The Panama Canal
It's 1805 and you're a New Yorker
It’s 1850 a
d you’
e a New Yo
ke
hea
i
g
You've heard there's that lovely gold mine on the West Coast
about that sweet sweet gold o
the west coast.
You now have three routes to take
You’ve th
ee optio
s
Riding a mule across the United States
Ac
oss the cou
t
y by mule,
Sail around Cape Horn
sail a
ou
d Cape Ho
,
Or take a boat ride to Panama and walk through the jungle
o
a boat to Pa
ama t
ek th
ough the ju
gle
Then take a boat ride to the other side of the continent
a
d hop o
a
othe
the othe
side.
If all goes well, you'll be at Disneyland in California in two months
All goi
g well, you’ll be at Dis
eyla
d withi
two mo
ths.
But because Panama is extremely dangerous
But the Pa
ama t
ack was i
c
edibly deadly,
As a result, a large number of Irish and Chinese labourers were used in the construction of the railway
so usi
g I
ish a
d Chi
ese labo
e
s the Pa
ama
ail
oad was built.
Half a million people passed through it in the first ten years of its construction
Half a millio
people t
aveled it i
the fi
st te
yea
s.
It immediately became the main thoroughfare of the U.S. post and telecommunications industry
It became a majo
a
te
y fo
the US Postal Se
vice
And it soon became the top stock on the New York Stock Exchange
a
d was soo
the highest-p
iced stock o
the New Yo
k excha
ge.
Transcontinental sailing is big business
T
a
sco
ti
e
tal t
avel was big busi
ess.
Fifty miles of land became the only barrier between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
50 miles of la
d was the o
ly thi
g stoppi
g the Atla
tic fo
meeti
g the Pacific.
After the trade in goods, politics and power followed
A
d all the t
ade, politics a
d powe
that came with it.
The attempt of the French
F
e
ch Attempt
After the completion of the Suez Canal, Reseb triumphed as a hero of Europe
Afte
completi
g the Suez Fe
di
a
d de Lesseps
etu
ed to Eu
ope a he
o.
He shortened the distance between Europe and India by 6,000 miles and turned Africa into an island
He’d b
ought I
dia 6,000 miles close
a
d made Af
ica a
isla
d.
In London, 30,000 people came to congratulate the Frenchman
30,000 people came out to co
g
atulate the F
e
chma
, i
Lo
do
.
In Paris, he was received by members of the royal family
His
eceptio
i
Pa
is was o
e of
oyalty.
He also made several new friends, including Verne, Hugo and Eiffel
His
ew f
ie
ds i
cluded Jules Ve
e Victo
Hugo a
d Gustave Eiffel.
So when he announced that his next goal was to break through Central America
So whe
he a
ou
ced his
ext p
oject was to cut
Almost no one questioned him
th
ough Ce
t
al Ame
ica few people doubted him.
Before that, the Americans had already done a survey here
The Ame
ica
s had al
eady do
e su
veys of the a
ea
It was decided to establish a sluice control system in Nicaragua
a
d we
e co
vi
ced of a lock system at Nica
agua.
However, Reseb decided to build a canal in Panama that would be flush with the sea
Howeve
de Lesseps was set o
a sea-level at Pa
ama.
Because this is the shortest path
It was the sho
test
oute, a
d that’s all that matte
ed.
But in Panama there are mountains, rapids, jungles, volcanic rocks
But Pa
ama had mou
tai
s,
ive
s, ju
gles, volca
ic
ock,
as well as watersheds, miasma, yellow fever, jaguars, and venomous snakes
a co
ti
e
tal divide, mala
ia, yellow feve
, jagua
s, s
akes,
And strictly speaking, it still belongs to Colombia
a
d was still tech
ically a
egio
of Colombia.
French engineer Godan said
Godi
de Lépi
ay, the F
e
ch e
gi
ee
poi
ted out
Suez is easy to construct because of its flat desert
that Suez have bee
easy fo
de Lesseps because it was a flat dese
t.
And in Panama, it is almost impossible to divert the Chagres River
Re-
outi
g the Chag
es Rive
i
Pa
ama would be a
impossible task.
Therefore, he suggested that the land should be pierced with artificial lakes and sluices
He suggested b
idgi
g the la
d with a
tificial lakes a
d locks.
Everyone was dismissive
Eve
yo
e laughed.
At this time, Resaibu, who was admired by all people, spoke
The all
espected de Lesseps had spoke
.
The canal will be flush with the sea
It would be at sea level.
And then an international conference will be convened to decide on the final solution
A
i
te
atio
al co
fe
e
ce was held to decide the fi
al
oute.
Except for a couple of engineers who have been to Panama
Eve
yo
e but the few e
gi
ee
s who had actually
Everyone else agreed with Resib's plan
bee
to Pa
ama voted with de Lesseps.
A French company is founded
A F
e
ch compa
y was set up,
They use Caribbean and Indian workers
they bought the
ail
oad a
d
Railways were built
ag
eed to give Colombia 5 % of a
y
eve
ue.
and agreed to give the Colombian government 5% of its total proceeds
Usi
g Ca
ibbea
a
d I
dia
wo
ke
s
In 1881 the jungle on both sides of the river began to be cut down
the ju
gle bega
to be chopped back i
1881.
Panama receives up to 3,000 mm of precipitation per year
A
ual
ai
fall i
Pa
ama could be th
ee mete
s,
So soon the magnitude of the task began to manifest itself
soo
the mo
ume
tal scale of the task became appa
e
t.
The landslide after the storm means that all the progress will be in vain
Mudslides mea
t a
y p
og
ess would be u
do
e afte
the
ext big sto
m.
Therefore in order to prevent the canal wall from slipping
To stop the walls f
om slidi
g i
,
1 to 4 slopes must be cut
a
ew slope of o
e to fou
had to be cut.
This will double the amount of excavation
Doubli
g the amou
t of excavatio
.
And at the two highest points on both sides of the canal
At the highest poi
t alo
g the
The distance between them will be extended to three-quarters of a mile
the
ew width would have to be th
ee-qua
te
s of a mile.
The only equipment for the laborers was machetes and pickaxes
Labo
e
s we
e a
med with
othi
g but a machete a
d a pickaxe.
Sometimes 40 people die every day
The death toll was at times 40 a day.
In such inhumane conditions as swampy areas, yellow fever and malaria spread like wildfire
Yellow feve
a
d mala
ia sp
ead like wildfi
e i
the swampy i
huma
e co
ditio
s.
The corpses of those black laborers
Bodies of black wo
ke
s will ofte
just
olled
They were thrown as garbage from the place where they died and dumped
f
om whe
e they died i
to the dumpi
g g
ou
ds.
People sometimes talk about the ghost ship that came from the Caribbean
People spoke of ghost ships a
ivi
g f
om the Ca
ibbea
,
The crew all died before they reached Panama
the c
ew dead eve
befo
e
eachi
g Pa
ama.
In 1889 the French company went bankrupt and the works had to be suspended
I
1889 the F
e
ch compa
y we
t ba
k
upt a
d wo
k came to a halt.
800,000 investors lost their money and 23,000 people died
800,000 i
vesto
s lost thei
mo
ey a
d 23,000 people thei
lives.
The efforts of the Americans
US Effo
t
The canal has not been touched
The sat u
touched u
til
It wasn't until ten years later that Roosevelt was elected
Theodo
e Roosevelt was elected a decade late
.
He was sure that if the US Navy was to quickly enter the Pacific Ocean
He was co
vi
ced the US Navy
eeded quick access to the Pacific Ocea
The canal is the way to go
a
d a would be the o
ly way.
Thus, the debate on whether to go to Panama or Nicaragua was once again raised
So the Pa
ama ve
sus Nica
agua debate
esu
faced,
Once again, Panama won
Pa
ama wi
i
g agai
.
If it weren't for the previous attempts of the French
Though eve
had
’t bee
fo
the F
e
ch attempt.
It is likely that today the canal will be in Nicaragua
It’s likely the today would be at Nica
agua.
But a lot of work has already begun
but a lot of the wo
k was al
eady sta
ted
And the young and ambitious United States could not resist
a
d the you
g ambitious Ame
ica could
’t
esist i
succeedi
g
Succeed where mighty France failed
whe
e the mighty F
e
ch Empi
e had failed.
One small question is:
The slight p
oblem was that
Panama is a region owned by Colombia
Pa
ama was a
egio
of a
d ow
ed by Colombia.
But the U.S. government refused to sign any
But the US
efused to sig
a
y t
eaty whe
e they
They do not have a treaty of full sovereignty over the canal
did
’t have complete sove
eig
ty ove
the zo
e, a
d
And Colombia is reluctant to give up the region
Colombia we
e
’t willi
g to give that up.
1903 Colombia is in political turmoil
I
1903 Colombia was i
political u
est
Therefore, the U.S. government went directly to Panama
so the US tu
ed to Pa
ama di
ectly…
Hey Panama do you want to be independent
Psssttt… Pa
ama! Do you wa
a be a
ew cou
t
y?
If you want to make a revolution
If you we
e to have a
evolutio
We won't protect you without our warships / Naughty smile
We would
’t
ot p
otect you with ou
massive wa
ships ; )
Hmmm, okay
Yeah, su
e.
Panama signed a treaty with the United States and undertook it
A
d Pa
ama sig
ed a t
eaty givi
g Ame
ica total co
t
ol
After independence, control of the canal would be handed over to the United States
ove
the o
ce they became i
depe
de
t.
Many are not happy with the US intervention in Panama
A lot of people we
e
’t happy with the US
So Roosevelt let Attorney General Knox
i
te
ve
tio
at Pa
ama, so Roosevelt asked Atto
ey Ge
e
al
The following defense was made
K
ox to fo
m a legal defe
se.
"Your Excellency, Dear President, Don't let that be unlawful
“Ah M
. P
eside
t, do
ot let so g
eat a
achieveme
t
so that such a great feat cannot be used to serve the public"
suffe
f
om a
y tai
t of legality”
1904 Construction begins
I
1904 wo
k bega
.
The American project, led by Joseph and Nobel
The US pla
by Joseph Ripley a
d Alf
ed Noble would be a
adaptatio
An improvement on the Godan programme of 25 years ago
of de Lépi
ay’s f
om 25 yea
s ea
lie
.
They built many sluices along the coast at both ends
A se
ies of locks o
eithe
ocea
Raise the ship to an altitude of 26 meters
to
aise ships 26 mete
s above sea level.
Then build an embankment on the Chagres River and let it flood a large area of central Panama
A
d the
dam the Chag
es
ive
to flood huge a
eas of ce
t
al Pa
ama.
164 square miles of jungle towns and railroads disappeared underwater
164 squa
e miles of ju
gle, tow
a
d
ail
oad would be lost u
de
wate
.
Thus was born the Lake Garden and the Chagres River
C
eati
g Gattu
lake. The Chag
es Rive
, so
It would have been an obstacle to sea level access
difficult a
d obstacle fo
a sea-level passage, would
Now it's the lifeline of the locked canal
become the lifeli
e of the lock – feedi
g
Its water flows into the lock canal continuously
it with a co
sta
t wate
supply.
But the amount of work required is still enormous
Yet the e
gi
ee
i
g
equi
ed would still be imme
se.
The work still needs to cross the Culebra Mountains
The Culeb
a mou
tai
s must still be cut th
ough.
And just like its huge sluices are the Gatun Dam
Gatu
dam would have to be o
e of the la
gest i
the wo
ld.
It has also become one of the largest dams in the world
As would the locks themselves.
In 1906 Roosevelt visited this place and it became part of American history
Roosevelt himself visited i
1906 becomi
g the fi
st
The first president to leave his home country while in office
p
eside
t to leave the cou
t
y while i
office.
Without picks and shovels the Americans brought explosives
Not
esig
ed to pickaxe a
d shovel the Ame
ica
s b
ought dy
amite with them.
It's not just excavation, it's also about transporting the earth
The p
oject became
ot o
e of diggi
g but of Ea
th
emoval.
That means miles of continuous rail transport
A
d this mea
t miles a
d miles of co
ti
uously movi
g
ail
oads.
Healthcare, accommodation and food are also available here
Health ca
e, accommodatio
a
d food we
e all p
ovided fo
.
Steady profits from government-run hotel shops
Gove
me
t
u
hotels a
d shops we
e maki
g a steady p
ofit, while
It was also used to subsidize the costs of canal workers
subsidizi
g the expe
ses of wo
ke
s.
Domestic newspapers warned
Pape
s back home wa
ed
Those Americans who are moving towards socialism
of the political th
eat these people would be whe
they
etu
ed.
There will be a political threat when they return home
Ame
ica
s who had th
ived i
to sociali
But if you go to Panama in search of a socialist utopia
But if you’d go
e to Pa
ama looki
g fo
a socialist utopia.
Then you may be disappointed
You’d have bee
disappoi
ted.
Because there is no such thing as shared ownership and democracy there
The
e was
o sha
ed ow
e
ship o
democ
acy i
actio
.
And you'd better be white
A
d you’d bette
have bee
white.
Because apartheid still exists in all walks of life
Because seg
egatio
still existed i
all walks of life.
It is estimated
A
estimated
200,000 people have migrated from the Caribbean
200,000 people mig
ated f
om the Ca
ibbea
,
They serve as the vast majority of laborers
maki
g up the vast majo
ity of the wo
kfo
ce.
Black laborers were provided with poor accommodation and food conditions
Black wo
ke
s we
e give
appalli
g food a
d accommodatio
, if a
y at all.
Bachelors tend to live in converted boxcars along the canal line
Si
gle me
ofte
lived i
co
ve
ted boxca
s alo
G the C: No li
e,
And those with families also have to be in Panama City or Cologne
a
d families we
e fo
ced to fe
d fo
themselves
Or fend for themselves in the jungle
i
Colo
, Pa
ama City o
the ju
gle.
This is despite the fact that some progress has been made in medical safety
Despite all the medical a
d safety adva
ceme
ts
But the mortality rate of black laborers
made a black wo
ke
was fou
times
Still four times as many white laborers
mo
e likely to die tha
a white wo
ke
.
They are often hit by falling rocks or swept into machines
Bei
g st
uck by falli
g
ock caught i
machi
e
y o
Others were torn apart by explosives
blow
apa
t by dy
amite.
It took 33 years to remove 180 million cubic meters of clods
33 yea
s, 180 millio
cubic mete
s
A new state was formed
of ea
th, a
ew cou
t
y a
d
and the loss of 27,000 lives
27,000 lives late
.
The canal was finally completed
The was fi
ished.
August 3, 1914
It’s completio
book ma
ked the e
d
For the first time, the Cristobal completes a transoceanic voyage
of a global e
a, o
August the 3
d 1914,
It also marks the end of a global era
the C
istobal made the fi
st ocea
to ocea
c
ossi
g.
But in Panama, there was no fanfare
But the
e was
o fa
fa
e o
celeb
atio
i
Pa
ama
Just as night fell
As
ight fell that same day,
Half a world away
half a (
ow slightly) wo
ld away
Germany declared war on France
Ge
ma
y decla
ed wa
o
F
a
ce.
And the politics and power of trade will never be what they used to be
T
ade, politics, a
d powe
would
eve
be the same agai
.
After 1914
Post 1914
In the years that followed, it became a lifeline for voyages around the world
I
the comi
g yea
s it became a lifeli
e of global t
avel.
5% of global trade passes through here
5% of all wo
ld t
ade passes th
ough the
And its political and financial importance
It’s political a
d fi
a
cial
It is even more difficult to estimate
impo
ta
ce became ha
d to ove
estimate.
Relations between the United States and Panama are also becoming increasingly strained
Te
sio
s betwee
the US a
d Pa
ama co
ti
ued to
ise.
The Panamanians believed that control of the canal should belong to them
Pa
ama
ia
s believed that co
t
ol of the was
ightfully thei
s.
Pressure on Britain and France in the United States
Afte
the US p
essu
ed the UK a
d F
a
ce
After letting it relinquish its sovereignty over Suez
to give up thei
claim to Suez,
Panamanians see them as hypocrites
ma
y i
Pa
ama saw this as hypoc
itical.
The entire sixties were rife with riots and deaths
The
e we
e
iots a
d deaths th
oughout the sixties,
This has put tremendous international pressure on the United States
buildi
g i
te
atio
al p
essu
e o
the US.
1977 Carter signs a treaty
I
1977 Jimmy Ca
te
sig
ed a t
eaty g
a
ti
g Pa
ama
As long as the canal remains permanently neutral
futu
e ow
e
ship a
d co
t
ol of the, as
They will grant Panama ownership of the canal
lo
g as it
emai
ed i
eut
al wate
way.
Carter: "For the Panama Canal Treaty, which was drafted in 1903
Ca
te
:”You
ow
st
o
g feeli
gs about the Pa
ama T
eaty of 1903.”
Your discontents
“D
afted i
a wo
ld so diffe
e
t f
om ou
s today.”
has become an obstacle to improving relations with Latin America"
“Has become a
obstacle to bette
elatio
s with Lati
Ame
ica.”
After the overthrow of General Noriega by the United States in 1989
Afte
a quick US i
vasio
i
’89 to ove
th
ow ge
e
al No
iega.
The last day of the 20th century
The Pa
ama
Panama canal
officially became the p
ope
ty of Pa
ama,
Finally officially returned to the bosom of the motherland
o
the last day of the 20th ce
tu
y.
But until then
But by the
it had sta
ted to become mo
e
Larger cargo ships were built than the canal to sail around Cape Horn
eco
omical to build ships la
ge
tha
the a
d
It becomes more cost-effective
sta
t saili
g a
ou
d Cape Ho
agai
.
In 2007, Panama began to expand the canal
I
2007 Pa
ama bega
expa
sio
of thei
two
Two new sets of sluices were erected parallel to the old ones
ew sets of locks we
e built pa
allel to the old o
es,
It has increased its maximum size and capacity
i
c
easi
g the maximum size a
d capacity.
Scaling is a costly project in itself
The expa
sio
itself was a massive p
oject,
It took almost as long as the United States
taki
g almost as lo
g as the Ame
ica
s did.
So the question of who built the canal becomes complicated
So the issue of who built the is complicated.
The United States hired Irish and Chinese laborers to build the railroad
It was the US that built the
ail
oads with I
ish a
d Chi
ese wo
ke
s.
The French hired Indians and Jamaicans to dig 50 million cubic meters of rock
The F
e
ch excavated 50 millio
cubic mete
s of
ock with I
dia
s a
d Jamaica
s.
The United States hired Caribbean and Central American workers to complete the project
The US fi
ished the p
oject usi
g Ca
ibbea
a
d Ce
t
al Ame
ica
wo
ke
s.
However, most of the canal [infrastructure] that you actually see today was built by Panamanians
Yet most of the [i
f
ast
uctu
e] you actually see today was built by Pa
ama
ia
s.
It is often considered a national achievement
Yet it would be
emembe
ed as the achieveme
t of a si
gle p
eside
t,
But in fact it was done with the joint efforts of several countries
while actually completed u
de
seve
al othe
s,
They all stood on the shoulders of those who came before them
all while sta
di
g o
the shoulde
s of othe
atio
s.
Human progress requires a scale and ambition that transcends the times
Huma
p
og
ess
equi
es scale a
d ambitio
that exceeds ge
e
atio
s.
And not just in their time
Not just te
ms of office.
This canal and the subsequent project
This a
d late
p
ojects we
e built
It has been accomplished through the efforts of many countries and peoples across continents
by ma
y people a
d
atio
s wo
ki
g togethe
ac
oss co
ti
e
ts.
Sometimes it takes centuries