1990

#### Sucessful campaign against Monsanto

In 1988, Bump Island resident Enid Englemier discovered what would later be known as *gossypium roseum* plants growing in her yard, a pink variation of *gossypium hirsutum* cotton plant. She and her two daughters cultivated the plants and spun their fiber into yarn to create hats, mittens, and scarves for themselves and for other residents of Bump Island.

Widespread attention was drawn to Bump Island's unique pink cotton when early hip hop group Undercover Secret Agents released their self-titled EP in 1990. The CD was accompanied by a booklet of photographs of the group in streetwear looks which incorporated Englemier's knitwear. Like the Ralph Lauren bear, fashion historians consider the pink Englemeier knitwear to be an icon of 1990's hip hop fashion, another example of the creative reappropriation of discordant styles.

The popularity led to demand for the group's accessories. When executives at Monsanto learned of gossypium roseum, they believed the plant would be able to make the production of pink textiles cheaper and faster, as well as allow the company to benefit from the Englemeier pink trend. The company sought to aquire seeds of the crop, selectively breed the plant for a more vibrant color, and obtain exclusive rights to the GMO. The Englemeier family, not interested in a political fight, opposed the Monsanto encroachment because, according to Enid, "...when the Monsanto executives arrived at my home to get the cotton seeds from me, all of my pets either ran in fear or started behaving erratically. They seemed to detect something cosmically untrustworthy about those people." Following the insticts of her pets, Englemeier accepted the legal representation of several anti-monopolgy and anti-corruption law firms who aimed to use her case for a broader attack on Monsanto's practices.

#### Michelin star

In February of 1990, Casa Choque, a Spanish cafe owned by Javi Casado, recieved a Michelin star. This brought international attention to Bump Island and an increase in tourism from France.

Only 100 people visited the Island in the three months prior to the aquisition of the Michelin star. A list with these visitors began to circulate among prominient restaurantaurs in New York, and eventually in other cities around the world. It was suspected that one of these visitors was an anonymous inspector for the Michelin Guide, and in the years that followed, anyone who visitied Bump Island in that time recieved free courses, discounts, and exclusive invitations from restaurants around the world.

### 1991

#### Visit from Fidel Castro

Cuban President Fidel Castro visited Bump Island in 1991 after a visit to the United Nations. Bump Islanders celebrated his visit by providing him a presidential boat, a 1940s target boat like Castro's famed *Granma* which they painted in Bump Island purple.

Castro stayed in The Garden of Eden Hotel. Like his stay in Harlem in 1960, Castro hoped his visit would bring global attention to the negative affects of US hegemony. Speaking to Curtis Lee Carmichael in his limited English, Castro stated, "The people are very warm here. I support your self-governing and your spirit."

During his visit, Castro ate with a large group of Bump Island residents. The meal consisted of his preferred candied yams, along with traditional Bump Island lingonberry jam.

### 1992

#### Premier of John Waters lost film

In 1991, Ramona Bush found film reels in boxes in her attic on Bump Island. The reels were unedited footage from an incomplete short film shot in 1970 by John Waters. Bush, a friend of Waters and brief dreamlander, appeared in the film.

After discovery of the lost tapes, Bush got in contact with Waters, and he spent the next 2 months editing it into *Hag Hotel*. The film focuses on a decrepit hotel in Sacramento (though shot in Baltimore) in which all residents are "ugly hags", and all have seperate plans to kill then-governor Ronald Reagan.

After completing the film, Waters premiered it on Bump Island, expressing his kinship with "all the skanks" who reside there.

### 1993

#### Tower of Babel repaint

See main page: Tower of Babel (Bump Island)

### 1994

#### Science Fair and Nwanyinkwo's win

In May 1994, Bump Island hosted the world's most prestigious student science fair, the International Science and Engineering Fair. The event posed unique challenges and opportunities for students as most of the island has conductive floors which can have an effect on mechanical devices.

Bump Islander Flora Nwanyinkwo, aged 16 at the time, won the $75,000 USD (🎟11,250,000 BIT) scholarship. She created a calculator using a base-20 (vigesimal) number system which is powered through a long rod which can connect to the electrically-conductive ceiling of sky-grid bumper car system. Nwanyinkwo was inspired by the base number system used in her parent's native Igbo language.