Panama secedes from Colombia, canal works begin

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 4.1.3: Hispanic Writing and Culture of Central America and the Caribbean.
Vol. editors: Ben Bollig (University of Oxford), Ceire Broderick (University College Cork), Nuala Finnegan (University College Cork), Anna Forné (Gothenburg University), Cara Levey (University College Cork), Lori Oxford (Western Carolina University), Ailsa Peate (University of Westminster)

Domains

Canals
Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1903-11-03

Places

Panama (Location)
Colombia (Involved)

Resources

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With the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1869, the fortunes of the Panamian Railroad Company declined, but in 1881 Ferdinand de Lesseps and the French Canal Company, fresh from their triumph in building the Suez Canal, bought the Panamian Railroad to facilitate the construction of a transithmian canal. This move was viewed with mistrust by the United States which saw Panama as part of its backyard. In 1902 Congress authorised President Theodore Roosevelt to spend $40m to obtain rights held by the French New Panama Canal Company for building a canal. In 1903 Roosevelt concluded the Hay-Herrán Treaty with Colombia to cede the necessary land, but the Colombian senate withheld ratification to secure better terms. Thereupon the U.S. government engineered the secession of Panama…

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171 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Panama secedes from Colombia, canal works begin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=810, accessed 06 May 2024.]

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