Brief History

Courtesy from Panama Institute of Tourism

History, culture, rain forest, nature, outdoors, activities, night life, shopping, beaches, and much more does Panama offers.

Panama holds an important place due to its geography and location in the new world.

The nation was home to over 60 indigenous Indian tribes who had their roots as far back as 12,000 years ago. Panama was discovered in 1501 by Rodrigo de Bastidas who claimed the land in the name of Spain. As Spain continued exploring and expanding their territory, wars and diseases quickly annihilate the native population estimated between one to two million people. Precious treasure from Peru was moved thru Panama to be loaded on ships on the Atlantic and to take back to Spain.

The discovery of Panama was an instantaneous discovery in creating a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific. The first plans were actually created in 1539 by King Charles V of Spain. Little did he know that this masterpiece would only possible 300 years later thanks to the construction of the Panama railway.

In the late 1600s, Spain began losing its imperial strength and lost its interest in Panama. Panama merged with present-day countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela to create the large historical nation of Greater Colombia.

In 1880, France proposed to construct a canal across the isthmus of the northern part of the Great Colombia (Panama). Construction began under the supervision of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the prominent figure who had just completed the creation fo the Suez canal in Egypt. Unfortunately, in the next nine years, conditions in the region were underestimated and the project suffered massive losses and went bankrupt after losing 22,000 lives to diseases and weather conditions.

President Roosevelt moved to take over the stalled project in 1902 which included a 100-year lease agreement of the Canal. Colombia rejected the terms and the following year U.S. mobilized and planted Panama’s independence movement, backed by military presence. Construction began 1904 and great advances in disease prevention and control were executed. However, the project claimed another 5000 lives during construction.

In 1914, the Canal was completed and was classified as the eight wonder of the world. The U.S. took over the operations of the Canal, enforced by constant presence of U.S. military until 1977 when an agreement was signed to transfer control back to Panama in 1999 with the right for the U.S. to intervene militarily to protect its economic interest in the shipping route.

Panama has become a nation of 3.2 million people and their demography is a mix of Spanish, Chinese, African and natives.

Canal Operations

Watch our video covering the economy and the canal and its expansion at Invest in Panama.

The canal has three sets of locks that act as lifts to allow movement between the sectors of the canal. The water in these locks are fed by gravity as the water enters the chambers to allow lifts and descents of the vessels. Approximately 55 million gallons of fresh water is used for each lift.

When the canal was first built in the beginning of the 20^th century, engineers integrated extra margins in the width of the canals forecasting technological advances and grander cargo ships known as the Panamax standard for vessel size. However, in the past two decades, the maritime industry has had the capability of manufacturing mammoth bulk carriers and tankers that are far wider than the canals are designed for. Projections indicated that Panama had to move quickly and capture this market for it to remain competitive in the international shipping industry.

In 2006, the government created the proposal to expand the canal and create a third set of locks that would double the waterway’s capacity, decrease congestion and allow the latest generation of gigantic ships to pass thru the canal. The nation voted in favor of the expansion in September with an 80% majority and construction is well under way as it is set to be completed in 2014. Latest improvements include water-saving basins that will allow the canal to reuse the fresh water to fill locks.