The Engineering Marvel – The Panama Canal part 2
By admin. Filed in Panama Canal |
And now we continue with the Panama Canal….
Many other ideas and projects were formulated by explorers, scientist, and others such as Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander to build this waterway; the notions failed to come to fruition. In 1878, a contract was signed between Napoleon Bonaparte Wise and the Colombian government, which was than transferred to the “Compania Universal del Canal Interoceanico,” the company owned by the famous French engineer Count Ferdinand de Lesseps who had just received world-wide acclaim for the completion of the Suez Canal.
The French eagerly began construction of the canal in 1882, anticipating to duplicate the same reward garnered from an earlier canal venture. Unfortunately for the French, the jungles and mountains of Panama were far harder to tame than the flat dry desert of Egypt. Combined with high levels of corruption, tropical diseases, and finally a lack of capital, the venture folded. For 20 years the “Panama Canal” remained dormant until the United States was once again became interested in building a canal in the region. President William McKinley commissioned Rear Admiral John G. Walker to study the best route for a U.S. canal. The two options for possible studies were routes via Panama and Nicaragua. The Isthmus Canal Commission initiated their studies in 1900 and concluded that a canal via Nicaragua was a more viable proposition. However, history was changed when Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a major investor in the New Panama Canal Company and the successor of the failed French company that originated the canal, and William Nelson Cromwell, the new French company’s lawyer in New York, sent a postage card to every US senator. These postage cards depicted the eruption of the Momotombo Volcano located in Nicaragua and the commission, soon after, deemed it would be too risky to construct in an area with volcanic activity; however, Bunau-Varilla and Cromwell never mentioned that Momotombo was over a hundred miles away from the purposed Nicaraguan canal route. This set into action the interest of the U.S. in purchasing the rights from the French to build a canal in Panama. The U.S. quickly drafted a treaty with Colombia called the Herran-Hay treaty. However, members of the Colombian Conservative Party led by Senators Miguel Antonio Caro, and Juan Perez -Soto, decided to raise the flag of nationalism and sovereignty and unanimously rejected the treaty. Colombia had decided to wait on the United States as the French concession would expire in October of 1904 and would revert the French canal project back to Colombia. This would allow unfettered negotiations without any compensation for the French.
This critical decision by the Colombian government ignited a wave of discontent and further stirred the pro-independence movement led by Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero in Colombia’s far off northwest territory of Panama. However, this decision inflamed Bunau-Varilla and his New Panama Canal Company, as they would face financial ruin. Aligning himself with the pro-independence movement, Bunau-Varilla created a plan for a revolution. Gathered with a group of revolutionaries in room 1162 of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, Bunau-Varilla drew up many of the plan’s details such as a Panamanian Constitution (modeled after Cuba’s) and fund raising for bribes. The revolutionaries were able to buy the support of approximately 500 Colombian troops stationed in Panama along with several members of the fire department. However, the most important support that Bunau-Varilla sought to acquire was that of United States. After informal meetings in Washington, Bunau-Varilla left confident that the U.S. would not allow the revolution to fail.
Armed with insider information, Bunau-Varilla informed his fellow conspirators in Panama that the U.S.S. Nashville would arrive in Panama on November 2nd. On the very next day the Panama indepence revolutionaries revolted aided by the presence of the U.S.S Nashville gunboat, which prevented Colombian forces from initially landing in Colon, and the U.S. reinforcement that arrived shortly after in the form of 400 marines. The U.S.S Atlanta, U.S.S Maine, U.S.S. Mayflower, U.S.S Prairie on the Atlantic coast, the U.S.S Boston, U.S.S Marblehead, U.S.S Concord and U.S.S Wyoming, all arrived on the Pacific coast; Panama was quickly officially recognized by the U.S. as a sovereign nation after a bloodless revolution that took place in three days.
Panama’s new government instructed acting “Panamanian” emissary to Washington, Bunau-Varilla, to wait for the Panamanian delegation to arrive in Washington to review and sign any canal agreement. However, Bunau-Varilla was concerned over protecting French investments (especially his own) in the canal. He, therefore, offered Secretary of State John M. Hay even better terms than the U.S. was expecting in order to get approval of a treaty before the Panamanian delegation arrived. Thus, the Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed only two weeks after the Panamanian independence and was labeled as the Panamanian treaty that had no Panamanians and would lead to numerous disputes in the U.S.- Panama relations.
The Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty stated that the U.S. would guarantee the sovereignty of the newly formed republic, pay Panama $10 million dollars and $250,000 annually starting nine years after the signing of the treaty. In return, the United States would receive 5 miles on either side of the canal to form a zone to protect the canal, islands in the new Canal Zone, the right to use military forces in Panama in order to protect the canal, and have a perpetual lease on a particular section of Panama. A year later, the United States acquired the rights and property of the French (including Bunau-Varilla’s) for 40 million dollars.
To be continued……
Written by - A Panama Guide
Tags: history, Panama Canal