Qumir Canals

The Qumir Canals are a system of Canals in the country of Canespa. They are currently owned and operated by the Canasta Company but used to be completely controlled by the government. They stretch mainly around the two largest rivers in Canespa and the southern portion due to its fertile nature. The canals are less present in the highlands of Northern Canespa and the massive forests that occupy them. While the canals have had many eras the name Qumir has always stuck. The largest portion of the system is in Port Extranjero as it is where most of the canals converge into one massive one.

History

Creation

The first canals constructed in Canespa have been found in and around the Chawpi Valle and other sites around rivers. The earliest canals date back to before the year 100 BCE and are very rudimentary. Being only three meters wide and stretchy not far from the rivers bank. These canals were likely used specifically for smaller canoes and for irrigation in order to farm around the river. Details from roughly translated texts reveals that the king of the proto-tribe that inhabited the era ordered the construction of these small canals. It is roughly theorized that these were not the first canals and the king ordered their construction in order to match neighboring tribes whose canals have been lost to time and the river shifting over the landscape.

The true beginning of the glorious canal system of Canespa began much later in the Kanchi tribe who similarly inhabited the Chawpi Valle of Canespa’s northeastern most area. In the 760s the tribal leader of the Kanchi House known as K’anchay Apamuq instructed the builders of the tribe to expand the local irrigation system to accommodate for the passage of boats to the largest city of the house, Allpapamuy. While neither the city or the regional canals in this area exist anymore it was the start of a new era of transportation in Canespa, one that still continues to this day. After K’anchay Apamuq started building canals the other tribes soon followed as they realized the value of quick and easy transportation outside the boundaries of the rivers. The Papa House soon built canals and after that it was only a matter of time before every house had some sort of canal system. The canals built at this time were roughly 10 meters wide and 2 meters deep with wooden pikes holding the ground on either side from collapsing in. They were built going toward major cities and were extraordinarily efficient when it came to the location they were built in. The locals seemed to know exactly where to build the canals especially by modern standards. The early canals are even studied in Canespian schools around the nation for their ingenious nature. Farms soon popped up around these early canals that stretched kilometers out from the main river. This was the start of a new era for Canespa and it would influence the nation up to today with the pure ingenuity of the canals.

Enlargement

Qumir Canals in Extranjero

The soon to be known as Qumir Canals became a staple of Canespian society and by 1100 every major tribe in the region had canal systems with some even stretching out for almost a hundred kilometers. The next major phase for the canals was in the 15th century. The tribes in the region of Canespa were starting to be introduced to new technology from colonizers. In addition to this the complete unification of Canespa occurred with the Wasi King. Major changes were happening and major updates were needed. In order to bolster the image of the young nation the Wasi King ordered that all canals be expanded by 1 meter in every direction. Along with this came the official announcement that all canal walls would now be built with brick and hardened clay instead of the simple wood pikes that were prone to corrosion and would get washed away. This leads to better, stronger, larger, and simply better looking canals. Whether their mission of bolstering the nation's image occurred or not they certainly helped the economy of the tribal federation flourish. They caused urbanization on a new scale in the region and also caused the expansion of farms into previously un-watered areas. The canals were funded, maintained, and owned by the quickly consolidating Wasi King as they began to control more and more of the nation directly. The canals were the first sign that the Wasi King’s power was immense and would only continue to grow. Before this the Wasi King barely had any authority over the nation and was starting to fail as a unifying figure, even on a religious standpoint. The enlargement period of the canals was a new beginning for the Wasi King, and an opening into the future of Canespa.

Corporate takeover

The canals might have been the first major possession of the Wasi King but they would be one of the first to go. The canals can be seen as a driving force of change in Canespa. They lead to the Wasi King being able to capture the gaze of the people and centralize the state and they lead to the economic modernization of Canespa, a modernization that wouldn’t copy occidentals but instead it took the good from their systems and merged it with the inner culture of Canespa. By 1750 the first companies as they were called began to form. This was made possible by the adoption of food as currency in Canespa with certain paying standards and minimum food wages being made by the Wasi King. To help promote this burgeoning economy the slightly larger business owners who started to transport their products through the dams were given slightly lower passing rates to use the canals. This inspired many canal owners to start building their own canals after they saw the large increase in profits following a minor reduction, it became an arms race for who could build their own canals and reduce their own rates to 0. A few companies would end up winning the race in their respective areas but none could develop a full monopoly. Once new canals had been built up, bigger, better, and deeper than ever before, the companies started to offer to pay the upkeep on the canals for cheaper prices. This would only further develop into the companies outright buying the canals. Soon the original goods produced by the newly found Qumir Companies as they were appropriately named ceased to exist. Realizing the true profit of owning the canals the companies soon switched to a completely canal based income where they, instead of the government, would collect rates on all the goods shipping through.

There was one small problem with the decision to switch completely to canal control. It was soon realized that the currency of Canespa being food was horribly inefficient. The canal companies had no idea what to do with the extra food after they had paid their workers. Additionally what if the product produced by the companies or people using the canals was not food, how would they pay up. Through heavy influence from the Qumir Companies the government was persuaded to create a true currency that the nation could thrive off of. Due to convenience the company of Burgundie was formally adopted due to its highly usable nature and the close to home use that it already had. This was enough to truly let the economy of Canespa thrive. Control of the canals became much easier and much more profitable. This would cause large areas to become completely controlled by certain companies. All of these companies had interconnected deals and connected canals but it soon caused different zones to be set up in Canespian society. There was the Kanchi zone, the Papa zone, and most profitable of all there was the Extranjero zone. The nature of the Extranjero zone was quickly realized to be the most profitable of any. No matter where in the country you produced your food and no matter which manufacturer you took it had to go through the Extranjero zone if you wanted to export it. Due to this nature the Extranjero zone quickly tried to hike prices due to the demand for its area. This was quickly detested by the other Qumir Companies and the subject was taken to an early version of the Canespian court system that followed relatively similar rules and costumes. The following case was heavily influenced by the Wasi King as he believed that the area should not be controlled by any one company due to the highly monopolizable nature of the area. By 1811 the case was settled. The Extranjero zone would mostly be sold to the government for pennies and the some smaller slices of the company that had controlled it were diced out to other Qumir Companies. In exchange the former owners of the company were personally compensated and lived luxurious lives. All previous workers would become government employees if their jobs were still needed in the area and if they weren't they were to be hired by the other companies in exchange for the de-monopolization of the area. The opening up of this area would ensure for a century that Canespa would be one of the best places in the world for business startups. But it only did last a century. The Qumir Companies may have been the biggest thing the nation had seen up to that point but it would in no way prepare them for the monster that was outstretching its long grasping tentacles. The next portion of the Qumir Canals history would be defined by one word. It would all be put in a basket, a Canasta basket.

The Canasta Company

Canasta Company Logo

The Qumir Companies were thriving. Following the recent events in Extranjero the profits of the canals kept flowing. But there was a beast in the water, one that no one could see till it was too late. It was customary in Canespian society that smaller companies start in the Extranjero region and then bloom out after they can thrive in an area without large canal fees. But larger and more agricultural focused companies had to do business with the major canal companies. One of these companies was the Canasta Company. While originally selling baskets the company soon expanded into the booming agriculture industry. The best and cheapest areas for farming were either in the two larger river valleys or the far south of the country. This meant that the Canasta Company would have to go through the other Qumir Companies in order to get to port Extranjero, and for a time that is just what they did. The Canasta Company played the same game as everyone else until they got much bigger. At this point the company’s growth was plateauing due to the canal companies. There was a solution for this though. The Canasta Company was at the time using a mix of all of the companies to transport its food. So the Canasta Company, at the time led by Tȟatȟáŋka Amaru, made a deal with a few of the canals. In exchange for 50% cheaper prices on transportation the Canasta Company promised to use a select few of the canals exclusively. The Qumir Companies also promised to send information on the Canasta Companies competitors. This led to the Qumir Companies making slightly more money than before. In contrast the Canasta Company’s profits exploded and they started to buy out smaller companies whose prices just couldn’t compete with the Canasta Companies. This deal while making the Qumir Companies some money would eventually cause their complete dismantling by the outstretched arms of the Canasta Company. Soon though the deal became public and the public did not like what they saw. The public was outraged and threatened to set fire to the canals and granaries, as they feared a complete monopoly. The deal was canceled publicly and that should have been the end of the Canasta Companies and the Qumir Companies relationship. But it wasn’t. The public was constantly paranoid about a secret deal that must still be going on between the two giants, there was no such deal but the Canasta Company used the fear to take over. Smaller food companies started to sell themselves to the Canasta Company for pennies as they feared that another secret deal would crush their small businesses. This caused the Canasta Company to grow faster than it did when the deal was active. This would lead to an era where there was only one place left to go.

The Canasta Company soon realized what the Qumir Companies realized so long ago, if they could control the canals then they could be unstoppable. The Canasta Company first started building its own canals around important areas. They would then offer much cheaper prices to other companies who wanted to use these canals, the Canasta Companies canals were not profitable because of this but it didn’t matter since they were propped up by the giant’s food industry. The Canasta Company would then end its use of the Qumir Company in the region. This led to the Qumir Company deficiting large amounts of money. The Canasta Company would pressure any remaining companies to stop using the Qumir too. Once this was done the Canasta Company would offer to “save” the company and would buy it out for pennies. Rinse and repeat the Canasta Company soon came to control almost all of the canals outside of the Extranjero zone. With only one zone left to control the Canasta Company sought it out like a hawk seeks out a mouse. It would take another century but by 1921 the Canasta Company soon became big enough to straight up buy out the remaining zone from the government. Small industries took a big hit as the previously free to travel area became monetized. This happened right after the great labor shortage caused by the Canasta Company offering massive discounts on food for its employees. With these two effects compounding the Canasta Company would come to dominate almost every industry in Canespian society. This all tells the same story twice, the companies move out and realize they can profit from the canals. They then came to dominate the canals, but what stopped it from repeating again was the Canasta Companies' will to not give up on the agriculture industry and by dominating both agriculture and the canals the Canasta Company would dominate the country.

Modernization

Following the Canasta Company gaining complete control of the canals and the government by the 80s the entire country faced a new period of modernization. This modernization did not discriminate against the canals. The canals soon modernized too. More canals were built around the country than ever before, they were greatly increased in size too. Along with heavy funding allowing for an increase in size the canals were updated with completely concrete walls and modernized tariff systems. Along with the modernization of the canals themselves, policing around the canals gained a new form too. The Mayu Uywa was soon developed as what was effectively a water tank. Along with the Mayu Uywa vehicles were created to help larger vessels navigate the newly enlarged canals that allowed for much larger ships to be used. The modernization of the canals would lead to them fetching much more uses than previously making their use more necessary than ever in Canespian society.

Modern Uses

Economic transportation

For centuries the Canals have been described as the blood vessels of the Canespian empire. In an economic sense they are. The canals have been used for centuries to transport goods but since the modernization of the canal system they have been pumping out more resources then ever. The canals are often vary crowded but recently this has been being fixed through a new system. The food produces locally is transported through smaller vessels in smaller canals toward larger canals, then again those canals lead into an even bigger canal. This creates a system where there are different classes of vessels in each canal. Eventually leading into one massive canal heading for port Extranjero. Recently the canals have also been pointing out to sea where they are then transported to Extranjero through the ocean. Ultimitly the canals don't use much more then gravity to transport resources around the nation, thus saving millions of dollars worth of fuel costs in an eco-friendly way.