Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal - Alex Gendler

Prevoditelj: Ivan Luka Sabolović Recezent: Sanja Srbljnović Čuček

In the middle of the 19th century,

Sredinom 19. stoljeća, kalifornijska je zlatna groznica

the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America’s west coast.

dovela tisuće doseljenika na američku zapadnu obalu.

But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east.

No možda je nalaženje zlata bilo lakše nego njegovo transportiranje na istok.

The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey

Jedina nada da se izbjegne naporno šestomjesečno putovanje vagonima

was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent—

bio je put najužim dijelom kontineta --

the 48-kilometer Isthmus of Panama.

48-kilometarskom Panamskom prevlakom.

By 1855, a railroad spanning the region significantly shortened to the trip,

Do 1855., pruga koja se protezala tim područjem znatno je skraćivala put,

but unloading and reloading ships at each port cost time and money.

ali iskrcaj i pretovar brodova u svakoj luci bio je trošak i vremena i novca.

To truly connect these two bodies of water shipping interests needed a canal—

Kako bi istinski povezali ova dva oceana, brodarski su poduzetnici trebali kanal --

a continuous maritime passage through the isthmus.

kontinuirani morski prolaz kroz prevlaku.

The first attempt at this colossal construction project was taken up in 1881

Prvi se u projektiranju ove kolosalne konstrukcije

1881. okušao francuski diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps.

by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps.

De Lesseps had supervised construction of Egypt's Suez Canal,

De Lesseps je nadgledao izgradnju egipatskog Sueskog kanala,

but his success made him overconfident.

ali njegov ga je uspjeh učinio pretjerano samouvjerenim.

He insisted on digging the canal at sea level,

Inzistirao je da se kanal kopa na razini mora,

even though it required boring directly through

makar to zahtjevalo kopanje

izravno kroz planinski lanac Velike razvodnice.

the Continental Divide mountain range.

Futile excavation efforts were buried under constant landslides.

Uzaludni napori iskapanja bili su zatrpavani pod stalnim klizištima.

And since the diplomat had only visited the site briefly

A budući da je diplomat samo nakratko posjetio lokaciju

during Panama’s dry season,

za sušne sezone u Panami,

his workers were unprepared for torrential storms, venomous jungle fauna,

njegovi su radnici bili nespremni na snažne oluje, otrovnu faunu džungle

and tropical diseases.

i tropske bolesti.

After spending $287 million and losing a staggering 22,000 lives,

Nakon potrošenih 287 milijuna dolara i nevjerojatno izgubljenih 22 000 života,

the French abandoned the project.

Francuz napušta projekt.

The United States had been considering building a canal through Nicaragua,

Sjedinjene su države razmatrale igradnju kanala kroz Nikaragvu,

but at this point, the chance to succeed where France failed was tempting.

ali tad je bilo primamljivo uspjeti tamo gdje je Francuska podbacila.

Panamanian leaders were also eager to complete a canal

I panamski su vođe žarko željeli završiti kanal

which would bring their country business and prestige.

koji bi njihovoj državi donio posao i prestiž.

However, Panama was still a part of Colombia at the time,

Kako bilo da bilo, Panama je tada još uvijek bila dio Kolumbije,

and the country was stalling negotiations with the U.S.

a ta je država odugovlačila pregovore sa SAD-om.

Sensing an opportunity,

Osjetivši priliku,

President Teddy Roosevelt went straight to the Panamanians.

predsjednik Teddy Roosvelt otišao je ravno Panamcima.

With encouragement and military support from the U.S.,

Uz poticaj i vojnu potporu iz SAD-a

Panama launched a coup in 1903.

Panama je 1903. izvršila državni udar.

Within days, they became an independent nation

U nekoliko dana, postali su nezavisan narod

and signed a treaty to begin construction of the canal.

i potpisali ugovor o početku izgradnje kanala.

Just over a decade after the French left, the Americans were ready to dig in—

Desetak godina nakon odlaska Francuza,

Amerikanci su bili orni za posao, odlučni izbjeći greške svojih prethodnika.

and they were determined to avoid their predecessor’s mistakes.

Instead of cutting the mountain down to sea level,

Umjesto prokapanja planine do razine mora,

they would raise the sea up the mountain.

dizali bi razinu mora do vrha planine.

The plan was to build massive steel gates

Plan je bio izgraditi masivne čelične zaklopnice

separating the canal into multiple chambers with different water levels.

koje bi dijelile kanal u više ustava s različitim razinama vode.

As a ship passed through each successive gate would open,

Kako bi brod prelazio pojedinu ustavu, zaklopnice bi se otvarale,

lowering the water level in the next chamber,

spuštajući razinu mora u sljedećoj ustavi,

while raising the ship and allowing it to move on.

podižući time brod i osiguravajući mu daljnje kretanje.

The design called for five of these so-called canal locks—

Projekt je zahtijevao pet takozvanih brodskih prevodnica --

three on the Atlantic side and two on the Pacific,

tri na strani Atlatnika i dvije na strani Pacifika,

raising traversing ships 26 meters above sea level.

koje bi dizale brodove 26 metara iznad razine mora.

Operating this lock system would require a massive reservoir of water.

Za rad ovog sistema prevodnica treba ogroman rezervar vode.

And fortunately, the low-lying Chagres river valley provided a natural solution.

Na sreću, niska dolina rijeke Chagres dala je prirodno rješenje.

By building a dam across the gap where the river flowed out to sea,

Gradnjom brane preko prijevoja gdje se rijeka ulijeva u more,

the entire valley could be flooded.

moglo se poplaviti cijelu dolinu.

At 32 meters high and over 800 meters wide,

Na 32 metra visine i preko 800 metara širine,

the Gatun Dam would be larger than any built before.

Brana Gatun bila bi veća od svake dotad izgrađene.

With this innovative plan,

S ovim inovativnim planom,

the Americans didn’t need to excavate the entire mountain,

Amerikanci nisu trebali prokopati cijelu planinu,

but rather, just the pathway for the canal itself.

nego tek proboj za sam kanal.

Still, the work was staggering.

Ipak, posao je bio zapanjujući.

Even after progress made by the French, it took over nine years for 24,000 workers

Čak i nakon angažmana Francuza, trebalo je preko devet godina

da 24 000 radnika minira, iskopa i probije Culebru Cut -

to blow up, shovel, and drill out the Culebra Cut—

a roughly 14 kilometer passageway through the Continental Divide.

oko 14 kilometara dugačak prolaz kroz Veliku razvodnicu.

The railway, now upgraded and rerouted to follow the canal,

Željeznica, modernizirana i preusmjerena da prati kanal,

carted away over 76 million cubic meters of excavated rock

prevezla je više od 76 milijuna kubnih metara stijena

to be used at the Gatun Dam site.

za gradnju Brane Gatun.

Construction was only half the battle.

Gradnja je bila samo polovica posla.

Leading army officials struggled to maintain infrastructure and sanitation,

Vodeći vojni dužnosnici trudili su se održavati infrastrukturu i kanalizaciju,

but accidents and diseases took the lives of 5,000 workers—

ali nesreće i bolesti oduzeli su živote 5 000 radnika --

mostly Black Caribbean migrants.

uglavnom migranata iz Crnih Kariba.

Then, in the fall of 1913, the moment finally came.

A onda, u jesen 1913., konačno je osvanuo veliki dan.

A telegraph signal from President Woodrow Wilson triggered a dike explosion,

Telegrafski signal predsjednika Wilsona pokrenuo je miniranje nasipa,

flooding the Culebra Cut and joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

što je uzrokovalo plavljenje Culebre Cut i spajanje Atlantskog i Tihog oceana.

Today, nearly 14,000 vessels travel through the isthmus annually—

Danas, oko 14 000 plovila prolazi godišnje prevlakom -

each in under 12 hours.

svako za manje od 12 sati.

The canal remains Panama’s chief source of revenue;

Kanal ostaje glavni izvor prihoda u Panami;

and since the country gained ownership of the passage in 1999,

a budući da je država stekla vlasništvo nad kanalom 1999.

it has also become a source of national pride.

postao je i izvor nacionalnog ponosa.