The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of the literature and screenshots have been marked at the end of the article, please be aware.
Preface
In this world, there is a country with a land area of 75,000 square kilometers and a population of 4.4 million, but the United States does not dare to give him a face easily, and even our country needs to pay them tens of billions of tolls every year.
So, which country is this exactly? Why can they be so arrogant? And what are the chips in their hands?
The importance of the canal
In the history of mankind, canals have played a very important role, because compared with land transportation, water transportation in ancient societies has the characteristics of carrying capacity enough, and transportation is more convenient and faster.
Therefore, our country has begun to build canals in ancient times, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Zhedong Grand Canal and the Sui-Tang Grand Canal were all built in ancient times, and the amount of work was huge, which was definitely a difficult task for the people at that time.
However, the construction of the canal can definitely be regarded as a matter of merit in the present and in the future, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has promoted the development of the commodity economy after its construction.
In the event of some social disasters, the relief grain of the imperial court can also pass through the canal, so as to reach the disaster area more quickly, and the canal makes the north and south more closely connected.
From our canals in China, we can also see the importance of canals, and many famous canals in the world are also because of their important role.
After building the canal, they can get huge benefits through the canal, and in general, the benefits of building the canal outweigh the disadvantages.
For example, the famous Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, shortens the voyage between Europe and the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
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Shortening the voyage means much less time, less fuel, and a lot less risk.
And the arrogant country we are talking about today is Panama, they have a canal, and this canal is the Panama Canal, so why is it said that this country is arrogant when it holds the Panama Canal?
To understand this, we have to start with the history of Panama......
History of Panama
Panama is a country of ill-fated people, because its geographical location is very important, so many countries have ideas about them.
At first, the country was colonized by Spain, but the advent of the Age of Discovery brought opportunities to many countries, some of which rose rapidly and declined because their capital was not used for the original accumulation of capital.
In the 19th century, Panama became an independent country and was incorporated into the Republic of Colombia, and for a long time Panama was a province of Colombia.
Later, the French were granted a concession to Panama, and they began construction work on Panama, but the first French company did not complete the task.
Another French company began to take over the right to dig the Panama Canal, but it wasn't long before this company was gone.
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In fact, if you think about it, this phenomenon is actually a normal phenomenon, because in order to successfully build the Panama Canal, the amount of work required is absolutely huge, and there is an outbreak of plague at that time.
However, if the canal is dug in Panama, the benefits will definitely be very considerable, and you only need to invest a lot of money in the early stage to build the Panama Canal, and then you can sit down and collect tolls.
Later, the United States took over the project, and you must know that when this project was built, the funds required were definitely huge.
So why is the United States willing to take over this project? Naturally, there was a huge stake here, and in 1903, a treaty was signed between the United States and Panama, and this treaty was called the Canal Treaty.
The treaty stipulates that if the United States completes the construction of the Panama Canal, it will be able to operate the Panama Canal permanently, and as for the period of its use, it will also be permanent.
Prior to this, the United States actually "discussed" with the Colombian side and asked Colombia to agree to their construction of the canal in Panama, but the Colombian side did not agree, so the United States began to incite Panama to become independent.
At the instigation of the United States, Panama did become independent, and they became a country in their own right, called the Republic of Panama.
After the signing of the treaty, the United States began to officially build the Panama Canal, which was officially completed and opened in 1914.
After the opening of the canal, it brought a steady stream of wealth, but almost all of this wealth went into the pocket of the United States, and only a small part belonged to Panama.
This behavior made the people of Panama feel indignant, so they began to rebel, but since it was a money-making project, the United States was naturally unwilling to let go easily.
In 1989, the United States began to take action, and they directly began to prop up a pro-American government, in addition to which they stationed troops in Panama.
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Since then, Panama has been rebelling against the United States, and at the end of 1999, Panama's years of struggle finally came to fruition, and they took over the sovereignty and management rights of the Panama Canal.
Since then, the country has relied on the canal to collect money, and the canal has a huge throughput and they have made a lot of money from it.
Among so many countries in the world, there are many ships in our country passing through Panama, and every time we pass by the Panama Canal, we always pay a certain toll, just like that, there are tens of billions of dollars a year.
However, while the Panama Canal has brought Panama great wealth, it has also brought some side effects......
The impact of the canal on Panama
There are pros and cons to anything, and this is the case with the excavation of the Panama Canal, which needs to be maintained every year and consumes a certain cost.
Among them, nature also includes the cost of manpower, as well as the damage to the natural environment, you know, when the Panama Canal is running, it needs water to operate.
However, with the change of climate, the supply of water resources in the Panama Canal has become problematic, and in order to cope with this situation, Panama has also made corresponding measures.
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However, these measures are only to quench thirst, and the fundamental problems are difficult to be completely solved, and the canal has also caused a certain impact on the environment.
But in general, Panama is inseparable from the canal, because of the canal, they have obtained a lot of benefits, including its international status.
Resources:
[1] CNKI - "The Importance of the Suez Canal in World Trade" Ding Zhu.
[2] Institute of Latin American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences - Panama.
[3] Guangming.com - ""Shi Hai Retrospective" invaded Panama, and American-style "justice" was shattered" 2023.6.07.
[4] CNKI - "Panama Canal Drying Up: Ships Retake the Century-old Road" Feng Difan.