The Panama Canal
Welcome to our page about the Panama Canal. Here you will experience a trip
through the history of the eight wonder of the modern world.
(Pre)Colonial Antecedents
Even as far back as the year 8000 B.C. was the isthm of Panama used as a point
of transit, the crossroads if you will, between North/Central and South
America. Back then it was the route of the prehistoric man and wildlife.
Panama was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his 4th trip in 1502. It was
then that a canal was first envisioned by King Carlos V of Spain who ordered
the very first topographic studies for the construction of a canal through the
narrowest part of the isthmus (80 kilometers). This was a visionary project but
unfortunately for them such an enterprise was beyond the capabilities of the
period.
But even then not all was lost, the isthmus continued its role of crossroads
because the Spaniards made a semi-paved road (peebles) between Nombre de Dios
on the Atlantic side (Colon) and Panama City. This was named "El Camino Real".
Likewise there was another piece of road from Panama city to the town of Venta
de Cruces on the Chagres River, and from that point on navigation continued by
boat upriver to the town of Portobelo. This was named the "Camino de Cruces"
and part of it still exists in the National Park of the same name. The old town
of Venta de Cruces though did not survive, it drawned when the Gatún
lake was created during the construction of the Panama canal.
Early Republican times: The Panama Railroad
By now Panama had already gained its independence from Spain (28 november 1821)
but chose to be
part of Colombia. Even then the US had interest in this little isthm so it is
no wonder than in 1850 the United States initiated the construction of the
first transcontinental railroad in the world, the Panama Railroad. It took 5
years to build costing a total of 8 million dollars thus becoming the most
expensive railroad ever built.
The Panama Railroad joined Panama city and the newly created city of Colon
which at the time was named Aspinwall city. The railrroad served its duty by
being of crucial importance for the transport of gold and goods during the
California Gold Rush. Before that it had to be done via the perilous Camino de
Cruces. The transit however was also very expensive at the time, a passenger
had to pay $25 in gold to make the trip.
This railroad used a non-standard gauge of 5 feet but that changed a few years
ago when the railroad was given a new life and rebuilt by the american company
that now provides the service.
The French Canal (1881-1888)
In 1879 the
French Count Ferdinand de Lesseps sold millions of shares of the newly founded
"Compañia Universal del Canal Interoceanico" to the French population.
That I suppose wasn't too difficult because he had just booked extraordinary
success in building the Suez Canal (1859-1869).
The construction work began in 1880 but unfortunately they had underestimated
the charms and evils of the new continent. The experience and knowledge of the
French engineers proved not to be enough for such an enterprise. Why? because
they were unable to overcome major obstacles such as the tropical climate and
the geography (lots of hills) proved to be a health hazard. There were
epidemics of Yellow Fever and Malaria which were compounded by a bad
administration. It was then than in 1889 (almost as long as it took them to
build the Suez Canal) they gave up and the dream of a canal came to a sudden
end.
By 1887 the mortality rate among the workers of the Panama canal was 64.7%
and it was the type of information the French company did not relay back to Paris.
It was exactly on this year that the future famous painter Paul Gaugin and his
friend Charles Duval came to Panama to work in the canal in order to build up
some capital to continue their journey to the South Pacific.
New approach at building a canal (1894-1898)
In 1894 the New Panama Canal Company was organized by a technical commitee that
made topographical, geological and hidrological studies in the Isthm of Panama.
As a result they recommended a canal with locks to control the overflowing of
the Chagres river and reduce the amount of excavations that would be needed to
build the canal.
Unfortunately this did not prosper either due to the lack of financial support.
This is how the rights and properties of the new company were sold to the
United States government.
Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty of 1903
In 1903 we became the Republic of Panama by declaring our separation from Colombia.
This was possible thanks to the Panama Canal Railroad which was used to transport
military backup from the U.S.A. Of course, this did not happen out of the goodness of
the heart of the US government, big interests where in the game but in the end this
was -in a bitter sweet way- also beneficial to the new republic.
In the US Congress there was also a strong inclination towards building an interoceanic
canal not through Panama but through Nicaragua. The idea was to use the Nicaragua lake
which is not only the greatest lake (in size) in Central America but it also drains on
the Caribbean sea with the San Juan river. That stretch was the next isthmus of Central
America but not as narrow as Panama, though the size of the lake helped. However, there
has always been much volcanic activity in Nicaragua which has several active volcanoes.
The lobbyists and supporters of the Panama canal sent each a Nicaraguan stamp that
featured one of Nicaragua's volcanoes in the background of the Nicaragua Lake. This
obviously brought enough attention to that fact and in the end the decision fell on
building the canal on the isthmus of Panama. Frenchman Philip Bunneau-Varilla was
one of the key figures behind this campaign.
On November 3rd, 1903 Panama separated from Colombia. That same year the original
Panama Canal treaty was signed. This was the result of the US government which
obviously had much at stake -otherwise they would not have bothered to get involved,-
a business smart Frenchman Philippe Buneau who sought after the interests of the
Lesseps company and the inexperienced Panamanian junta. This junta was headed by influential
(people from rich families) figures such as Carlos Arosemena, Manuel A. Guerrero and
Jose Agustin Arango (primary members).
This treaty however would be illegal in the modern world and it should have been
there is Panama was better prepared to negotiate the terms. But it wasn't so, and because
of that the treaty granted the US government extensive rights, literally "in perpetuity
for the use, operation and control of the canal." Mr. Buneau-Varilla was the legal
representative of the republic of Panama but his role as such was "purchased" rather
than being appointed as such. Moreover, previously to the signing Mr. Buneau-Varilla
had not resided in the republic of Panama (and therefore not suitable to act
as true and loyal legal representative) in the past 17 years!. Even more incredibly,
he hastily signed the treaty in the US (the Hay-Buneau-Varilla treaty) on November
18th, 1903 before the Panamanian representatives arrived. Now how legal does that sound?
When the panamanian representation arrived it was too late. Then again, even though there
was some uproar in the new republic, the lack of experience left no "viable" alternative
and the panamanian government ratified this illegal treaty on December 2nd, 1903.
The ill-conceived
Hay-Buneau-Varilla treaty became reality, it was even
worded in such was that it gave "all the rights, power, and authority ... which the
United States would possess and exercise if it were the sovereign ... to the entire
exclusion" of Panama. Even as to acquire the use of more territory. Does that sound
like a treaty that a patriot would sign? no. But that is how history was written and
had repercussions in modern days (the massacre of January 6th, 1963) and eventually
the signing of the Torrijos-Carter treaty in 1977.
The US government acquired the rights and properties of the French Canal Company
(from Ferdinand de Lesseps) for $40 million dollars. Notice that this was paid to
the French Canal company and not to Panama (which provided the land and the wounded
dignity).
True it is that both countries have benefited (one more than the other) from the ill
turns of a new republic. Because of this it may be no surprise to you (although
US citizens would most likely have a different opinion) that the relationship between
Panama and the US has always been bitter-sweet, or as some would say "taken with
a grain of salt." Do note however that this is all based on historical facts and
it reflects only the frictions and differences between two government and
not between its people.
Unfortunately the stones of some historical sites dating from the Spanish
colonization where used during the construction of the canal. The legacy of a
rich past was violated in the name of progres.
The Americans continue where the French left off
The Americans faced great obstacles in building the canal, among which we can name
the tropical diseases, the isthmian geological composition that caused constant
landslides, and the large volume of excavation required to make it a reality.
In order to get rid of the tropical diseases that decimated the population of
inhabitants and workers, it was imperative to sanitize the area. It was the great
work of Coronel William Crawford Gorgas and his medical team that made the erradication
of Yellow Fever from the Isthm of Panama as well as keeping Malaria under control.
Chief engineer John F. Stevens was in charge of creating towns and the supply
system. He and his team also built the world first transcontinental railroad in
order to evacuate all the earth and material that was excavated from Gaillard
Cut (Corte Culebra) and the rest of the canal. If the material that was removed
in the excavation were to be put in raiload flat cars, it would circle the world
four times! and almost half of this amount came from the Gaillard Cut alone. The
Corte Culebra is the narrowest stretch of the Panama canal and it goes across
the continental divide. This fact alone should give you some idea of the extraordinary
accomplishment of the american engineers and all the hard workes.
Coronel George Washington Goethals was the chief engineer responsible for the
final design and construction of the locks, the excavation of Gaillard Cut and
the creation of the Gatun Lake and the Gatun Dam. The Gatun dam was until 1937
the world largest earthen dam, in that year the Fort Peck dam in Montana,USA
took over the honors. The Gatun lake was at the time the world largest artificial
lake with a size almost comparable to Lake Geneva in Switzerland (natural lake).
With the exception of the names already mentioned the names of the rest of the
hard labourers has gone into oblivion. Thousands of people migrated to Panama from
all over the world (yes, even Europe) to work in the construction of this marvel
of modern engineering. Unfortunately, the US mind was still plagued with airs of
superiority (only it didn't go as far as the Nazis). They took the discrimination
against black people (in the US) to new levels and in foreign soil. As a result the
payment of salaries was divided in two: Golden Role and Silver Role. White US
americans were in the Golden role and got paid around $20 per hour, whereas the
rest of the hard workers (white europeans, afro-antillean, etc.) were in the
Silver role and received about $0.20 (yes 20 cents!!!) per hour for the same kind
of work.
The building of the canal required a workforce of more than 75,000 men and
women and costing a total of $400 million dollars!.
The canal becomes operational
The very first transit on the newly built Panama canal was made on January 7th,
1914 by the floating crane Alexander La Valley. But it was not until
August 15th, 1914 that the first official transit (inauguration of the canal) was
made by the vapour-driven vessel Ancón.
So far the fastest transit has been done by the aerofoil vessel Pegasus from
the US Army which completed transit in 2:41 hours in June 1979. The least amount
of money paid for transit is credited to Mr. Richard Halliburton which risked
crossing the canal (on the cozy company of alligators in Gatun Lake) from 14-23rd
of August 1928, he crossed the canal by swimming and paid only 36 cents.
The presence of this deep wound in the isthm created yet another problem, the
transit from West (north and central america) to East (south america) by ground,
which had been possible for millions of years was no longer possible. So first
there was a ferry service until the Miraflores Swing bridge (on the Pacific side)
was inaugurated on May 20th, 1942.
Transit of the Panama Canal
I was lucky enough to experience the crossing of the Panama canal (end to end)
when I was in elementary school (thanks to aunt Maggie who was at the time
a teacher). This is how it goes.
To begin with, due to the lock nature of the canal a vessel cannot exceed a
maximum size called Panamax. The maximum dimensions of a vessel are 12.04 metres
Draft, 32.31 metres Beam and 294.13 metres Length. So now let us begin our transit
on the Atlantic side relatively close by the bays where Spanish galeons sailed in
the times of the conquest.
Normally a vessel takes 8-10 hours to transit the length of the canal and about
24 if you include the waiting for its transit slot at the Pacific/Atlantic entrance
of the canal. You will naturally read this in much less time.
The vessel begins by entering at Bahía Limón after passing the
wavebreaker at Cristobal. This part of the transit is at sea level and has a length
of about 10 kms. and a width of 152.40 metres. This is a mangrove area.
Then it enters the three chambers of the Gatun Locks to be raised about 26 metres
above sea level. Each chamber is about 33.53 metres widea and 304.8 metres in length.
The actual Gatun Locks are about 2 kms. long (including containment walls). There is
a watch balcony at the facilities of Gatun Locks (reachable by car). It is a fantastic
experience to see such large ships transiting just a few meters from your face, don't
take my word for it (I have been there about 3 times) visit it!.
At this point the vessel has entered the Gatun Lake, a large artificial lake
which inundated a great area and even put some historical sites under water. Nearby
is the Gatun Dam which controls the flow of water between the Gatun Lake and the
part of the Chagres River that pours into the Caribbean. Just imagine than in the
1500s pirate Henry Morgan breached the Spanish defenses at the mouth of the Chagres
river and navigated it towards Old Panama city. Here at Gatun Lake the vessels
navigate about 38 kms from the Gatun Locks passing alongside Barro
Colorado Island (home of the Smithsonian Research facilities in Panama) to the north
side of Gaillard Cut (Corte Culebra) in honor to David Gaillard the engineer in
charge of this part of the construction.
Before reaching Corte Culebra we reach the town of Gamboa where the remaining
portion of the Chagres river pours its waters. The source of this great river is
farther east where the Madden Dam is located. This dam resulted in the creation
of the Alajuela Lake which is the supply of fresh water for most of the capital.
This is at the Chilibre Water Processing Plant which I was also lucky to experience
from its construction because my father was a (civil) engineer on the site. A
relatively short distance later we find Corte Culebra.
Corte Culebra (Snake Cut) is 13.7 kms long and was excavated in solid rock and
volcanic material. Yes, there are volcanoes in Panama but all are non-active. The
last known eruption was thousands of years ago.
Before arriving to the Pedro Miguel Locks (named after the town) you can see
Gold Hill on the left, the highest hill in the canal rising some 179 metres above
sea level. On the right side there is Contractor's Hill which originally was
115 metres high but nowadays has been reduced to less than 100 metres in order to
stabilize the terrain due to the widening of the Culebra Cut during the operation
of the canal. Unfortunately you can no longer visit the mirador at Contractor's Hill.
We now enter the Pedro Miguel Locks on the southern end of Gaillard Cut. At this
point the vessel descends 9 metres in one step (there is only one chamber at Pedro
Miguel). The vessel is now at the height of Miraflores Lake which separates both
sets of locks at the Pacific side.
Finally our vessel reaches the last set at Miraflores Locks where the ship
descends via the two chambers at the level of the Pacific Ocean. Contrary to the
Atlantic side, the differences between low and high tide on the Pacific side are
quite large (several meters) and therefore the locks at Miraflores are the
highest of all three sets.
The Canal 1914 - 1977 and onwards until 1999.
The interoceanic canal was much profitable and continued to be renewed and
enhanced. However most of the profits were retained by the US government, a small
part of it was paid every year to Panama.
Even though the Golden Role and Silver Role disappeared as such, the concept
continued to be applied in the Canal Zone. While some Panamanians were lucky
to work there (earning better than in Panama city) they would still be paid
less than their american counterparts performing exactly the same job. In this
coast-to-coast stretch of land called the Canal Zone, the Panamanian government
had no saying and Panamanians where effectively second class citizens in their
own country. This of course was a constant sour spot on the dignity of all Panamanians.
Finally on January 6th, 1963 students of the Instituto Nacional (a high school)
got organized and decided to take a stand towards the breach on Panamanian sovereignity.
They marched towards Balboa High School (an american school) and raised the Panamanian
flag there. This caused much anger on american students and violence exploded.
The US Army then joined the american students and amidst violent fights the
US Army launched tanks and heavy artillery against the Panamanian students who
only had rocks to defend themselves. This massacre, the first and the last, was
the last drop the Panamanian people and government could take.
Panama -under leadership of president Rodolfo Chiari- broke diplomatic relations
with the US until the US agreed to negotiate a new treaty. It took many many years
of negotiation between both governments until finally
the US president Jimmy Carter and the Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed
the
Torrijos-Carter Treaties (several) on September 7th, 1977 thus abrogating the
Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty of 1903. These are the two treaties that comprise the
Torrijos-Carter treaty:
- The Neutrality Treaty
- Treaty concerning the permanent neutrality and operation of the Panama Canal.
Under this treaty, the U.S. retains the permanent right to defend the canal from
any threat that might interfere with its continued neutral service to ships of all nations.
- The Panama Canal Treaty
- Insures that after the year 2000, Panama would assume full control of canal
operations and become primarily responsible for its defense. In the period of 1979-1999
Panama would gradually assume control of the Panama Canal.
These treaties were a Godsend to all panamanians and while the americans approved it,
not all of the american population was (or is) happy about it. The gradual transfer of
the Canal to Panama did not go smoothly either. There were several instances when
property was destroyed just before it was to revert to Panamanian hands. At the same
time the US government left many areas (of the former Canal Zone) contaminated with
unexploded ammunition (which they refused to clean before handing over) and even
contaminated from experiments with chemical weapons during World War II.
Panama takes on the new millenium
Finally the glorious day of December 31st, 1999 arrived when the Panama Canal
was handed over in a ceremony outside the Administration Building. At midnight of
the same day the Panama Canal was at last 100% on Panamanian hands. This went down
as the largest turnover of property in peace-time history.
While some had their doubts Panama would be able to take the responsability,
the Panama Canal has since then continued to be professionally operated by highly
capable (and trained) Panamanian personnel. The installations still undergo strict
maintenance and modernization. In fact there are now more ships trafficking on
the Panama Canal than ever and every year the Panama Canal (Autoridad del Canal
de Panama) gives $200 million to the Panamanian government, more than it was
ever given in all the years the Panama Canal operated under American managment.
But then again this is a bitter-sweet victory to most Panamanians. Why? because
the evil Gold Role and Silver Role concept made a reappearance in yet another form!.
While most educated panamanians work in Panama city for about $850/month, a person
performing exactly the same job (and with the same qualifications) would earn much
more than that (considerably more) working in the ACP (Panama Canal).
Related Articles
