Panama_Canal

Panama Canal History of the Panama Canal dates back to the sixteenth century. It was first suggested to Charles V of Spain to cut Panama in half and make a safer, shorter trip for people delivering gold and other treasures from Peru and Ecuador to Spain. The first plan ever developed was in 1529 but due to wars in Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea, plans were put permanently on hold. The nineteenth century brought about an ideal for a canal again. A man by the name of Alexander von Humboldt, a German scientist, wrote books that interested the Spanish to build the Panama Canal. The California Gold Rush helped to stimulate the project. Surveys were taken from 1850-1875 to find the most suitable place to build a canal; the two possible routes were either across Panama or Nicaragua. An International Company was organized and began digging the project in 1876. The International Company failed. Then again in 1880 the French decided to try and finish the project. Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, also responsible for constructing the Suez Canal in Egypt, organized a team together to construct the massive canal. Ferdinand canal, panama, united, states, project, first, french, treaty, two, transfer, through, thousand, problem, million, gave, ferdinand, dollars, cut, company, clay, build, another, again, across, zone, organized, make, major, landslides, international, hundred, been, worked, work, water