The Panama Canal took nearly 400 years to build.
The Panama Canal took nearly 400 years to build.
Having discovered the treasures of South America and conquered
the richest gold producing countries there to provide backing
for wars in the Mediterranean and Europe, the Spanish discovered
it was a long way home.
The substantial quantities of gold found and stolen from the
native Indians in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia had a dangerous,
time consuming and very long journey before it could be lodged
in the Spanish Treasury. Journeys of around 17,000 miles took
years rather than weeks, with the storms of Cape Horn, pirates
and sickness decimating many ships that tried it.
In about 1524 advisors to Charles V suggested a shorter and
safer route through the isthmus of Panama if a suitable cutting
could be found to justify the enormous work necessary. The
treasures of South America were so colossal that a survey of the
isthmus was ordered and in 1529 plans in some detail for a canal
between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were forwarded to Spain.
Spain at the time was too busy with wars in Europe, and the
plans were quietly forgotten. However in 1534 another keen
Spanish official put forward a different route for a Panama
canal which was amazingly close to the route in use today.
Various other plans were made but the Spanish Kings ignored them
all.
It was not until 1819, probably as a result of the work of the
scientist Humboldt in South America, that the Spanish Government
finally showed an interest and authorised the construction of a
Canal in Panama. It also allowed the creation of a company to
carry out the project. Once again the project never really got
going.
The 1848 Californian gold-rush led to various surveys being
carried out as to the feasibility of the canal between 1850 and
1875. These showed only two possible routes, one across Panama,
and the other in Nicaragua. The Colombian government allowed an
international company to dig a canal in 1876 across their part
of the isthmus, but the company failed.
The builder of the Suez canal was then called upon and de
Lesseps formed a French company to construct a sea-level canal
in Panama. The work was dogged by many serious problems, one of
the most fundamental being the tidal range in the Pacific of 20
feet whilst that of the Atlantic side only 1 foot. Other flaws
in route and design, as well as the tropical weather problems
eventually led to the abandonment of the project causing great
financial loss to many in 1899.
However the US stepped in and signed a treaty giving
independence to Panama and a guarantee that the ten mile 'Canal
Zone' be protected. Work resumed in 1904 with a drastically
revised system of locks and in Panama history
was made when the Canal was eventually opened in 1914 after many
difficult years, and some 390 years after it was first
considered.
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