What Is the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal is an international waterway that links the

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is considered a major engineering
feat, but also reflects the United State's aggressive foreign policy
during the early 20th century.

Historical Background
The idea for a Panama canal dates back to the 1513 discovery of
the isthmus by Vasco Nez de Balboa. The narrow land bridge
between North and South America houses the Panama Canal, a
water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The earliest
Central American European colonists recognized this potential, and
several proposals for such a canal were made.
By the late nineteenth century, technological advances and
commercial pressure allowed construction to begin in earnest. An
initial attempt by France to build a sea-level canal failed after a great
deal of excavation. This enabled the United States to complete the
present canal in 1913 and open it to shipping the following year. The
state of Panama was created with its 1903 emancipation
from Colombia due to a US-backed revolt, so the US could control
the canal-project area.
French canal engineer Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla influenced a
change in its proposed location, from Nicaragua (the original US
choice) to Panama because of his concern about
Nicaraguan volcanism. During the late 1890s Bunaua-Varilla
convinced US lawmakers to buy the rights to build the French canal
in Panama, sending each senator Nicaragua postage stamps with a
smoking volcano. In 1903, Colombia (which controlled Panama)
refused to allow the United States to build the canal. The people of
Panama, with help from Bunaua-Varilla, then overthrew their
Colombian government and became independent (which made
construction of the canal possible).

The Panama Canal continues to be a viable commercial venture and

a vital link in world shipping. The 2007 Panama Canal expansion
project began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The new
locks allow transit of larger Post-Panamax and New Panamax ships,
which have a greater cargo capacity than the original locks could
accommodate.