PANAMA CANAL HISTORY

History

The idea of the canal was considered in 1533 for the Spanish in Camino de Cruces overland route. However, the project was abandoned, as it would have cost an enormous amount of money for the time.

In 1879 studies carried out by the firm owned by Ferdinand de Lesseps who built the Suez Canal. The first option for the construction of the Canal was Nicaragua, but finally in 1882 work began in Panama and was created The Companies Universal del Canal Interoceanico.

Seven years later, due to lack of cash, epidemics and physical difficulties, amongst other reasons, the Company went bankrupt and the work stopped.

The project was taken up again in 1900 when North Americans bought the rights to build the Canal.

The Panamanian People helped by the US, proclaimed Panama´s independence from Colombia in 1903. In exchange for this aid, the United States was to build the Canal and enjoy perpetual rights to use, operate and control it.

It took ten years to complete construction of the Canal and them building one of the largest locks that existed at that time, al Gatún. Finally, on 15 August 1914, the steamship Ancon was the first ship to sail through the Canal.

After the elections in 1968, president Omar Torrijos took it upon himself to realize national aspiration, achieving a historic agreement for the return of the Canal, which entered into effect on 31 December 1999. The Panama Canal Authority has administrated this vital route ever since. More recently, in October 2006, a popular referendum approved plans to expand the Canal to increase sea traffic and accommodate larger ships, since the size of the locks at present restricts their use by the ships up to maximum of 965 feet long and 105 feet wide.