Editing Panama Canal (section)

==History==
{{Main| History of the Panama Canal}}

===Early proposals in Panama===

The idea of the Panama Canal dates back to 1513, when the Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] first crossed the [[Isthmus of Panama]]. He wrote in his journal the possibility of a canal but did not take action.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Otfinoski |first=Steven |title=Vasco Nunez de Balboa: Explorer of the Pacific |date=2005 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-1609-8 |location=New York |pages=70 |language=en}}</ref> Instead, the first trans-isthmian route was established to carry the plunder of Peru to Spain from Panama to [[Nombre de Dios, Colón|Nombre de Dios]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Verdereau |first=Adolphus Eustace |title=A Lecture on the Inter-ocean Panama Canal: Retrospect and Comparison Between the French and American Control ... |date=1909 |publisher=Isthmian printing office |location=Panama |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref> European powers soon noticed the possibility to dig a water passage between the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] Oceans across this narrow land bridge between North and South America. The earliest proposal dates to 1534, when the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] ordered a survey for a route through the Americas in order to ease the voyage for ships traveling between Spain and Peru.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=A History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=15 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html }}; Chapter 3, ''[http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html Some Early Canal Plans] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102032703/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html |date=2 January 2015 }}''</ref> In 1668, the English physician and philosopher Sir [[Thomas Browne]] specifically proposed the [[Isthmus of Panama]] as the most convenient place for such a canal.<ref>{{cite book |section=Book 6, chapter 8 |title=On the River Nile |edition=4th |year=1668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |last1=Browne |first1=Sir Thomas |author-link=Thomas Browne |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=19 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119062425/https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first attempt actually to make the isthmus part of a trade route was the ill-fated [[Darien scheme]], launched by the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] (1698–1700), which was abandoned because of the inhospitable conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm |title=Darien Expedition |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719173435/http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1811, the German naturalist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] published an essay on the geography of the Spanish colonies in Central America ([https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/85270#page/8/mode/1up ''Essai politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne'']; translated into English as: [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/85282#page/12/mode/1up ''Political essay on the kingdom of New Spain containing researches relative to the geography of Mexico'']). In the essay, he considered five possible routes for a canal across Central America, including Panama, but concluded that the most promising location was across [[History of the Nicaragua Canal|Nicaragua]], traversing [[Lake Nicaragua]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=28–30}} His recommendations influenced the British to attempt a canal across Nicaragua in 1843. Although this attempt in the end came to nothing, it resulted in the [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]] (1850) between the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]], in which the two nations bound each other to joint control of any canal built in Nicaragua or (by implication) anywhere in Central America.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|p=38}}

[[File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Isthmus of Panama Showing The Proposed Panama Canal and the Railway . . . , Published 1885.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|An 1885 map showing the Railway and the proposed Panama Canal route]] In 1846, the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]], negotiated between the US and [[Republic of New Granada|New Granada]] (the predecessor of [[Colombia]]), granted the United States transit rights and the right to intervene militarily in the isthmus.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McPherson |first=Alan |title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Interventions in Latin America: [2 volumes] |date=2013-07-08 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59884-260-9 |location=New York |pages=498 |language=en}}</ref> In 1848, the [[California Gold Rush|discovery of gold in California]] created a demand for a crossing of Panama as a practical route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.<ref name=":1" /> This demand was exploited by American businessman [[William Henry Aspinwall]], who ran steamship legs from New York City to Panama, and from Panama to California, with an overland portage through Panama. This route was soon exploited by other businessmen, such as [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Stiles |first=T. J. |title=The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt |date=2009 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41542-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~dj114/SS_Central_America.pdf |title=COLUMBUS-AMERICA DISCOVERY GROUP and the SS CENTRAL AMERICA |last= |first= |date= |website=columbia.edu |publisher= |access-date=10 November 2024 |quote=}}</ref> Between 1850 and 1855, a syndicate founded by Aspinwall built a railroad (now the [[Panama Canal Railway]]) from [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] on the [[Caribbean Sea]] to [[Panama City]]. The project cost US$ 8,000,000 (six times the estimated cost) and between 6,000 and 12,000 of construction workers who succumbed to tropical diseases. The railroad soon became immensely profitable for its owners.{{sfn |McCullough|1977|pp=35–37}}

In 1870, US President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] established an Interoceanic Canal Commission, which included Chief of Engineers [[Andrew A. Humphreys|Brigadier General Andrew A Humphreys]] as its members.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=James W. |title=The Engineer |date=2000 |publisher=U.S. Army Engineer Center |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref> It commissioned several naval officers, including Commander [[Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.]], to investigate the possible routes suggested by Humboldt for a canal across Central America. The commission decided in favour of Nicaragua, establishing this as the preferred route amongst American policy-makers.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=19–22, 40–44, 59}}

===French construction attempts, 1881–1899===
[[File:Ferdinand de Lesseps by Nadar.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], the French originator of the [[Suez Canal]] and the Panama Canal]]

The French diplomat and entrepreneur [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]] was the driving force behind French attempts to construct the Panama canal (1881–1889). De Lesseps had made his reputation by successfully constructing the [[Suez Canal]] (1859–1869), a route which had soon proved its value in international commerce.{{sfn |McCullough|1977|pp=49–55, 57}} After this success, he actively sought new projects. In 1875, de Lesseps was approached by the ''Societe Civile Internationale du Canal Interoceanique de Darien'' (also known as the "Türr Syndicate"), a syndicate formed to promote the building of an interoceanic canal across [[Panama]]. Its directors were Hungarian freedom fighter [[István Türr]], financier [[Jacques de Reinach]] and Türr's brother-in-law Lt [[Lucien Bonaparte-Wyse]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA252|title=Popular Science|first=Bonnier|last=Corporation|date=5 July 1902|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|via=Google Books}}</ref>{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=60–61}} Between 1876 and 1878, Bonaparte-Wyse and [[Armand Reclus]] investigated several potential routes across the Isthmus of Panama. Bonaparte-Wyse rode by horseback to [[Bogotá]], where he obtained a concession from the Colombian government to build a canal across Panama (20 March 1878). The agreement, known as the "Wyse Concession" was valid 99 years and allowed the company to dig a canal and exploit it.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=61–63}}

[[File:Panama-Canal 1880.JPG|thumb|right|Part de Fondateur of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, issued 29 November 1880]] In May 1879, de Lesseps convened an international congress in Paris to examine the possibilities of a ship canal across Central America. Among the 136 delegates of 26 countries, only 42 were engineers, with the remainder being speculators, politicians, and friends of de Lesseps. De Lesseps used the congress to promote fundraising for his preferred scheme, which was to build a sea-level canal across Panama, along similar lines to Suez. De Lesseps was able to gain approval of a majority of the delegates for his plan, despite reservations expressed by some who preferred a canal in Nicaragua or who emphasized the likely engineering difficulties and health risks. Following the congress, de Lesseps organized a company to construct the canal (the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama). The company bought the Wyse Concession from the Türr Syndicate, and was able to raise considerable funds from small [[French Third Republic|French]] investors, on the basis of the huge profits generated by the [[Suez Canal]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977 |p=125}}

Construction of the canal began on 1 January 1881, with digging at [[Culebra Cut|Culebra]] beginning on 22 January.<ref name=earthinfo2>[http://www.cet.edu/earthinfo/camerica/panama/PCtopic2.html ''Pre-Canal History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219092527/http://www.cet.edu/earthinfo/camerica/panama/PCtopic2.html |date=19 December 2007 }}, from Global Perspectives</ref> A large labor force was assembled, numbering about 40,000 in 1888 (nine-tenths of whom were [[French Caribbean|afro-Caribbean]] workers from the [[West Indies]]). Although the project attracted good, well-paid French engineers, retaining them was difficult due to disease. The death toll from 1881 to 1889 was estimated at over 22,000, of whom as many as 5,000 were French citizens.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=131–180}}

[[File:1886 bas obispo.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Excavator at work in Bas Obispo, 1886]] From the beginning, the French canal project faced difficulties. Although the Panama Canal needed to be only 40 percent as long as the Suez Canal, it was much more of an engineering challenge because of the combination of tropical rain forests, debilitating climate, the need for canal locks, and the lack of any ancient route to follow. Beginning with [[Armand Reclus]] in 1882, a series of principal engineers resigned in discouragement. The workers were unprepared for the conditions of the rainy season, during which the [[Chagres River]], where the canal started, became a raging torrent, rising up to {{cvt|10|m|ft}}. Workers had to continually widen the main cut through the mountain at Culebra and reduce the angles of the slopes to minimize landslides into the canal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rocco |first=Fiammetta |title=The Miraculous Fever-Tree |year=2003 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-00-653235-7 |page=192 }}</ref> The dense jungle was alive with venomous snakes, insects, and spiders, but the worst challenges were [[yellow fever]], [[malaria]], and other tropical diseases, which killed thousands of workers; by 1884, the death rate was over 200 per month.{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|pages=201–204}} Public health measures were ineffective because the role of the mosquito as a [[Vector (epidemiology)|disease vector]] was then unknown. Conditions were downplayed in France to avoid recruitment problems, but the high mortality rate made it difficult to maintain an experienced workforce.

In France, de Lesseps kept the investment and supply of workers flowing long after it was obvious that the targets were not being met, but eventually, the money ran out. The French effort went bankrupt in 1889 after reportedly spending US$287,000,000 {{USDCY|287000000|1889}}; an estimated 22,000 men died from disease and accidents, and the savings of 800,000 investors were lost.<ref name="French">{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |chapter=The French Failure |title=America's Triumph in Panama |first=Ralph E. |last=Avery |publisher=L.W. Walter Company |location=Chicago, IL |year=1913 |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728050134/http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|p=262}} Work was suspended on 15 May, and in the ensuing scandal, known as the [[Panama scandals|Panama affair]], some of those deemed responsible were prosecuted, including [[Gustave Eiffel]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=224}} De Lesseps and his son Charles were found guilty of misappropriation of funds and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. This sentence was later overturned, and the father, at age 88, was never imprisoned.<ref name="French" />

In 1894, a second French company, the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, was created to take over the project. A minimal workforce of a few thousand people was employed primarily to comply with the terms of the Colombian Panama Canal concession, to run the [[Panama Railroad]], and to maintain the existing excavation and equipment in salable condition. The company sought a buyer for these assets, with an asking price of US$109,000,000 {{USDCY|109000000|1894}}. In the meantime, they continued with enough activity to maintain their franchise. Two lobbyists would become particularly active in later negotiations to sell the interests of the Compagnie Nouvelle. The American lawyer [[William Nelson Cromwell]] began looking after the interests of the company in 1894, after first acting for the related [[Panama Railroad]]. He would become deeply involved as a lobbyist in the American decisions to continue the canal in Panama, and to support Panamanian independence.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=272–276}} The other was [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], who, as one of the major subcontractors to the first French company, had been compelled by the receivers to take shares in the Compagnie Nouvelle, and was then named director of engineering in the Compagnie Nouvelle.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=276–282}}

===United States acquisition===
In 1897-1899, US President [[William McKinley]] (1897-1901) tasked two commissions headed by Admiral [[John Grimes Walker]] to recommend the best route for a canal across Central America. Although the first commission had been tasked only to consider routes across [[Nicaragua Canal|Nicaragua]], [[William Nelson Cromwell]] successfully lobbied the Government to broaden the terms of reference to also consider the Panamanian isthmus. The commission issued a confidential preliminary report on 21 November 1901, shortly after [[Theodore Roosevelt]] had become president following the assassination of McKinley. The preliminary report favored the Nicaragua route on pricing grounds; although the commissioners noted the technical advantages of the Panama route, they considered its informally quoted price of $109 million to be excessive. The report was leaked to [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], who during an emergency shareholders' meeting of the Compagnie Nouvelle amended the price to a formal offer of $40 million, the estimated sale value of the existing Panama assets acceptable to the commissioners.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=265-266, 292-294}} On 10 December, [[George S. Morison (engineer)|George S. Morison]], the most eminent engineer on the commission, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt giving the technical reasons for preferring the Panama route. In January 1902, Roosevelt called the members of the commission into his office individually and asked them to give their own personal evaluations of the best route. Roosevelt then held a closed meeting with the entire commission, where he made it clear that he wanted the offer to take over the Panama route from the Compagnie Nouvelle to be accepted. In late January, the commission issued a final report, unanimously recommending Panama.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=265-268, 326-328}}

[[File:Theodore Roosevelt by the Pach Bros.jpg|thumb|left|upright|United States President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1901-1909), the driving force behind US construction of the [[Panama Canal]].]] The proposal to purchase the French rights to Panama faced considerable opposition in Congress, since the Nicaragua proposal was preferred by many. The Nicaragua route was championed by Senator [[John T. Morgan]], who grilled members of the Walker Commission on their reasons for recommending Panama. Nonetheless, the proposal to purchase the French rights and property in Panama for $40 million was eventually approved by both Houses of Congress, championed by Senator [[Mark Hanna]]. He was supported by the known backing of President Roosevelt for the proposal, and by the lobbying efforts of Cromwell and Bunau-Varilla. In June 1902, the US Senate voted in favor of the [[Spooner Act]] to pursue the Panamanian option, provided the necessary rights could be obtained.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=305–328}}

On 22 January 1903, the [[Hay–Herrán Treaty]] was signed by [[United States Secretary of State]] [[John M. Hay]] and Colombian [[Chargé d'affaires|Chargé]] [[Tomás Herrán]]. For $10 million and an annual payment, it would have granted the United States a renewable [[lease]] in perpetuity from Colombia on the land proposed for the canal.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 November 1903 |title=Hay-Herrán Treaty |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214090737/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 |access-date=24 October 2010 |publisher=U-S-history.com }}</ref> The treaty was ratified by the US Senate on 14 March 1903, but the [[Senate of Colombia]] unanimously rejected the treaty since it had become significantly unpopular in Bogotá due to concerns over insufficient compensation, threat to sovereignty, and perpetuity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hay-Herran Treaty (1903) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hay-herran-treaty-1903 }}</ref>

[[File:Panama canal cartooon 1903.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The US's intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]] in 1903.]] Roosevelt changed tactics, based in part on the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]] of 1846, and actively supported the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]]. Shortly after recognizing Panama, he signed a treaty with the new Panamanian government under terms similar to the Hay–Herrán Treaty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Livingstone |first1=Grace |title=America's Backyard: The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror |date=2009 |publisher=Zed |location=London |isbn=978-1-84813-214-6 |page=13 }}</ref>

On 2 November 1903, US warships blocked sea lanes against possible Colombian troop movements en route to put down the Panama rebellion. Panama declared independence on 3 November 1903. The United States quickly recognized the new nation.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=361–386}} This happened so quickly that by the time the Colombian government in [[Bogotá]] launched a response to the Panamanian uprising US troops had already entered the rebelling province. The Colombian troops dispatched to Panama were hastily assembled conscripts with little training. While these conscripts may have been able to defeat the Panamanian rebels, they would not have been able to defeat the US army troops that were supporting the Panamanian rebels. An army of conscripts was the best response the Colombians could muster, as Colombia was recovering from a civil war between Liberals and Conservatives from October 1899, to November 1902, known as the "[[Thousand Days' War|Thousand Days War]]". The US was fully aware of these conditions and even incorporated them into the planning of the Panama intervention as the US acted as an arbitrator between the two sides. The peace treaty that ended the "Thousand Days War" was signed on the [[USS Wisconsin (BB-9)|USS ''Wisconsin'']] on 21 November 1902. While in port, the US also brought engineering teams to Panama with the peace delegation to begin planning the canal's construction before the US had even gained the rights to build the canal. All these factors would result in the Colombians being unable to put down the Panamanian rebellion and expel the United States troops occupying what today is the independent nation of Panama.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meade |first=Teresa A. |author-link=Teresa Meade |title=History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-77248-5 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=128–130}}</ref>

On 6 November 1903, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, as Panama's ambassador to the United States, signed the [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]], granting rights to the United States to build and administer the Panama Canal Zone and its defenses. This treaty gave the US some rights to the canal "in perpetuity", but in article 22 limited other rights to a lease period of 99 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |title=Avalon Project{{snd}}Convention for the Construction of a Ship Canal (Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty), 18 November 1903 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=4 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104144736/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost immediately, the treaty was condemned by many Panamanians as an infringement on their country's new national sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web |title=07 September 1977: Panama to control canal |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print |publisher=History.com |year=2010 |access-date=4 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410075709/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print |archive-date=10 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=Vaughan |title=International Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92 |access-date=4 April 2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=66 |isbn=978-0-19-150907-0 |date=28 September 2007 |archive-date=23 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323192553/https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92 |url-status=live }}</ref> This would later become a contentious diplomatic issue among Colombia, Panama, and the United States.
[[File:Go Away Little Man Charles Green Bush.jpg|thumb|upright|1903 cartoon: ''"Go Away, Little Man, and Don't Bother Me".'' President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] intimidating [[Colombia]] to acquire the Panama Canal Zone.]]
President Roosevelt famously stated, "I took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal, but to debate me." Several parties in the United States called this an act of war on Colombia: ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the support given by the United States to Bunau-Varilla as an "act of sordid conquest".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delano |first=Anthony |date=9 November 2016 |title=America's devious dream: Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-devious-dream-roosevelt-and-the-panama-canal/ |access-date=6 March 2024 |website=HistoryExtra |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426064237/https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-devious-dream-roosevelt-and-the-panama-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colby |first=Gerard |date=1 January 2020 |title=William S. Culbertson and The Search for The Geopolitical Imperium |url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1256 |journal=Graduate College Dissertations and Theses }}</ref> The ''[[New York Post|New York Evening Post]]'' called it a "vulgar and mercenary venture".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huffman |first=Alan |date=15 August 2014 |title=Panama Canal's 48 Miles To An 'American Century' |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/panama-canal-anniversary-2014-100-years-ago-today-navigation-project-launched-1644698 |access-date=6 March 2024 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817092714/https://www.ibtimes.com/panama-canal-anniversary-2014-100-years-ago-today-navigation-project-launched-1644698 |url-status=live }}</ref> The US maneuvers are often cited as the classic example of US [[gunboat diplomacy]] in Latin America, and the best illustration of what Roosevelt meant by the old African adage, "Speak softly and carry a big stick [and] you will go far." After the revolution in 1903, the Republic of Panama became a US [[protectorate]] until 1939.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hanson |first=David C. |title=Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |publisher=Virginia Western Community College |access-date=21 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201211319/http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:PSM V61 D312 The culebra cut.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The Culebra Cut in 1902]] In 1904, the United States purchased the French equipment and excavations, including the [[Panama Railroad]], for US$40 million, of which $30 million related to excavations completed, primarily in the [[Culebra Cut]], valued at about {{convert|1.00|$/yd3|$/m3|1}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Panama Canal Congressional Hearings 1909 |section=Col. Goethals testimony |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |access-date=26 December 2011 |last1=Committee On Appropriations |first1=United States. Congress. House |year=1913 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110133352/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States also paid the new country of Panama $10 million and a $250,000 payment each following year.

In 1921, Colombia and the United States entered into the [[Thomson–Urrutia Treaty]], in which the United States agreed to pay Colombia $25 million: $5 million upon ratification, and four $5 million annual payments, and grant Colombia special privileges in the Canal Zone. In return, Colombia recognized Panama as an independent nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |title=U.S. agrees to transfer Panama Canal to Panama |work=History.com |date=9 February 2010 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127014923/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |url-status=live }}</ref>

===United States construction of the Panama canal, 1904–1914===
{{unbalanced section|date=March 2025}}
[[File:John Frank Stevens.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Chief engineer [[John Frank Stevens]]]]
[[File:William Crawford Gorgas.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Sanitation officer [[William C. Gorgas]]]]

The US formally took control of the canal property on 4 May 1904, inheriting from the French a depleted workforce and a vast jumble of buildings, infrastructure, and equipment, much of it in poor condition. A US government commission, the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] (ICC), was established to oversee construction; it was given control of the Panama Canal Zone, over which the United States exercised sovereignty.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=273–274}} The commission reported directly to [[Secretary of War]] [[William Howard Taft]] and was directed to avoid the inefficiency and corruption that had plagued the French 15 years earlier.

On 6 May 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed [[John Findley Wallace]], formerly chief engineer and finally general manager of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], as chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project. Overwhelmed by the disease-plagued country and forced to use often dilapidated French infrastructure and equipment,{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=440}} as well as being frustrated by the overly bureaucratic ICC, Wallace resigned abruptly in June 1905.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=457}} The ICC brought on a new chairman, [[Theodore P. Shonts]], and a new chief engineer was appointed, [[John Frank Stevens]], a self-educated engineer who had built the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railroad]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=459–462}} Stevens was not a member of the ICC; he increasingly viewed its bureaucracy as a serious hindrance, bypassing the commission and sending requests and demands directly to the Roosevelt administration in Washington, DC.

One of Stevens' first achievements in Panama was in building and rebuilding the housing, cafeterias, hotels, water systems, repair shops, warehouses, and other infrastructure needed by the thousands of incoming workers. Stevens began the recruitment effort to entice thousands of workers from the United States and other areas to come to the Canal Zone to work. Workers from the Caribbean{{snd}}called "[[Afro-Panamanians]]"{{snd}}came in large numbers and many settled permanently. Stevens tried to provide accommodation in which the workers could work and live in reasonable safety and comfort. He also re-established and enlarged the railway, which was to prove crucial in transporting millions of tons of soil from the cut through the mountains to the dam across the Chagres River.
[[File:Roosevelt and the Canal.JPG|thumb|upright|President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sitting on a Bucyrus steam shovel at Culebra Cut, 1906]]
[[File:Panama Canal under construction, 1907.jpg|thumb|upright|Construction work on the [[Gaillard Cut]], 1907]]

Colonel [[William C. Gorgas]] had been appointed chief sanitation officer of the canal construction project in 1904. Gorgas implemented a range of measures to minimize the spread of deadly diseases, particularly [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]], which had recently been shown to be mosquito-borne following the work of Cuban epidemiologist [[Carlos Finlay]], American pathologist [[Walter Reed]] and Scottish physician [[Ronald Ross|Sir Ronald Ross]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=405–426}} Investment was made in extensive sanitation projects, including city water systems, fumigation of buildings, spraying of insect-breeding areas with oil and larvicide, installation of mosquito netting and window screens, and elimination of stagnant water. Despite opposition from the commission (one member said his ideas were barmy), Gorgas persisted, and when Stevens arrived, he threw his weight behind the project. After two years of extensive work, [[Health measures during the construction of the Panama Canal|the mosquito-spread diseases were nearly eliminated]].{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=466–468}} Despite the monumental effort, about 5,600 workers died from disease and accidents during the US construction phase of the canal.  Of these, the great majority were West Indian laborers, particularly those from Barbados. The number of Americans who died was about 350.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=582–585,610}}

Besides healthier and far better living conditions for the workers, another benefit given to American citizens working on the Canal was a medal for two years of service. Additional bars were added for each two-year period after that. Designed by [[Victor D. Brenner]] and featuring the then-current president they were popularly known as The Roosevelt Medal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pcmc.uflib.ufl.edu/roosevelt-medal-holders/ |title=Roosevelt Medal Holders |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208122142/https://pcmc.uflib.ufl.edu/roosevelt-medal-holders/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A total of 7,189 were ultimately issued, with a few people receiving as many as four bars.<ref>[https://www.czbrats.com/Builders/roosemedals.htm The Panama Canal Service Medal – The "Junk" Medal].</ref>

In 1905, a US engineering panel was commissioned to review the canal design, which had not been finalized. In January 1906 the panel, in a majority of eight to five, recommended to President Roosevelt a sea-level canal,<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Panama Canal |volume=20 |page=670 }}</ref> as had been attempted by the French and temporarily abandoned by them in 1887 for a ten locks system designed by Philippe Bunau-Varilla, and definitively in 1898 for a lock-and-lake canal designed by the Comité Technique of the Compagnie Nouvelle de Canal de Panama as conceptualized by Adolphe Godin de Lépinay in 1879.<ref>[https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ Panama Canal Official Site] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910235443/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ |date=10 September 2021 }}) select chapter "The French Canal Construction" – Retrieved 9 November 2021</ref> But in 1906 Stevens, who had seen the Chagres in full flood, was summoned to Washington; he declared a sea-level approach to be "an entirely untenable proposition". He argued in favor of a canal using a lock system to raise and lower ships from a large reservoir {{Convert|85|ft}} above sea level. This would create both the largest dam (Gatun Dam) and the largest human-made lake (Gatun Lake) in the world at that time. The water to refill the locks would be taken from Gatun Lake by opening and closing enormous gates and valves and letting gravity propel the water from the lake. Gatun Lake would connect to the Pacific through the mountains at the [[Gaillard Cut|Gaillard]] (Culebra) Cut. Unlike Godin de Lépinay with the Congrès International d'Etudes du Canal Interocéanique, Stevens successfully convinced Roosevelt of the necessity and feasibility of this alternative scheme.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=485–489}}

The construction of a canal with locks required the excavation of more than {{convert|17|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=none|sigfig=2}} of material over and above the {{convert|30|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=unit|sigfig=2}} excavated by the French. As quickly as possible, the Americans replaced or upgraded the old, unusable French equipment with new construction equipment that was designed for a much larger and faster scale of work. Over a hundred railroad-mounted [[steam shovel]]s were purchased, 77 from [[Bucyrus-Erie]] and 25 from the [[Marion Power Shovel Company]]. These were joined by enormous steam-powered cranes, giant hydraulic [[rock crusher]]s, [[concrete mixer]]s, [[dredge]]s, and pneumatic power drills, nearly all of which were manufactured by new, extensive machine-building technology developed and built in the United States. The railroad also had to be comprehensively upgraded with heavy-duty, double-tracked rails over most of the line to accommodate new [[rolling stock]]. In many places, the new Gatun Lake flooded over the original rail line, and a new line had to be constructed above Gatun Lake's waterline.

Between 1912 and 1914 there was [[Hay–Pauncefote Treaty#Tolls controversy|a controversy about the tolls for the canal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coker |first=William S. |date=1968 |title=The Panama Canal Tolls Controversy: A Different Perspective |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=555–564 |doi=10.2307/1891013 |jstor=1891013 |issn=0021-8723}}</ref>
{{Panorama
|image   = File:PanamaCanal1913a.jpg
|height  = 170
|caption = Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913
}}

===Goethals replaces Stevens as chief engineer, 1907-1914===
[[File:George W. Goethals cph.3a02121.jpg|thumb|upright|General [[George Washington Goethals]], who completed the canal]]

In 1907, Stevens resigned as chief engineer.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=503–508}} His replacement, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, was US Army Major [[George Washington Goethals]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|US Army Corps of Engineers]]. Soon to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and later to general, he was a strong, [[West Point]]-trained leader and civil engineer with experience in canals (unlike Stevens). Goethals directed the work in Panama to a successful conclusion in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of 10 June 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It |url=http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131503/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 |archive-date=8 April 2013 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=1 }}</ref>

Goethals divided the engineering and excavation work into three divisions: Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. The Atlantic Division, under Major [[William L. Sibert]], was responsible for construction of the massive [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] at the entrance to [[Bahía Limón]], the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun locks]], and their {{convert|3+1/2|mi|km|adj=on}} approach channel, and the immense Gatun Dam. The Pacific Division, under Sydney B. Williamson (the only civilian member of this high-level team), was similarly responsible for the Pacific {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=on}} breakwater in [[Panama Bay]], the approach channel to the locks, and the [[Panama Canal Locks|Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks]] and their associated dams and reservoirs.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=540–542}}

The Central Division, under Major [[David du Bose Gaillard]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], was assigned one of the most difficult parts: excavating the Culebra Cut through the continental divide to connect Gatun Lake to the Pacific [[Panama Canal locks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Col. David D.B. Gaillard |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/gaillard.htm |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=www.czbrats.com |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001182904/http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/gaillard.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Panama Canal and Approaches, Published 1914, New Edition 1915.jpg|thumb|Nautical chart of 1915 showing the canal shortly after completion]]

On 10 October 1913, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent a signal from the [[White House]] by [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph]] which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, thereby joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wilson blows up last big barrier in Panama Canal |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=1 |location=Chicago |date=11 October 1913 |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal |access-date=24 November 2015 |archive-date=25 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125183109/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Alexandre La Valley'' (a floating crane built by [[Lobnitz|Lobnitz & Company]] and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal from ocean to ocean. This vessel crossed the canal from the Atlantic in stages during construction, finally reaching the Pacific on 7 January 1914.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=607}} SS ''Cristobal'' (a cargo and passenger ship built by [[Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard|Maryland Steel]], and launched in 1902 as SS ''Tremont'') on 3 August 1914, was the first ship to transit the canal from ocean to ocean.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=609}}

The construction of the canal was completed in 1914, 401 years after Panama was first crossed overland by the Europeans in [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]]'s party of [[conquistador]]es. The United States spent almost $500 million (roughly equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.5|1914|r=1}} billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}){{Inflation-fn|US}} to finish the project. This was by far the largest American engineering project to date. The canal was formally opened on 15 August 1914, with the passage of the [[cargo ship]] {{SS|Ancon|1901|6}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=Read our history: American Canal Construction |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=3 September 2007 |archive-date=15 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 caused a [[Economic history of Chile|severe drop in traffic]] along [[Chile]]an ports due to shifts in maritime trade routes,<ref name=millan>{{Citation |last1=John Lawrence |first1=Rector |title=The History of Chile |year=2005 |page=xxvi }}</ref><ref name=Martinicfabril>{{Citation |last1=Martinic Beros |first1=Mateo |author-link1=Mateo Martinic |title=La actividad industrial en Magallanes entre 1890 y mediados del siglo XX |journal=[[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]] |volume=34 |year=2001 |url=http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004 |access-date=4 July 2014 |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702001619/http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Figueroa>{{cite journal |author1=Figueroa, Victor |author2=Gayoso, Jorge |author3=Oyarzun, Edgardo |author4=Planas, Lenia |url=http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |title=Investigación aplicada sobre Geografía Urbana: Un caso práctico en la ciudad de Valdivia |language=es |trans-title=Applied research on Urban Geography: A practical case in the city of Valdivia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025010536/http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |archive-date=25 October 2014 |journal=Gestión Turistica |issue=3 |pages=107–148 |doi=10.4206/gest.tur.1998.n3-06 |publisher=[[UACh]] |year=1998 |issn=0717-1811 }}</ref> despite the closure of the canal for nearly seven months after a landslide in the Culebra Cut on 18 September 1915.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Century of Progress: A Century of Slides |url=https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |website=The Land Divided, The World United |publisher=Linda Hall Library |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525155334/https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |archive-date=25 May 2022 |location=Kansa City, Missouri }}</ref> The [[Patagonian sheep farming boom|burgeoning sheep farming business in southern Patagonia]] suffered a significant setback by the change in trade routes,<ref name=Economiaovejera>{{Citation |url=http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html |title=La economía ovejera en Magallanes (1876–1930) |work=[[Memoria Chilena]] |language=es |access-date=30 June 2013 |publisher=[[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]] |archive-date=19 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019204659/http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as did the economy of the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Falkland Islands as a 'Strategic Gateway' |journal=The RUSI Journal |last=Dodds |first=Klaus |date=9 December 2012 |volume=157 |pages=8–25 |issue=6 |doi=10.1080/03071847.2012.750882 |s2cid=154575728 }}</ref>

Throughout this time, [[Ernest "Red" Hallen]] was hired by the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] to document the progress of the work.

In 1914, [[steam shovel]]s from the Panama Canal were purchased and put to use in [[Chuquicamata]] copper mine of northern Chile.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mch.cl/reportajes/una-mina-centenaria/ |title=Una mina centenaria |date=6 April 2015 |access-date=2 July 2022 |website=mch.cl |last=Barros M. |first=María Celia |language=Spanish |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702231012/https://www.mch.cl/reportajes/una-mina-centenaria/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px">
MarioModel90 1908.jpg|A Marion [[steam shovel]] excavating the Panama Canal, 1908
Panama Canal Lock Forms.jpeg|The Panama Canal locks under construction, 1910
SS Ancon entering west chamber cph.3b17471u.jpg|The first ship to transit the canal at the formal opening, SS ''Ancon'', passes through on 15 August 1914.
Spanish laborers on Panama Canal in early 1900s.jpg|Spanish laborers working on the Panama Canal in the early 1900s
</gallery>

===US control and handover to Panama, 1914-1999===
{{See also|#Third set of locks project (expansion)}}
[[File:Missouri panama canal.jpg|thumb|upright|{{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, an {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|2}}, passes through the canal on 13 October 1945. The {{cvt|108|ft|2|in|m}} beams of the ''Iowas'' and preceding {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship (1939)|4}} were the largest ever to transit the Canal.]]

By the 1930s, water supply became an issue for the canal, prompting construction of the [[Madden Dam]] across the Chagres River above Gatun Lake. Completed in 1935, the dam created Madden Lake (later [[Lake Alajuela]]), which provides additional water storage for the canal.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Panama Dam to Aid Canal Traffic |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1930 |page=25 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |access-date=27 February 2016 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728094135/https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1939, construction began on a further major improvement: a new set of locks large enough to carry the larger warships that the United States was building at the time and planned to continue building. The work proceeded for several years, and significant excavation was carried out on the new approach channels, but the project was canceled after World War II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm |title=Enlarging the Panama Canal |work=czbrats.com |access-date=7 January 2006 |archive-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405193423/http://czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm |title=Presentation on the Third Locks Project – Panama Canal Zone |work=czimages.com |access-date=7 January 2006 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214222237/http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After World War II, US control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious; relations between Panama and the United States became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians felt that the Zone rightfully belonged to Panama; student protests were met by the fencing-in of the zone and an increased military presence there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Martyrs of 1964 |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Jackson/martyrs/martyrs.htm |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=www.czbrats.com |archive-date=30 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430124237/http://www.czbrats.com/Jackson/martyrs/martyrs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Demands for the United States to hand over the canal to Panama increased after the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956, when the United States used financial and diplomatic pressure to force France and the UK to abandon their attempt to retake control of the [[Suez Canal]], previously nationalized by the [[Nasser]] regime in Egypt. Panamanian unrest culminated in riots on [[Martyrs' Day (Panama)|Martyr's Day]], 9 January 1964, when about 20 Panamanians and 3–5 US soldiers were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MILESTONES: 1953–1960 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425183636/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{listen
|filename=Carter Panama Canal speech.ogg
|title=Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing
|description=President Jimmy Carter's speech upon signing the Panama Canal treaty, 7 September 1977}}

A decade later, in 1974, negotiations toward a settlement began and resulted in the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]. On 7 September 1977, the treaty was signed by President of the United States [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Omar Torrijos]], ''de facto'' leader of Panama. This mobilized the process of granting the Panamanians free control of the canal so long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the canal. The treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on 31 December 1999, and the [[Panama Canal Authority]] (ACP) assumed command of the waterway. The Panama Canal remains one of the chief revenue sources for Panama.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html |title=Here's Why The Panama Canal Expansion Has Everyone Excited |date=11 July 2016 |website=TheHuffingtonPost.com |quote=The Canal previously accounted for about 15 percent of the country's GDP |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928000817/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15014282 |title=A plan to unlock prosperity |date=3 December 2009 |magazine=The Economist |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708071113/http://www.economist.com/node/15014282 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Before this handover, the government of Panama held an international bid to negotiate a 25-year contract for operation of the [[container terminal|container shipping ports]] located at the canal's Atlantic and Pacific outlets. The contract was not affiliated with the ACP or Panama Canal operations and was won by the firm [[Hutchison Whampoa]], a Hong Kong–based shipping interest owned by [[Li Ka-shing]].<ref>{{Cite news |first=Peter |last=Wonacott |date=15 October 1999 |title=Hutchison Unit's Panama Canal Contract Is Targeted by a U.S. Senate Committee |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB93992854168999852 |access-date=12 March 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312081015/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB93992854168999852 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In 2015, Hutchison Whampoa merged with Cheung Kong Group and was renamed [[CK Hutchison Holdings]]. 
==== Donald Trump comments and reactions ====
On 21 December 2024, then US President-elect [[Donald Trump]] asserted that the United States should retake control of the Panama Canal from Panama, claiming that the rates Panama was charging American ships were "exorbitant" and in violation of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bazail-Eimil |first=Eric |date=21 December 2024 |title=Trump threatens to retake Panama Canal |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/21/trump-panama-canal-00195820 |access-date=22 December 2022 |website=[[POLITICO]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mattingly |first1=Phil |last2=Seger |first2=Andrew |date=2025-01-17 |title=Trump's Panama Canal threats leave country's officials scrambling for answers {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/trump-panama-canal-threats-history-mulino/index.html |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The following day, he claimed that the canal was "falling into the wrong hands", referring to China. Shortly after Trump's comments, Panamanian president [[José Raúl Mulino]] responded, denying that the United States was being unfairly charged or that anyone besides Panama was in full control of the canal, and affirming that the canal was part of the country's "inalienable patrimony".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Michael |last2=Wingrove |first2=Josh |last3=Korte |first3=Gregory |date=22 December 2024 |title=Panama's Leader Takes Up Feud With Trump Over Control of Canal |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/22/panamas-leader-takes-up-feud-with-trump-over-control-of-canal/ |access-date=22 December 2024 |work=[[BNN Bloomberg]]}}</ref>

Though the Hong Kong company [[Hutchison Port Holdings]] does have a concession to operate two ports near the ends of the canal – the Balboa port on the Pacific side and the Cristóbal port on the Atlantic side – neither these ports nor the company control access to the canal.<ref name="Stevenson">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/business/panama-canal-ck-hutchison.html |title=Trump, the Panama Canal and the Hong Kong Firm at the Heart of a Showdown |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author1=Alexandra Stevenson |author2=Keith Bradsher |date=7 February 2025}}</ref> Three other ports near the canal's ends are operated by companies from Taiwan and Singapore, and joint venture from the United States and Panama.<ref name="Stevenson" /> The government of Panama receives dividends from the Hutchinson concession, but the locks and Marine Traffic Control are run independently by the Panama Canal Authority, and the harbor pilots that guide ships are Panamanian.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/03/nx-s1-5282154/former-panama-canal-administrator-weighs-in-on-trumps-ultimatum |title=Former Panama Canal administrator weighs in on Trump's ultimatum |date=3 February 2025 |publisher=[[NPR]] |author1=Courtney Dorning |author2=Ari Shapiro |author3=Alejandra Marquez Janse }}</ref>

On 24 December, a [[Protests against Donald Trump|protest]] was held at the [[Embassy of the United States, Panama City|US Embassy]] in [[Panama City]] over Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal. Protesters referred to him as a "public enemy" of [[Panama]]. On the same day, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America ([[ALBA]]), made up of ten Central and South American countries, denounced Trump's comments and affirmed its support for Panama's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination."<ref>{{cite web |title=Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241224-panamanians-protest-public-enemy-trump-s-canal-threat |website=[[France 24]] |access-date=22 January 2025 |location=[[Panama City]] |date=24 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Panama: Protesters say 'enemy' Trump must leave canal alone |url=https://www.dw.com/en/panama-protesters-say-enemy-trump-must-leave-canal-alone/a-71156004 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=22 January 2025 |date=25 December 2024}}</ref>

In a 7 January 2025 press conference, Trump vowed to gain control of the Panama Canal. He refused to rule out [[Economic warfare|economic]] and [[Military operation|military action]] against Panama to seize control of the canal, to secure what he called US "economic security."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-07 |title=Trump refuses to rule out using military force to take Greenland and Panama Canal |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-military-force-greenland-panama-canal/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Politi |first1=James |last2=Murray |first2=Christine |date=2025-01-07 |title=Donald Trump refuses to rule out force to take Greenland and Panama Canal |url=https://www.ft.com/content/487d7543-3352-413c-9e7f-4eca90e18f6d |access-date=2025-01-07 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> He reiterated his intent to take back control of the canal in his [[Second inauguration of Donald Trump|inaugural address]] on 20 January.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=2025-01-20 |title=Trump inauguration live updates: New president vows to retake Panama Canal, plant flag on Mars |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration-live-updates.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Donald Trump: Panama rejects Trump vow to 'take back' Panama Canal |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2egwzvp080o |website=www.bbc.com|date=20 January 2025 }}</ref>

On 5 February, the [[United States Department of State]] posted on [[Twitter]] that the Panama Canal would no longer be charging United States government vessels to cross.<ref name="Oppmann">{{cite news |title=Rubio walks back State Department's claim of free Panama Canal transit for US government vessels |author1=Patrick Oppmann |author2=Jennifer Hansler |author3=Lucas Lilieholm |author4=Valeria Ordonez |author5=Gerardo Lemos |author6=Caitlin Danaher |publisher=CNN |date=6 February 2025 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/06/americas/panama-canal-state-department-hnk-intl/index.html}}</ref> President Mulino called this an "intolerable" falsehood, and Secretary of State [[Marco Rubio]] (who had departed Panama a few days earlier) had to correct the announcement, saying he "expects" Panama to begin doing so in return for the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]' guarantee of US military protection in the event of an attack on the canal.<ref name="Oppmann" />

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 350
 | image1 = Balboa Port.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] Port on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] side
 | image2 = Colon - Container Port (3169906461).jpg
 | caption2 = [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] Port on the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] side
 
}}
On 5 March 2025, the American investment company [[BlackRock]] announced that a consortium, including also [[Global Infrastructure Partners]] and [[Terminal Investment Limited]], would buy [[CK Hutchison Holdings|CK Hutchison's]] 80% holding in [[Hutchison Port Holdings]], which owns ports at either end of the canal.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Eric Platt |author2=Kaye Wiggins |author3=Chan Ho-Him |author4=Ivan Levingston |title=BlackRock to buy Panama Canal ports after pressure from Donald Trump |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b3a1ea24-72c6-4fad-9de1-e7411048ad31 |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=Financial Times |date=2025-03-05 |location=London}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', the Hong Kong-based Li family felt "under political pressure to exit the ports business"; discussions with BlackRock about the Panama Canal had begun only a few weeks prior, coinciding with the beginning of the Trump administration.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mesa |first1=Jesus |title=BlackRock's $23 Billion Panama Canal Deal: What We Know So Far |url=https://www.newsweek.com/blackrock-panama-canal-deal-what-we-know-2040093 |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=Newsweek |date=2025-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Eavis |first1=Peter |last2=Farrell |first2=Maureen |date=2025-03-04 |title=BlackRock Will Buy Panama Canal Ports from CK Hutchison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/business/blackrock-panama-canal-ports-hutchison.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250304171122/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/business/blackrock-panama-canal-ports-hutchison.html |archive-date=2025-03-04}}</ref>