If the Suez Canal was built to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, the Panama Canal was built to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Although the Panama Canal gives less impact than the Suez Canal that links Europe and Asia, the Panama Canal is still appealing in the eyes of nations that thrive for power.
The beginning of the idea of building the Panama Canal went back to at least the 1500s, but was deemed impossible due to limitations of technology available at that time. Until after the success of the Suez Canal in 1869 led by Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, head of a Geographical Society Party organised committee, a limited company, La Société Civile Internationale du Canal Interocéanique de Darien. As they thrived to link the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean together, the Panama Isthmus, which was a part of Columbia at the time, attracted them. French Navy Lieutenant Lucien N.B. Wyse explored the Isthmus of Panama and negotiated a treaty with Columbian government. The Wyse Concession was signed on March 20, 1878. The treaty granted Société Civil exclusive rights to build an interoceanic through Panama. In exchange, they must return the waterway back to the Columbian government after 99 years without compensation.
The French company hit the ground of Panama with a treaty secured by Columbia. De Lesseps even stated that the construction of the Panama Canal was easier than the Suez Canal. Yet, the attempt failed in 1889 largely due to yellow fever and malaria that killed over 20,000 people throughout the construction. Mismanagement and corruption also contributed to the failure as well.
Despite the failure of the construction of the Panama canal, the canal remained enhanced. With similar motives to seize the power from owning one of the global main trade routes, the U.S. was tempted. During the time of President Theodore Roosevelt, the president pushed over the project by, first, buying the asset from the French company at the cost of $40 million in 1902.
Nevertheless, conflicts arose between the U.S. and Columbia on continuing the construction as Columbia did not want to lose sovereignty over the canal. The U.S. intervened by supporting the Panamanians independence movement through the help of a French businessman named Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla. Bunau-Varilla negotiated with the new government to act as a diplomatic representative of Panama. He then signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty in 1903 which granted the U.S. rights to own the Canal zone in exchange of financial assistance and for the establishment of the Republic of Panama. Without Panamanians signing the treaty, the door was opened to the U.S. to enter by a French businessman. The Panama Canal successfully built and opened in 1914 by the U.S..
The Panama Canal construction project was considered as the largest public construction project in U.S. history at the time. What made Roosevelt invested into this project? The construction was during the time that the U.S. widened out their power over the Latin America including Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Caribbean. The canal is a crucial geographical location in terms of both commercial and especially military as it would allow the U.S. to have control over the two oceans. Moreover, the globalisation became more and more significant as well. The Panamanians yearned for this; hence, they allowed the U.S. to exploit their resources for their independence and the expected returns from the canal.
The U.S. surely gained from the geographical, and , in addition, an image that differentiate them away from the old power of Europe. The image of giving help to other underdeveloped nations unlike the exploitation of resources that the colonisation nation era have. But what was behind the curtain were the same, the gain of the U.S. far exceeded what the Panamanians obtained.
With such a large scale project size, job creation is the common expectation to see. In contrast, the U.S. imported thousands of workers in Central America especially from the Caribbean, which the workforce turned out to be mostly foreigners. Discrimination between whites and black were clearly seen from the accomodations and sanitations to wages which is known as the Gold and Silver rolls. Leading to racism issues that remain in Panama up to the present. Any worker acting in any opposing way were deported or put in jail, strikes were impossible.
Then, what did Panama gain? No development truly realised by the Panamanian except the little capital gains according to the treaty.
As time passed by, the Panamanians slowly realised that the actual returns were much lower than what they expected and deserved to obtain. As the canal remained under the U.S. control decades after the completion of the construction. Dividing nations to the prosperity behind the fence, and the Panamanians struggling to live as if the canal did not exist.
Bringing back the sovereignty over the waterway was not easy. The U.S. intervened in the political atmosphere of Panama, selecting leaders that would follow the ideology and allow the U.S. to continue exploitation. These leaders were Panamanian but were from wealthy families in which their businesses benefited from the U.S. interests. Hence, they gave no interests in the vast majority of Panamanians. They opened the door even further for the U.S., especially the corporations to come in and exploit resources. Profits were shared between the Panamanian leaders and the corporations in the U.S..
Up until the treaty between the President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian Chief of Government Omar Torrijos was signed which is known as Carter-Torrijos treaty in 1977. Consequently, the canal is neutralised and allows Panamanians to gain from the waterway but the U.S. still has military rights to intervene in order to keep the canal operating. Gains for the Panamanians finally realised thanks to the selfless leader Torrijos.
References:
Panama Canal. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/panama-canal
How the Panama Canal helped make the U.S. a world power. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/panama-canal-helped-make-u-s-world-power
The Panama Canal: A Triumph of American Medicine. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/history-and-philosophy-of-medicine/panama-canal.html
Interesting topic, this shows the exploitation of Panamanian resources for U.S. investor interests. I think the canal is beneficial for globalization, but Panamanians should have involved more in the construction and gains from the operation. If Panama can gain more, the country may have more resources to develop.