Jump in. I’m going to tell you…

The Panama Canal

and how Panama changed the world for the 3rd time.

Wait. A third time?

The first time was 70 million years ago, and we explained something about it during our visit to the BioMuseum.

The second time was when the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the “Mar del Sur,” and it blew everyone’s minds. But that’s a story for another blog post.

The thought of having a canal goes back to 1534, when Charles V of Spain ordered the first study for a proposed canal route through the Isthmus of Panama.

More than three centuries passed before the first construction efforts began. The French worked for 20 years, starting in 1880, but diseases and financial problems defeated them.

In 1903, Panama and the United States signed a treaty for the construction of the Canal. It was officially open for operations in August 15th, 1914 changing the world for the third time.

Photos from https://pancanal.com

Panama Canal Partial Transit

From: $70.00

Do a partial transit or full transit of the Panama Canal and see how the locks work, navigate on Gatún lake and see the 8th wonder up close!

Book a Panama Canal transit tour

Better interconnections

The Panama Canal provides a crucial shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, significantly reducing travel time and distance for ships. This has made shipping more efficient and cost-effective, bolstering global trade by facilitating quicker and more direct shipping routes. It allows for the movement of goods between the east and west coasts of the Americas, supporting industries and economies around the world. Additionally, the canal has had a significant economic impact on Panama and other countries, generating revenue through tolls and creating jobs and infrastructure development in the region.

Regional improvement

The labor force hired for the construction of the Panama Canal, apart from the American workforce, came from Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. Among the Caribbean islands, six contributed the largest number of workers to Panama: Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, Martinique, Trinidad, and Cuba, with Barbados and Jamaica sending the most workers to the isthmus.

Many of these Caribbean laborers stayed in Panama, contributing to the local Afro-Caribbean culture, while many others returned to their home countries, contributing to economic development, as in the case of Barbados.

Colón City and Bocas del Toro are the most influenced by these Afro-Caribbean populations.

Panama City – Bocas del Toro regular daily flights

From: $144.45

Do you want to feel Panama’s best Afro-Caribbean vibe? Book a flight to Bocas del Toro with daily departures at the best price in town.

Book a flight to Bocas del Toro

Public Health Campaign Model

It wasn’t just technology and a design better suited to Panama’s challenging geography that allowed the United States to succeed where the French had failed. Equally important was their ability to eradicate malaria and yellow fever, diseases that had devastated the workforce during the ill-fated French attempt.

Although the link between mosquitoes and these diseases had been identified years earlier by Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay—and the principles for controlling their spread had been applied in Cuba during the Spanish-American War of 1898—it was their successful implementation in Panama that ultimately brought global recognition to the model.

The numbers speak for themselves: it’s estimated that a total of 25,609 people died during the construction of the canal. 22,819 of these deaths occurred during the French administration, mostly due to the diseases that the United States would later combat so effectively.

The credit goes primarily to American epidemiologist William Gorgas, who had previously been stationed in Cuba and was responsible for designing the most ambitious public health campaign of his time.

Aero City Tour – Airplane

From: $240.00

See the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Administration Building, the Bridge of the Americas, Amador Causeway and many other iconic structures related to the Panama Canal’s construction.

Ask our agents to include a tour to the Miraflores visitors center and the Panama Canal museum.

Book a Panama Canal transit tour

From lumber to… planes?

The canal, however, had a transformative effect on certain regions, particularly the northwestern United States, which significantly expanded its domestic market for lumber production.

These profits enabled William Boeing, who was then the president of a lumber company in Washington State, to start a small airline and sustain it in its early years.

By WW2, Boeing had dramatically changed the development of Seatle.

A huge loss

The failure of the French attempt to construct the Panama Canal had far-reaching consequences for France. The project resulted in a massive financial loss, with around 287 million francs spent, leaving many investors devastated. This financial disaster led to the bankruptcy of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique in 1888, and the scandal that followed marred France’s reputation, becoming a symbol of corruption and mismanagement.

Moreover, the failure impacted French engineering and colonial ambitions. It underscored the difficulties of large-scale engineering projects in tropical environments and highlighted the critical importance of disease control measures. This experience influenced future French colonial endeavors, making them more cautious and better prepared to address similar challenges.