Panama Canal history and significance

American History

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is approximately 80 kilometers long and runs between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This waterway was cut through one of narrowest places that join North and South America. The Canal uses a system of locks, which are compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks work as water raises ships from the sea level of the Pacific or the Atlantic oceans to the level of Gatun Lake which is 26 meters above sea level. Ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide. Each set of locks is named after the town where it was built. One is known as Gatun which is on the Atlantic side, and the others are Pedro Miguel and Miraflores which are on the Pacific side. The lock chambers have steps that are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. "The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship)" (This is the Canal, n.d.).

The water that is used to raise and lower the ships in each set of locks comes from Gatun Lake. It comes into the locks through a system of culverts that extend under the lock chambers. The narrowest portion of the Canal is Culebra Cut, which extends from the north end of Pedro Miguel Locks to the south edge of Gatun Lake at Gamboa. This segment is approximately 13.7 kilometers long and is carved through the Continental Divide. Ships from all parts of the world journey through the Panama Canal everyday and some 13 to 14 thousand ships pass through it every year. The Canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and employees approximately 9 thousand employees (This is the Canal, n.d.).

The history of the Panama Canal dates back to the16th century during which time there were many riches in Peru, Ecuador, and Asia (the Panama Canal, n.d.). Conquistadors who were seeking gold in Peru would cross the seas and back and forth with their treasures bound for Spain (the History of the Panamanian Isthmus, n.d). Because it took such a long time for these riches to reach the ports of Spain, it was suggested that they try to make the trips shorter by cutting out a piece of land somewhere in Panama. In 1529 a survey of the land was done and a working plan for a canal was drawn up. But the wars in Europe put the project on permanent hold and although over the years several plans for a canal were drawn up none were ever undertaken. Eventually the Spanish government lost interest in building a canal (the Panama Canal, n.d).

In the early 19th century the Spanish government formally authorized the construction of a canal and created a company to undertake the building of it. When gold was discovered in California in 1848 there was rush of miners which sparked the American's interest in digging the canal. Various surveys were done between 1850 and 1875 all which showed that there were only two possible routes that were practical for the canal. One was across Panama and another across Nicaragua. In 1876 an international company was organized to build the canal. Two years later it acquired permission from the Colombian government to dig a canal across the isthmus. Unfortunately the international company failed. In 1880 a French company was organized by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, who was the builder of the Suez Canal (the Panama Canal, n.d).

De Lesseps proposed a sea level canal through Panama in 1879. Drawing upon the success he had with the construction of the Suez Canal he was confident he would be able to complete this one as well. The major advantages of having the canal would be the saving of time and mileage when traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean's. De Lesseps was appointed chairman for the construction of the Panama Canal even though he was not an engineer. He organized an International Congress to discuss the plans for constructing the canal. He opted for a sea-level canal based upon the success that he had with the Suez Canal. He felt that if a sea-level canal worked when constructing the Suez Canal, it had to work for the Panama Canal (the Panama Canal, n.d). Unfortunately the project failed due to disease, faulty design, and bankruptcy and was eventually abandoned in 1889 (Panama Plans Huge Canal Expansion, 2006).

At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States had become convinced that a canal should be built to link the two oceans together. In 1903 when Panama rebelled against Colombia President Roosevelt sent United States naval vessels to try and discourage the Colombian forces (the History of the Panamanian Isthmus, n.d). In 1899 the U.S. Congress created an Isthmian Canal Commission which examined the possibilities of a Central American canal and looked at what routes might be possible. The commission first decided on a route through Nicaragua, but later decided that wasn't the way to go. The Lesseps Company offered to sell the assets that it had to the United States for $40 million. The United States and the new state of Panama signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty, in which the United States obtained a lease on a 10-mile strip of land for the canal and Panama was guaranteed its independence. The terms of the agreement compensated Panama with an initial payment of $10 million and an annuity of $250,000 that was to begin in 1913 (the Panama Canal, n.d).

The Panama Canal was put together in two stages. The first was constructed between 1881 and 1888, and was the work of the French company headed by de Lessop. The second part was done by the Americans which completed the canals construction between 1904 and 1914.

The contract for the construction of the canal was signed on March 12th, 1881. It stipulated that the work would be carried out for 512 million French francs, but the contract was conditional in the sense it was not binding until two years later (the Panama Canal, n.d).

In 1882 the excavation of the Culebra Cut began, but due to the lack of organization there were no tracks available to remove the excess soil that was being excavated. After dealing with this problem, the highest peaks of the cut were done first. As the work was undertaken, the problem of landslides and what was to be done to avoid them became a growing area of concern. In 1883 it was discovered that there was a difference in the tidal ranges between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean's. The tidal range at the Pacific was about 20 feet, while the Atlantic range was about 1 foot. They decided that this difference in levels would pose a danger to navigation, so it was decided that the tidal lock would be built at Panama to even out the levels. Doing it this way saved about 10 million cubic meters of excavation (the Panama Canal, n.d).

Unfortunately the French company that was in charge began running into financial difficulties during 1885. They applied to the French government to issue lottery bonds like had been done during the construction of the Suez Canal when that project had run out of money. But this tactic did not work in this situation and they eventually went under.

Upon hearing about the financial difficulties that they building company was having the Americans became even more interested in the canal. A report made by the Americans in 1886 found that housing for the workforce was under construction and a great deal of the plant was ready for use. Unfortunately the supplies that were required to construct the canal were in short supply, there were too few dredgers, and the French excavators were too light and were not efficient at removing large boulders. This caused a lot of the work to be done by hand. The turnover rate of the workforce was great because the men wanted to return home to spend the savings they had accumulated and because there was a lack of adequate medical care. It was soon understood that the solution to all the problems that they were facing, was the construction of a high-level lock canal that would reduce the enormous volume of excavation and prevent the landslides. The abandonment of the original plan at this stage caused financial ruin for all the investors and a severe blow to the French. But the original plan was modified to include lock system (the Panama Canal, n.d).

In 1899 the French's attempt at constructing the Panama Canal was declared a failure. Before they left they had excavated a total of 59.75 million cubic meters which included 14.255 million cubic meters from the Culebra Cut. This had lowered the peak by 102 meters. They left behind a significant amount of machinery, housing and a hospital. The reasons for the French failing were attributed to disease carrying mosquitoes and the inadequacy of their machinery (the Panama Canal, n.d).

The construction of the canal was taken over by the Americans in 1904. The first thing that the Americans set out to do was to improve the standard of living and make sure that ill health would be a thing of the past. After remedying these problems the first American steam shovel started work on the Culebra Cut on November 11th, 1904. A year later there were 2,600 men at work in the Culebra Cut. Sidings and tracks for the removal of the dirt had been constructed and the dredging at both the Atlantic and Pacific portions of the canal had begun. It wasn't until June of 1906 that it was decided that a lock canal was what was going to be built. The lock canal would facilitate the river Chagres to form a lake. The excavation at the peak of the Culebra Cut was over 512,500 cubic meters of material in the first three months of 1907. There were 39,000 people working on it everyday. The rock had to broken up by dynamite and then hauled away. They used 100 Bucyrus steam shovels each capable of excavating approximately 920 cubic meters in an eight-hour day in order to accomplish this feat (the Panama Canal, n.d).

Since the completion of the canal in 1914, the presence of the United States has been a major source of frustration for Panama. In the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, the United States was granted the Canal Zone for ever and Panama was made the region of the United States. Relations with the United States and the status of the Canal Zone were major concerns of the people of Panama. Even though there had been treaty amendments in 1936 and 1955, limiting the right of the United States to get involved in Panama's internal affairs, there continued to be problems between the two countries. Besides the issue of jurisdiction over the canal zone, Panamanians complained that they did not feel that they receives their fair share of the proceeds from the canal, and that the large presence of the United States military in the zone was not good for national independence. In 1977 two new treaties were signed. The first provided for Panama to assume control over the canal in the year 2000. And the second provided for a permanent joint guarantee of the canal's neutrality (the History of the Panamanian Isthmus, n.d).

In October of1978, the Constitution of 1972 had been changed to allow the legalization of political parties, and political leaders that had been exiled were permitted to return to Panama. Torrijos formally stepped down as head of government, and a civilian president was put into power. Even after stepping down Torrijos continued to be a dominant force in the political system. When he was suddenly killed in an airplane crash in July 1981 there was a void created in the power in Panama. The newly elected democratic government moved on with the succession of civilian presidents controlled by the National Guard led by General Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno, who had been in command since August 1983. Noriega successfully transformed the National Guard into the Panama Defense Forces that were the power base for his increasing political control (the History of the Panamanian Isthmus, n.d).