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Throughout the 1800s
Throughout the 1800s, the United States, which wanted a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific for economic and military reasons. Considered Nicaragua a more feasible location than Panama. However, that view shifted thanks in part to the efforts of Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla. -
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps, organizer of the French company that had built the Suez Canal in the 1860s, gained a concession and undertook to build a canal in Panama in the 1880s, but this effort failed because of design flaws, tropical disease, and mismanagement. The U.S. government began work on a Nicaraguan canal in the 1890s but also desisted. -
Panama Sites
In 1902–1903, however, given the opportunity to build at a more favorable site in Panama, the United States negotiated first with Colombia (of which Panama was a province) and then with Panama for canal rights. The negotiations were unequal and coercive, but guaranteed Panama's independence; the U.S. acquired the rights to build, operate, and protect the canal. -
The Panama Canal being built
The Panama Canal is a 51-mile ship canal with six pairs of locks that crosses the Isthmus of Panama. And allows vessels to transit between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Built between 1904 and 1914, the canal shortened maritime voyages considerably. -
Dedication for Panama Canal
The dedication of the Panama Canal project was held after the U.S. purchased all remaining property from France, which had tried and failed to build the canal in the 1880s. That $40 million, coupled with the $10 million the U.S. paid Panama. In February 1904 for control of the canal, laid the groundwork for construction later that year. -
First Passenger
The S.S. Cristobal became the first passenger vessel to cross the entirety of the Panama Canal. The steamship, which was renamed Cristobal from Tremont after the canal’s Atlantic port, was the sister of the S.S. Ancon, which would become the first boat to officially transit the waterway. Both were among the largest U.S. commercial ships in service at the time. -
Panama President
U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Panama President Roberto Chiari met in Washington. For a series of secret talks regarding the occupation of the Panama Canal. The negotiations were a result of continued unrest in Panama. -
After The Canal Opened
In the years after the canal opened, tensions increased between America and Panama. Over control of the canal and the surrounding Canal Zone. In 1964, Panamanians rioted after being prevented from flying their nation’s flag next to a U.S. flag in the Canal Zone. -
Panamanian replaced
Most of the transition from U.S. to Panamanian management took place in the 1990s, culminating in the turnover of December 31, 1999. Panamanian employees systematically replaced their U.S. counterparts in preparation. Canal managers carried out major capital improvement projects, including widening and dredging the narrowest sections and renewing the heavy equipment inventory. -
Expansion Project
In 2007, work began on a $5.25 billion expansion project that will enable the canal to handle post-Panamax ships. That is, those exceeding the dimensions of so-called Panamax vessels. Built to fit through the canal, whose locks are 110 feet wide and 1,000 feet long.
