In the 16th century it was suggest to Charles V of Spain that a piece of Panama be cut out to make trips to Peru, Ecuador, and Asia easier and faster. They wanted to get to these countries because of their gold and treasures. A survey of the isthmus was ordered in 1529 and a plan was drawn up. Unfortunately the war in Europe and the fight for control of the Mediterranean Sea put the project on hold. In 1534 a Spanish official suggested a route that was close to what it is now. Several other plans were drawn up and suggested, but in the end the Spanish government lost interest in making the canal. In the early 19th century a book by the author Alexander von Humboldt, a German scientist, restarted interest in the project. In 1819 the Spanish government formally authorized the creation of a company to build the canal and the canal. Many surveys between 1850 and 1875 came up with only two practical routes, one across Panama and the other across Nicaragua. In 1876 a company t build the canal was formed and gained permission from the Columbian government to build a canal across the isthmus. Once that company failed, a company was formed by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps who built the Suez Canal. He proposed a sea level canal through Panama in 1879. The canal would reduce the time and mileage while traveling from the either the Atlantic or Pacific to the other by a great amount.
The canal is a lock canal and about 51 miles long. For America, the expenses between 1904 and 1914 totaled $352,000,000, way more than any other construction project at that time. The American expenses combined with the French expenses were $639,000,000. From the beginning of the effort in 1800 it took 34 years to actually open the Canal in 1914. An estimated 80,000 people helped in construction and 30,000 lost their lives working on it.
Map of the Canal
Picture of the Canal
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