Panama Canal International Zone

The **Panama Canal International Zone** is an international authority operating in and around the five-mile corridor surrounding the Panama Canal, surrounded entirely by the country of Panama. Though technically not a country, it is a directorial republic, run by representatives of four different nations: Canada, Australasia, the Pacific States, and Panama.

## History

### Panama Crisis (1937)

Originally built and operated by the United States, the territory faced an internal and external crisis following the outbreak of the Second American Civil War in 1937, which saw the US navy evacuate the territory as Panama nationalized the region. Appealing for Entente aid, the governor of the territory, Clarence S. Ridley, would receive aid from the Canadian navy, who would reorganize the territory into a de facto British protectorate. This faced backlash from the German Empire, which demanded that Canada renounce its claim to the zone, leading to concerns over a naval standoff.

To alleviate the situation, and keep at least some parts of the American garrison stationed, an "international zone" was created from the model of the Legation Cities. The region would receive representatives from the British Empire, Panama, Germany, and the United States.

### Organization (1937-1940)

Problems immediately arose from this arrangement, however:

* The de jure representation of the "British Empire" meant that representatives from all across the Commonwealth could serve in the PCIZ Council, particularly from both Canada and Australasia, leading to a vague and uncertain situation in similar standing to that of court packing.
* The hostile prewar status of Germany to the Entente left its representatives to actively work with pro-integration Panamanians in the council, causing frequent gridlock.
* The United States, meanwhile, was in a vague and uncertain situation. While it was claimed that the US's representatives would be carried over from former members of the Panama garrison and be neutral regarding the Civil War, after the fall of Washington, D.C. to the Syndicalist States, sections of the navy loyal to the Canadian-supported Douglas MacArthur would flee to the PCIZ and pack the council, causing infighting with the former garrison, many of whom had strong Pacific sympathies that flared up due to this obvious act of betrayal.

With the fall of Denver to Pacific forces, Canada officially recognized the Pacific government in exchange for its pardoning of disgraced Federalist officers and their transfer to the New England Provisional Government. Though Federalists would still keep their haven in the Canal, they would no longer find themselves coddled by Canadian recognition, and would eventually fade into obscurity over the 1940s as they were replaced by NEPG officers instead.

### Second Weltkrieg (1940-1946)

During the outbreak of the Second Weltkrieg, the unstable example that was the PCIZ Council was seen as an omen for the failure of the Halifax Conference, spelling doom for any hope of direct cooperation between the Entente and the Reichspakt. The Third International's dominance in the Northeast Atlantic, and the whole of the North Atlantic after Operation Birthright's failure, meant that Germany could no longer effectively resupply its Panama garrison, and most of it was deployed to the Eastern Seas War instead.

The Continental War's subsequent breakout put the Canal Zone over even more scrutiny, linking the Pacific navy to the Atlantic, successfully blockading the Syndicalists, defending Cuba, and bolstering the supply of NEPG forces who would now be trained by their Pacific counterparts. NEPG officers, far more trusted by the Pacific States than former Federals, would see the latter purged from the PCIZ and fill their void, working closely with the pro-Pacific garrison and finally unifying American presence. Mass construction of public works and defenses was done in the Canal Zone as well as in Panama itself for compensation, creating an economic boom that stabilized the country and weakened the influence of nationalists. Australasia, for its part, benefited from having a new and safe supply route to combat a potential Japanese attack.

Portions of the Pacific fleet garrisoned in the Canal Zone were deployed to the Gulf of Mexico in 1942 to bombard the Gulf of Honduras, in revenge for the Mexican invasion of Arizona during the Continental War. On their way to return to the PCIZ and refuel, they sank a Venezuelan convoy that was mistaken for a ship, bolstering the worry that the country would invade the West Indies Federation. Though the garrison leadership itself was not involved, governor Clarence S. Ridley would controversially be made to resign to save face, and Canadian military engineer and diplomat Maurice Arthur Pope would replace him, which many Pacific newspapers decried as a naked Canadian power grab, helping the presidential campaign of Henry A. Wallace.

### Post-war (1946-)

The surrender of Germany left the PCIZ in an uncertain, yet now more solidified position, and a new agreement would be drafted to streamline the Zone's government. Australasia and Canada would fulfill their own roles in the PCIZ Council, filling the German void in the four-nation split and reforming the vague and overpowering role of the whole Commonwealth. After being elected to his own second term in 1945 despite Pacific representatives' objections, Maurice Arthur Pope would decline to seek a third term in 1949, sponsoring Horatio Nelson Lay, another Canadian naval officer, as his successor, who handily won the vote of confidence. Leonard W. Murray, who was blamed for Canadian failure in the Battle of the Atlantic as well as causing the Halifax riots, would make a surprise political comeback by being appointed the new Governor of the PCIZ in 1953.

The election of three Canadian officers in a row, all being more controversial than the last, could become a major sticking point in the PCIZ council, as Pacific, Panamanian, and even increasingly Australasian voices began to speak out against the blatant Canadian dominance over the territory.