Panama Canal

The history of the Panama Canal dates back to the 16th century. After obtaining the riches of Peru, Ecuador, and Asia and measuring the time taken for the gold to reach to Spain, it was suggested to Charles V that the trips would be made much shorter by cutting off a piece of land near Panama. This involved fewer risks in transporting the treasures through the isthmus.

A survey was ordered for the isthmus. Following this, a working plan for a canal was drawn in the year 1529. The project was put on permanent hold due to the wars in Europe. The cravings for the control of kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea also played a major role.

According to the history of the Panama Canal, a Spanish officer suggested an alternative canal route in 1534. This route was in close proximity to the present canal. Subsequently, several other plans were suggested for the canal. However, there was lack of action. The Spanish Government was quick to abandon its interest in the canal.

Books by German researcher Alexander von Humboldt revived interest in the canal in the early 19th century. The Spanish Government started construction of the canal formally in 1819. They selected a company to build it. Americans showed growing interest in the construction when gold was discovered in California in 1848. There was an increased rush among would-be miners.

Between 1850 and 1875 many surveys were conducted. These surveys indicated that only two routes were practical: one across Panama and the other across Nicaragua. An international company was founded in 1876. After a period of two years a concession was obtained from the Colombian government to create a canal across the isthmus. The international community met with failure, and a French company was approached in 1880 by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, who was the builder of the Suez Canal.

De Lesseps proposed a sea-level canal in 1879. He had tasted success with the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt some ten years earlier. This gave de Lesseps confidence to complete the circle of water around the world.

There would be a dramatic reduction in time and mileage while traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and vice versa. It was expected to save 18,000 miles a trip from New York to San Francisco.

Despite knowing that de Lesseps was not an engineer, he was appointed chairman in the construction of the Panama Canal. When he took charge, he helped in the organization of an International Congress for the discussion of several schemes in the construction of a canal for ships. De Lesseps chose a sea-level canal, which was based on the model of the Suez Canal. He argued that if a sea-level canal worked while constructing the Suez Canal, the results should be similar for the Panama Canal.

1899 saw the creation of an Isthmian Canal Commission by the US Congress. Its aim was to examine the possibilities of a Central American Canal. It was also supposed to recommend a route. A route through Nicaragua was first suggested but later reversed.