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Panama Canal
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Panama Canal

Overview

  • Throughout the 1800s, traveling by sea from New York to San Francisco was a trip of 12,000 miles that could take up to 67 days because ships had to sail around Cape Horn—the southernmost point of South America—to complete the journey.
  • American and British businessmen sought a quicker—and cheaper—way to ship goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
  • However, they weren’t the first people to look for this shortcut.

The first serious attempt to construct the Panama Canal was made by the French in May of 1879. They hired Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal, to construct the Panama Canal. While the efforts to build the Suez Canal were difficult, they did not compare to the difficulty of building in the hot Central American jungle.

Attempts to find a shorter route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean began in the 16th century. In 1534, Charles V, King of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor, sought to build a waterway for military purposes. This was not to be because his surveyors decided that the construction of such a waterway was impossible. Over a century later, in 1698, the Scottish wanted to establish a merchant colony and an overland trade route across Panama. The plan failed miserably as the settlers were not prepared for the living conditions. Hundreds of settlers died of fever. The colony was abandoned after two years. Later, from 1788 to 1793, Alessandro Malaspina surveyed the Panama region and created a plan for a canal. Before the canal could be built, the Panama Railway was constructed to cross the Isthmus of Panama in 1855.

Early Attempts

In 1902, the US Congress agreed to the building of a canal through the Panama isthmus. Colombia controlled the isthmus, so Secretary of State John Hay negotiated a treaty with Colombian Foreign Minister Tomás Herrán. The Colombian congress,

Acquiring Panama

however, rejected the treaty because it disagreed with the financial terms and feared a loss of sovereignty. Panama, which was a part of Colombia at the time, was not happy with the rejection and declared independence.On November 2, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt used his big stick diplomacy. He sent warships to block the sea lanes on both sides of the Panama isthmus in support of the rebellion. Panama became

Due to unskilled local labor and poor planning, the venture was a failure. Since many investors had poured money into the creation of the Panama Canal, they were concerned about recouping some of their losses. Ferdinand de Lesseps was brought to trial for fraud. His guilty verdict required him to pay a fine and serve time in prison. The prison sentence was commuted during appeal.

Early Attempts (continued)

Construction began in 1904. The earlier efforts of the French were helpful to the United States when it sought to build the Panama Canal. The United States acquired most of the French supplies left behind from de Lesseps' venture. Initially, the building of the canal was fraught with disease brought by mosquitoes. Many workers contracted yellow fever or malaria. Though sanitation efforts were improved and the spread of disease declined, around 5,600 workers died of disease over the course of the project.In 1907, chief engineer John Stevens resigned from the project. Army Major George Goethals was appointed to replace him.Goethals divided the work into three divisions: Atlantic, Pacific, and Central.

Constructing the panama canal

an independent country four days later when Colombia refused to fight. Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a French engineer, was named minister to the United States. He and Secretary Hay negotiated the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which gave a 10-mile strip of land to the United States for a one-time payment of $10 million and a $250,000 annuity.

Acquiring Panama (continued)

By the time the raised-canal plans were accepted, more than 27,000 workers had perished from the likes of malaria, yellow fever and dysentery. Daily Mail

Two lock systems were created to transition ships through the canal. Along the Atlantic Ocean the Gatun locks were created to transition ships from the ocean to Gatun Lake. Along the Pacific Ocean were the Pacific Panama Canal locks. The Panama Canal was first used on August 15, 1914.Today the Panama Canal has over 14,000 ships travel through its locks each year. The traffic through the canal helps to promote international trade and the global economy. The Panama Canal has the distinction of being one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Constructing the panama canal (continued)

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