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US government places the Army in charge of building the canal
These are just a few of the headlines that could have been published during the building of the Panama Canal between 1870 and 1914. They reflect the very different factors affecting the monumental failure of the French to ... Read review
Advantages: An Absorbing Story Disadvantages: None
...millions in abortive venture in the jungle.
20,000 people die of malaria and yellow fever – for nothing?
US uses gunboat diplomacy to install friendly government in Panama. Legitimate government in Columbia sends in ground troops.
US ignores international law to protect its interests.
Major advances in controlling malaria and yellow fever
US brings in Railroad pioneer to build ... ...
US government places the Army in charge of building the canal
These are just a few of the headlines that could have been published during the building of the Panama Canal between 1870 and 1914. They reflect the very different factors affecting the monumental failure of the French to build a canal and the eventual success of the US government. It was the cause of so much suffering whether in the millions of French investors ... more
Suez Canal builder fails miserably in Panama.
High ranking officials accused of taking bribes.
French government brought down by financial scandal.
Small investors loose millions in abortive venture in the jungle.
20,000 people die of malaria and yellow fever – for nothing?
US uses gunboat diplomacy to install friendly government in Panama. Legitimate government in Columbia sends in ground troops.
US ignores international law to protect its interests.
Major advances in controlling malaria and yellow fever
US brings in Railroad pioneer to build its canal
US gives white workers substantially better facilities and benefits than its black workers.
US government places the Army in charge of building the canal
These are just a few of the headlines that could have been published during the building of the Panama Canal between 1870 and 1914. They reflect the very different factors affecting the monumental failure of the French to build a canal and the eventual success of the US government. It was the cause of so much suffering whether in the millions of French investors who lost all their money, or in the tens of thousands of workers and relatives who died of malaria, yellow fever, typhoid and industrial “accidents”.
All the information is contained in a fascinating book by David McCullough called ‘The Path Between The Seas’. It’s a wonderfully detailed account of man’s efforts to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by a canal through the very narrow strip of land that joins North and South America. It’s an American publication which can be ordered through Amazon . 620 pages of text plus notes and a UK price of £12.99 – very good value!
A canal joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans had long been a dream of many adventurers, businessmen and governments. It would cut off the long and dangerous journey round the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and would open up many new trade opportunities between east and west. Increasingly the US government saw it as an opportunity to further enhance its naval power worldwide by enabling the speedy movement of warships from one side of the country to the other.
Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps, flushed with success as the building of the Suez Canal, raised very substantial sums of money, much of it from small investors and undertook to build the canal for the glory of France! Panama was a province of Columbia and they eventually agreed to the plan. However much of the plan was based on guesswork and the assumption that it would be very similar to building Suez. No account was taken of the weather (rainfall measured in feet not inches), the jungle, the mosquitoes, the disease, the terrain, (constant mudslides) and the total absence of a workforce.
The book covers a lot of ground quickly moving seamlessly from the financial and governmental intrigues of Paris to the reality of life (and death) in the Panama jungle. Work did progress under the French but the absence of a fully prepared technical plan and gross underestimation of the work involved eventually caused the collapse of the Canal Company and with it the French government and of course the investors cash was simply lost. It’s estimated that as many as 20,000 workers died on the French stage of the project - mostly from the West Indies.
Now enter the US government. They eventually decided to resurrect the project and offered to buy out the French concession. However the Columbian government, who still governed Panama, insisted on a renegotiation of the agreement including the financial arrangements. As they pointed out the original agreement with the French Canal Company prohibited a transfer of the concession to a foreign government.
The US government was not happy and, surprise, surprise a local uprising took place and Panama declared independence from Columbia. The presence of US gunboats on both sides of the country probably had an influence on the Columbian troops stationed in Panama, plus a liberal spreading of cash amongst their officers! An attempt by Columbia to reverse the situation by sending troops overland had to be aborted due to the conditions in the jungle.
A new agreement was prepared which was even more favourable to the US! Even some US senators were aghast at their governments behaviour.
The remainder of the book covers the successful building of the canal between 1904 and 1914. It succeeded through a combination of US money, experience in building railroads and major canals in the USA, a successful grappling with the issues of disease, especially malaria and yellow fever, and a willingness to accept the gargantuan size of the undertaking. Money appeared to be limitless after all it was taxpayers money not private investors. Working conditions were amongst the best anywhere in the world for white workers (but turnover remained high) but still the blacks suffered appalling conditions, only being well treated when they were ill.
Management of the project was eventually passed to the US army!
The canal is a lock canal (though the French had originally planned a sea level canal) and it eventually opened for business in 1914, at the same time that war was declared in Europe. There was little ceremony. The canal still operates today and still as originally designed. Landslips remain a problem and dredging of channels is still a big and constant expense.
The book covers many aspects of 44 years of French, US and Central American history. It gives an insight into ways in which man overcame enormous obstacles but often at the expense of the suffering of others. It covers the role of the mosquito in the spread of disease and how this was controlled. And of course there is the detail of the building work itself.
So in one book you get history, political intrigue, civil engineering, geography, the advance of medicine, the development of the US as a superpower and all for £12.99. Really good value.
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