[[File:Cape father of the nation.png|thumb|330px|The grandiose [[Mausoleum of the National Father]], where Kalma’s remains are interred.]]
|name = Grand Vandarch Canal
'''Melvyn Kalma’s cult of personality''' was and is still a major element of the politics of the [[the Cape|Federacy of the Cape]]. Although initiated by himself during the final years of his rule to cement his legacy as the first [[Chief of the Republic]] and [[Prime Executive]] of the Cape and the legacy of his [[Restarkism|reforms]], it was continued and popularized extensively by members of his own [[Republican Nationalist Party]] and the regime of the [[National Reclamation Government]]. It has been described as the “world’s longest-running {{wp|personality cult}}”.
|image = St lawrence seaway.jpeg
|image_size = 200
|image_caption = La corsette della sirene (Eng. The Mermaid's corset) the narrowest part of the Grand Vandarch Canal
|former_names =
|modern_name = Ereglasian Canal<br>Kilikas-Vandarch Canal<br>KilVan Canal<br>The Northwest Passage<br>The New Gate
|coordinates =
|engineer =
|other_engineer =
|date_act =
|date_began = [[1959]]
|date_use =
|date_completed = [[1975]]
|date_extended =
|date_closed =
|creator =
|date_restored =
|len =
|len_in =
|original_boat_length =
|original_boat_length_in =
|len_note =
|beam_m = 77.5
|original_beam =
|original_beam_in =
|beam_note =
|start_point = Panormus Levantius
|original_start =
|start_note =
|end_point = Vandmouth Port
|original_end =
|end_note =
|branch =
|branch_of =
|connects_to =
|locks = None
|original_num_locks =
|lock_note =
|length_km = 225
|original_length_km =
|elev =
|elev_note =
|status = Operational
|navigation_authority = [[Yonderre]]
|max_boat_draft = {{cvt|20.1|m}}
}}
The Grand Vandarch Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in the Internalion Canal Zone in southwestern [[Faneria]], connecting the [[Kilikas Sea]] to the [[Vandarch]] through the Ereglasian Isthmus. In [[1959]], the canal and its route were narrowly approved by a [[League of Nations]] resolution. Construction of the canal lasted from [[1959]] to [[1975]] and took place under the regional authority of [[Yonderre]]. The canal officially opened on 17 November [[1975]]. Its length is 225 km (140 mi) including its northern and southern access-channels. In [[2020]], more than 18,500 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 51.5 per day).
==Overview==
Melvyn Kalma led the [[National Revolutionary Army]] in the [[Capetian War of Independence]] in the final years of the 19th century, defeating both [[Kiravia]] and [[Cartadania|Cartadanian]] [[Natalia]] to achieve Capetian independence by 1901.
Under his leadership as both first {{wp|head of state}} and {{wp|head of government}}, the modern Capetian republic, the Federacy of the Cape, was declared.
==History==
Under his leadership as [[Prime Executive]], Kalma embarked on a variety of reforms, {{wp|Westernization|Occidentalizing}} the Cape, and laying the groundwork for [[Cape nationalism]] and the birth of a coherent national identity from the three ethnicities that composed the country. To these ends, Kalma {{wp|secularism|secularized}} the state, enacted a Western code of fundamental rights, instituted industrializing reforms, and promoted [[Cape Coscivian]] - a form of mutually intelligible creole popular in the southern Cape Peninsula - into a national language. Doing so, he is credited by many Capetians today for transforming the Cape into a modern {{wp|nation state}} governed as a {{wp|constitutional republic}}.
From the [[Carolina Grand Canal]]'s opening in [[1880]] until the Grand Vandarch Canal's opening in [[1975]], the nations along the [[Carolina Grand Canal]] enjoyed a monopoly on maritime shipping to the landlocked countries, and major port cities of the Vandarch. Because it was controlled by and run through the [[Holy Levantine Empire]]'s countries of [[Urcea]], Kronenia, and Hollona and Diorisia it gave the [[Holy Levantine Empire|Empire]], and [[Urcea]] specifically, a disproportionate level of economic power in that region. The beginning of the Grand Vandarch Canal followed the formal dissolution of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]], the end of the [[Second Great War]], and by extension the reduction of southern [[Levantia]]'s crushing hold on much of the continent. At the time it was celebrated by all northern [[Levantia|Levantine]] nations as a demonstration of modern, self-determinist northern [[Levantia]]. In southern [[Levantia]] it was met with a much cooler reception; nations along the [[Carolina Grand Canal]] were obviously not pleased to have their monopoly broken and the loss of considerable revenues in the form of passage fees and taxes. While it was loudly protested in [[Urcea]] for this reason, the economic loses would be stymying in Kronenia, and Hollona and Diorisia, who had faired far worse in the [[Second Great War]] and whose economies were not big enough to absorb the blow like [[Urcea]]'s.
A northern Vandarch Canal had been considered as an option since before the Grand Carolina's construction. The ideal location contained parts of [[Gleathan]] in [[Faneria]]. It was an underdeveloped border region within Faneria, but more importantly it spanned the narrowest part of the isthmus on the northern bank of the Vandarch.
Following his death he was honoured with a variety of titles by the Supreme National Assembly, including “the {{wp|Father of the Nation}}”, “{{wp|Pater Patriae|Father of the Fatherland}}”, “the Marshal”, and “the Great Teacher”. He is known simply in Capetian vernacular as ''Prezident'' - “the President”, held in contrast to the term ''Restarkima'', the modern term for the Capetian [[Chief of the Republic|presidency]]. He still holds the eternal chairmanship of his [[Republican Nationalist Party]].
The ground of the modern Grand Vandarch Canal was first broken by the [[North Levantine Architects' Guild]] on behalf of the [[Faneria|Fhainnin]] government in a bid to allow warships from the Vandarch Fleet to reinforce its Kilikas and Nordska fleets, with a project being initiated in 1929 and preparations being made in 1934. Initial surveys and redesigns saw partial work performed on laying out the path of the canal and building infrastructure, but in the waning years of the [[Second Great War]] the focus of the project shifted from attempting to complete the project with haste to a longer-term civilian role as an inability to dedicate enough wartime labor before the perceived end of the conflict was compounded by a growing fear of uprisings at the conclusion of the war if soldiers came home to high unemployment rates. Many countries looked to such titanic infrastructure projects as a way to, at least temporarily, give thousands of jobs to the returning service men, and at the conclusion of the war, and following the inconclusive end of the [[Second Great War]] the newly formed [[League of Nations]] sought proposals for peacetime efforts to bond nations together.
==Characteristics==
Kalma’s legacy remains arguably the central element of Capetian politics into the 21st century. Almost every Capetian city has streets named after him, a memorial in his honour, with statues and portraits found in city squares, classrooms, public offices, and Capetian embassies abroad. A large {{wp|mausoleum}} in his honour, the [[Mausoleum of the National Father]], sits above Cape Town, and the city of [[Kalmasar]], home to a majority of the Federacy’s ministries and its bureaucracy, bears his name.
In [[1958]] Faneria's initial canal design was adopted and altered by the Committee for Global Prosperity and Improvement, an ad hoc committee that had been established to select projects in the immediate post-war period. It was put to a vote in the [[League of Nations General Assembly]] on the final agenda before the winter recess and passed by a narrow majority. There was some minor resistance from [[Urcea]] and the delegation from the [[Deric States]]. They had expected support from their close allies in [[Burgundie]], hoping to vote as a newly formed [[Levantine Union]] bloc. [[Burgundie]] saw this as an opportunity to extend good will to northern [[Levantia|Levantine]] countries with whom they sought trade deals. Seen as a another example of [[Burgundie]] putting commerce ahead of a southern [[Levantia|Levantine solidarity]] it strained the [[Levantine Union]] almost to the breaking point. [[Caphiria]] and its allies voted in favor of the resolution to reduce [[Urcea]]'s power in northern [[Levantia]]. The [[Vandarch Sea|Vandarch-locked]] countries and [[Faneria]] voted in favor of the resolution to celebrate their new agency and for economic gains. [[Kiravia]] voted in favor of the resolution to gain direct access to the heart of the [[Levantia|Levantine]] economy. The remaining of the members of the [[LoN]] voted in in about a 50/50 split, leaving the yays to take the day.
===In society===
Although his cult of personality has been compared to that of [[Linge Chen]] in 21st century [[Corumm]], Kalma’s cult differs as it was largely constructed after his death and in honour of his progressive and democratic reforms. He remains immensely popular in the Capetian consciousness, with every government and military coup following his death invoking his memory and contributing to the cult.
The construction contract was eventually given to [[Ladvner Construction]] who subcontracted much of the work out to the [[O'Shea Corporation]]. Ladvner would oversee strategic control, materials ordering, and hiring. O'Shea would conduct the day to day construction, receiving, and would be retained as the operations administration for 10 years after the completion of the canal, training the next generation of administrators. The canal was projected to hire, employ, house, and feed 15,000 workers and their families over the span of 10 years. Smaller, local construction companies from [[Faneria]] were hired to build worker housing and commissaries along the canal route and the rail lines of both countries were contracted to extend to the canal zone to expedite worker travel and the shipment of materials.
Kiravian journalist V. X. Xoman remarked that:
This grand vision was almost immediately halted when in [[1962]] after only three months of preliminary construction, funding became an issue. Member states who had pledged funding to the Committee for Global Prosperity and Improvement's projects balked when the time came due to actually pay. The international effort ground to a halt despite local housing and rail line construction continuing. [[Caphiria]] and its allies cooled to the idea of keeping its their commitment of 1.5 billion [[Aureus]]es as the [[Occidental Cold War]] grew into a larger part of its approach to post-war [[Levantia]]. [[Burgundie]], who had committed to paying 700 million [[Taler|Talers]] over the duration of the project, found itself embroiled to stop a pro-communist coup in [[Kandara]] that would eventually expand to the massive [[Operation Kipling]]. It reduced its commitment to 500 million [[Taler|Talers]] over 30 years, regardless of when the project was completed, which reduced investor confidence in the success of the project. For much of the mid 60s the project stagnated, directly coinciding with the worst of the [[Lean Years]].
{{quote|quote=Thanks to him, every Capetian lives in a society that would have not existed without his effort. The legacy of his influence bears heavily on the nation. Sure, images of his face may appear in almost all official contexts from the headers of high-school exam papers to the largest banknotes - but they also appear spontaneously as fresheners hanging from car mirrors, in posters that adorn supermarkets, and in portraits that appear everywhere from private homes to the chicest of Cape Town cafes. }}
While the Southern [[Levantia|Levantine]] nations continued to focus on their existing rivals as if the [[Second Great War]] had never ended, for the countries of Northern [[Levantia]] they found that without the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] their were boundless new economic and political opportunities in [[Levantia]] and abroad for them to explore. The nations of [[Eldmora-Regulus]], [[Faneria]], [[Fiannria]], [[Hendalarsk]] and [[Yonderre]] found this a time of optimism and economic growth. By [[1967]] many of these nations had made commitments of their own that almost filled the gaps left by the [[Sarpedon]]ians and [[Burgundie|Burgoignesc]] backing out or reducing payments. In [[1969]] enough funding had been secured to resume full schedule construction. The pause, while costly and a waste of time, had however allowed technology to catch up the scale of the task. What was projected to take 8 years took only 6. Massive crews of men in mechanical diggers and boring machines carved through the isthmus at an incredible rate. The progress of the canal is considered on of the first satellite time lapse sequences to be completed, taken by [[Caphiria|Caphirian]] spy satellites and declassified in [[2018]] after the conclusion of the [[Occidental Cold War]].
===In politics===
[[File:Ataturk Airport Karakas-1.jpg|thumb|250px|An aerial view of [[Cape Town]]’s [[Melvyn Kalma Airport]].]]
Kalma’s legacy has been invoked by every government since his death. Similar to the cult of the [[Marble Emperor]] in [[Kiravia]], Kalma’s name is used to lend legitimacy to state actions and ideologies that he, as a deceased person, could not possibly agree to. For example, his name was used by both the Communist insurgency of the 1990s and the government that opposed it; the former appealing to his ideations of worker-liberation and the latter appealing to his ideas of nationalism and unity.
In total, over the course of the 15 years of construction, the project cost 8.7 billion Talers, employed 640,034 people, and is estimated to have fed and housed 1.5 million workers, families, and persons who provided on-site goods and services. Financially, it was, like most other grand infrastructure projects, poorly managed, inefficiently run, and wasteful. However, it is touted as a massive human success. Service men and women coming back from the far flung battle fields of the [[Second Great War]] and were given stable employment, a roof over their head, and three square meals a day for the duration of the time they worked or lived in the canal zone.
Constitutional amendments proposed in the Supreme National Assembly begin with “in the honour of great Kalma”, and the phrase “as decreed by the National Father” is used before the delivery of the {{wp|Miranda warning|Miranda rights}}.
==Incidents of Note==
Appeals to his authority (known colloquially as appeals to Kalma) are common in Capetian politics. In instrumental terms, his name has been used successively by military leaders to overthrow elected governments. In ceremonial terms, every military coup concludes with an address to Kalma, and addresses opening a new convocation of the [[National Stanera]] are delivered at his Mausoleum and occasionally addressed to him.
===Canal Born Children===
The question of citizenship for children born to parents living in the international canal zone, Enfants nes della canal (ENdCs) (Eng: Canal Born Children (CBCs)) became a major issue for workers. For children with parents from the same nation with {{wpl|Jus sanguinis}} citizenship, the question was moot. But for parents of different nations or from nations with {{wpl|Jus soli}} laws the question was of major concern. In [[1970]] an Office of Canal Borne Children for Repatriation was formed as part of the International Red Cross and International Red Crescent. Volunteers were sent to the Canal to help parents work through citizenship laws and determine where they could go with their children when the work was complete. For the majority if the workers there was time to sort through the myriad hoops and red tape but for families of workers who were fired, invalided, or killed, the situation was more dire. A refugee camp developed nearer to the end of the project as tens of thousands of people realized they had nowhere to go. This lead to what has been coined the Vandarch Diaspora. The term refers to the children born in the canal zone between [[1959]]-[[1975]] and their descendants who often live in countries whose cultures and identities are not their own. This also coincided with the development of multinational unions with more restrictive collective immigration laws, worsening the issue.
===2015 Faucilh Sageta Obstruction===
===Kalma law===
In the summer of [[2015]] the [[Bulkh]]an flagged vessel {{wpl|Golden-class container ship|Faucilh Sageta}} (Eng. Rapid Arrow), operated by Sempre Lines LLC, a subsidiary of the [[Burgundian North Levantine Trading Company]], grounded in the Grand Vandarch Canal. The 400 m (1,312 ft 4 in) container ship was the first of its class and the largest ever to pass through the canal system. The grounding took place in the La corsette della sirene (Eng. The Mermaid's corset) portion of the canal, known to be the narrowest part of the waterway. A notable high cross wind was observed by the Canal Authorities during the time of the grounding. The {{wpl|Golden-class container ship|Rapid Arrow}} was loaded to 95% load capacity, drafting 19.7 meters. The crew was based in [[Peshabiwar]] with a captain from [[Umardwal]]. The load was mostly inexpensive consumer goods from a number of countries in [[Audonia]] bound for three ports in the [[Vandarch]].
Kalma’s legacy is protected under the 1951 [[Constitution of the Federacy of the Cape]], which declares illegal “insults towards his reforms, memory, and legacy”. Laws passed since have criminalized criticisms of his memory and are punishable with up to a year in prison and a fine of ₴100,000 Saers. In 2023, 14 people were charged under this law.
====Certifications, licenses, and bill of lading====
==Sociological analysis==
{{wpl|Golden-class container ship|Rapid Arrow}} was completed in [[2014]] and had passed inspection upon receipt by Sempre Lines LLC. The ship had conducted 7 [[Levantine Ocean|trans-Levantine]] crossings since her launch by the time of the grounding and had reported no unusual maintenance or conduct issues. Her most recent servicing was 8 months prior and the engine work had been certified by the dry docking company in [[Levantx]] Chantiers Le Fontal Lenvantien. The bill of lading was mostly inexpensive consumer goods from a number of countries in [[Audonia]] and had been certified as evenly distributed by the originating port authorities in [[Antilles]]. The crew and captain all had certified in at least basic maritime [[Burgoignesc language|Burgoignesc]], the lingua franca of the nautical world. Initially it was determined that all of the crew and the captain were rated for their positions but later examination determined that the chief mate had forged his credentials.
A variety of parallels have been drawn between his cult and that of Kiravia’s [[Marble Emperor]].
====Arrests====
Coscivian nationalist historiography has asserted the “artificial” supplementation of the Marble Emperor with Melvyn Kalma in the consciousness of ethnically Coscivian Capetians by the Capetian state.
The first arrest made was of the Chief Mate who was found to have only 348 days on his Able Mate's license (365 are required to be rated as a Chief Mate), and 48 fraudulent days on his Chief Mate's license. He was however found not to have been at fault for the grounding and had acted admirably under the circumstances. He was arrested for fraud, reckless endangerment, and impersonating an officer representing the nation and crown of [[Burgundie]] on the high seas. For the first two crimes he was sentenced to 10 years hard labor and for the latter death by keelhauling at the conclusion of his initial sentence.
==Layout and Operation==
==Economic Impact==
==Alternative Routes==
The [[Carolina Grand Canal]] is the only other waterway that connects the [[Vandarch]] to the international waterways and its shipping lanes.
Under his leadership as Prime Executive, Kalma embarked on a variety of reforms, Occidentalizing the Cape, and laying the groundwork for Cape nationalism and the birth of a coherent national identity from the three ethnicities that composed the country. To these ends, Kalma secularized the state, enacted a Western code of fundamental rights, instituted industrializing reforms, and promoted Cape Coscivian - a form of mutually intelligible creole popular in the southern Cape Peninsula - into a national language. Doing so, he is credited by many Capetians today for transforming the Cape into a modern nation state governed as a constitutional republic.
Following his death he was honoured with a variety of titles by the Supreme National Assembly, including “the Father of the Nation”, “Father of the Fatherland”, “the Marshal”, and “the Great Teacher”. He is known simply in Capetian vernacular as Prezident - “the President”, held in contrast to the term Restarkima, the modern term for the Capetian presidency. He still holds the eternal chairmanship of his Republican Nationalist Party.
Characteristics
Kalma’s legacy remains arguably the central element of Capetian politics into the 21st century. Almost every Capetian city has streets named after him, a memorial in his honour, with statues and portraits found in city squares, classrooms, public offices, and Capetian embassies abroad. A large mausoleum in his honour, the Mausoleum of the National Father, sits above Cape Town, and the city of Kalmasar, home to a majority of the Federacy’s ministries and its bureaucracy, bears his name.
In society
Although his cult of personality has been compared to that of Linge Chen in 21st century Corumm, Kalma’s cult differs as it was largely constructed after his death and in honour of his progressive and democratic reforms. He remains immensely popular in the Capetian consciousness, with every government and military coup following his death invoking his memory and contributing to the cult.
Kiravian journalist V. X. Xoman remarked that:
Thanks to him, every Capetian lives in a society that would have not existed without his effort. The legacy of his influence bears heavily on the nation. Sure, images of his face may appear in almost all official contexts from the headers of high-school exam papers to the largest banknotes - but they also appear spontaneously as fresheners hanging from car mirrors, in posters that adorn supermarkets, and in portraits that appear everywhere from private homes to the chicest of Cape Town cafes.
Kalma’s legacy has been invoked by every government since his death. Similar to the cult of the Marble Emperor in Kiravia, Kalma’s name is used to lend legitimacy to state actions and ideologies that he, as a deceased person, could not possibly agree to. For example, his name was used by both the Communist insurgency of the 1990s and the government that opposed it; the former appealing to his ideations of worker-liberation and the latter appealing to his ideas of nationalism and unity.
Constitutional amendments proposed in the Supreme National Assembly begin with “in the honour of great Kalma”, and the phrase “as decreed by the National Father” is used before the delivery of the Miranda rights.
Appeals to his authority (known colloquially as appeals to Kalma) are common in Capetian politics. In instrumental terms, his name has been used successively by military leaders to overthrow elected governments. In ceremonial terms, every military coup concludes with an address to Kalma, and addresses opening a new convocation of the National Stanera are delivered at his Mausoleum and occasionally addressed to him.
Kalma law
Kalma’s legacy is protected under the 1951 Constitution of the Federacy of the Cape, which declares illegal “insults towards his reforms, memory, and legacy”. Laws passed since have criminalized criticisms of his memory and are punishable with up to a year in prison and a fine of ₴100,000 Saers. In 2023, 14 people were charged under this law.
Sociological analysis
A variety of parallels have been drawn between his cult and that of Kiravia’s Marble Emperor.
Coscivian nationalist historiography has asserted the “artificial” supplementation of the Marble Emperor with Melvyn Kalma in the consciousness of ethnically Coscivian Capetians by the Capetian state.
