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
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 1700 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 monopolized nature of the area. By 1794 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.
| Logo | Company | Location | Length of Operation | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Kanchi and sons inc. | Kanchi River Zone | 1712 - 1905 | The Kanchi Company was founded by notable member of house Kanchi by the name of Wíčhóthi Kuwanyauma. This young man and his sons created the closest company to Port Extranjero that survived the governments accquistion of the property. The company even recieved large amounts of lands from the dying Extranjero company. The Company was founded in 1712 having quite a late start when compared to the rest of the major companies that controlled the canals at the time. In just a small amount of time the company went from a family business to one of the largest canal owners in the country. This was partly due to the large amount of canals that were given to the company after the Extranjero break up. The Kanchi corporation was one of the last to fall to the Canasta Company due to its prime location. |
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The Cuenca Standard | Cuenca Basin Zone | 1702 - 1893 | The Cuenca Standard was founded in 1702 by Súpan’nu Báhołahna. The company was located in the Cuenca Basin Zone and was one of the richest but also most vulnerable in the country. |
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Extranjero and Papa | Extranjero Zone |
The Canasta Company
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
Ship-classes
One of the most common vessels used on the canals are floaters as they are called. Floaters are large plates that food can be piled up onto. These floaters are dragged downstream by boats and in some cases are just pushed by gravity.
Economic transportation
For centuries the Qumir 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. Ultimately 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.
Around 80% of all crops produced in Canespa end up traveling out of the canals while 98% of all the food produced travels a portion of the canals at some point. This has lead to an almost complete reliance on the canals for large scale transportation. In recent decades in order to midigate the reliance on the canals a new fleet of trucks have been built to help spare Canespa in the case of damage coming to the canals. Although it would be highly unlikely that the entire canal system could be compromised by a country due to the massive scale of the network.
Personal transportation
The Canals are also used for a lot of Canespian transportation. Often when traveling long distances across provinces Canespian's will not drive, instead they will take a scheduled passenger vessel that crosses the canals daily. These passenger vessels are often filled with up to 100 people and can cross the entire system within two days. This journey if filled with breathtaking views of the Canespan landscape including Hamuq City, Cahocanqa, and even the Pyramids of Makuahine. Along with these breathtaking sculptures tourists will pass grand fields that are the product of the Canasta Companies rule. Everything is monetary in the land of Canespa. If you have a work permit then the Qumir Canals are free to travel down but if you don't then the price can range from 10 dollars an hour to 50 based on how luxurious the passenger ship is.
| Company Division (English translation applicable) | Price | Route | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qumir To Go | 15$ Per Hour | Often through large rural regions of the country. | Qumir To Go is a line that is often used by farmers to get across massive fields. It is also used to buy guards to patrol certain areas of the country. |
| Canasta Fasta | 200$ Per Hour for 30 people | Often stays within small local canals. | Canasta Fasta is a line for parties. Often the line will be used for large get together's and celebrations. The line features a variety of party ships that all feature different games and ways for the Canasta Company to steal your money. |
| Corporate Line | Free- Permit Required | Between large cities. | The Corporate line is a line dedicated to employees traveling for work. This line is vary bureaucratic and is famous for always showing up on schedule without missing a beat. The line is optimized to reduce the wait time that employees have to face. Using a complex computer algorithm it optimizes the use of the line. |
| Economy Line | 5$ Per Hour | Vary widespread, transports almost everywhere in the country. | The economy line is a line that is often used by lower class Canespian who tend to not work as hard or as much. It is often used to cross the country to see family but the ships are few and far between and are packed to the brim with people. If your looking for a comfortable ride the Economy Line is not the one to go with but it does its job. |
| Can-A-Vacation | 500$ Per Day | Often between large coastal cities or tourist attractions. | Can-A-Vacation is fairly self explanatory. The line is famous for going on large cruises and will have a tour guide who takes you on what is often a week long journey across multiple of Canespa's heritage sights and overall fun cities. This line is often used by tourists but locals will use the line to. |
| Wasiexu Line | Estimated- 5000$ Per Hour | Wherever a member of the Board of Executives attention is required. Often travels between large cities. | The Wasiexu line is famous for being what is likely the most luxurious line in the country. The line consists of but two ships, one of which is in maintenance and one is in use or on duty. The ships of the line are behemoths that can carry over 50 people in a comfortable manner. The ships have armed guards patrolling the sides of the ship that are trained to kill. The ship is much slower then simply using a helicopter so it's only used when time is available to kill, or when a member of leadership wants to make a statement. |
| Average Line | 12$ Per Hour | Often used for local travel and visiting close by towns. | The Average line is the most common line in Canespa and stretches across most local areas but also has a few long distance travel options. The Line is often scheduled weekly by even Canespian's who don't travel for work. |
Tourism
The canals are vary popular among tourists. The Can-A-Vacation branch in particular is often used bu thousands of tourists ever day providing quality tours for them. In Canespian ads the canals are often featured heavily. They are considered the largest system of canals on the planet which additionally helps them gain credibility. Canal guide is a recognized and trained for profession in Canespian society. Canal guides often take religious focused classes as well as tour guide and foreign language classes. Tour guides can often speak 4-5 languages most of which are native to Levantia.
Aproximately 78% of tourists in Canespa are from Burgundie due to the countries having a small land border in port Extranjero. The country who has the second highest number of tourists in the country is Faneria due to small Fanerian outpost colonies being a prime tourist location. Tourist locations include, the Abandoned Fanerian Ouposts, the Pyramid of Makuahine, all the Great Pyramids of Canespa, Cahocanqa, the Southern Cities, Extranjero, Hamuq City, and the Calderan Ferry.
Home defense
The Qumir Canals are essential in the home defense of Canespa. They serve as a massive supply network for any forces defending against an invading army. The canals have been used in the past to supply valuable munitions and food to starving soldiers. In skirmishes between the Northern Confederation and Canespa the Canespans often used the canals as a large supply network that led them to victory in most skirmishes. In one particular moment Canespan forces were about to be overrun when a supply ship came barreling down the canal system saving the battle. Though there use is untested in modern battles the possibilities of the canals are endless.
In modern day the canals serve a whole new purpose other then being a mere supply chain for Canespian soldiers. The larger canals at the mouth of Extranjero allow warships to enter. This means that the power used in naval warfare can be replicated during a land battle. Though untested this method of combat is whispered about in Canespian planning rooms. In addition to the warship theory Canespa has another chip up its sleeve. The Maya Uywa can only be described as a beast beneath the depths. Operating on a seafloor crawling method the Maya Uywa can go undetected past enemy lines. it has the ability to pop up within 10 seconds and release a baragge of bullets behind enemy forces. Its largest guns are roughly as powerful as a battle tanks. It can completely mow through enemy soldiers with four mounted machine guns as well. in recent years unmanned versions of the Maya Uywa have been developed and are still in the testing phase. There are currently 17 Maya Uywa's, 10 of which are deployed at random points within the canal at all times. Though untested the Maya Uywa poses a threat to any enemy force within Canespian land. This creates a looming threat caused by the canals that any invading force will have to plan around when invading the country. Overall the defensive nature of the canals will likely assure Canespa's survival as a state for millenium to come.