Canal Centenary

Panama Canal: the early years

Michael King, Editorial Assistant, Port Technology International, London, UK Credit: ferdinand de lesseps_PT.wikipedia.org Credit: Philippe Bunau-Varilla (commons.wikimedia.org) Bunau-Varilla Philippe In 1877, Ferdinand de Lesseps was Philippe Bunau-Varilla: by 1903, a new treaty approved by the French government was negotiated by French businessman to build a sea-level canal across the Philippe Bunau-Varilla, giving the US . perpetual rights to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama for an annual payment of US$250,000.

“A finer body of men has never been However, when Colombian authorities gathered by any nation than the men rejected US plans to build a canal across who have done the work of building the the Isthmus of Panama, the US supported ; the conditions under a revolution, which led to Panama’s which they have lived and have done their independence in 1903. work have been better than in any similar work ever undertaken in the tropics; they The first attempt have all felt an eager pride in their work; In 1875, under Colombian control, a and they have made not only America but US investigative team comprising 100 the whole world their debtors by what men began surveying Panama in search Excavation began in 1882, but was not they have accomplished.” of a practical canal route. The search was making sufficient progress. Workers had – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US deemed to be ill-fated, as the prospect of contracted , leading to the president, 1901-1909 building a canal across Panama was too death of around 400 people in 1884 – a The Panama Canal stands at 77km expensive. 226% increase from the previous year. in length and takes 15 hours to traverse In the subsequent four years of (eight hours are spent waiting in traffic). The second attempt excavation, work on the canal was not It is around 40m deep and 150-300m Two years later, a French team of as productive as originally planned. wide and remains integral to worldwide surveyors completed their own survey, Violent confrontations occurred between shipping today. If built today, it would and the French government approved Panamanian and Jamaican workers, cost around US$33 billion to complete. diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps plan to resulting in a further 25 deaths, and The Panama Canal has its origins as build a sea-level canal, costing around only a few metres (out of the hundreds part of Colombia’s Province of Panama. US$250 million. required to reach sea-level) had been dug

1 Edition 63: September 2014 www.porttechnolog y.org T general view, upper locks (1912);Right: general view, lower op: LookingNorth, chamber (1913). Looking South, locks andeast Edition 63: September 2014 2 2014 September 63: Edition Panama CanalCentenary

Credit: Property of the (ACP). Credit: Property of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). Panama Canal Centenary Credit: Property Canal AuthorityCredit: of (ACP). the Panama

Pedro Miguel looking North, East chamber (1911). out of the canal. Theodore Roosevelt’s new Isthmian with excavation. He realised that, due to Despite best efforts made by the Canal Commission (ICC) in order to see a faulty railway line, spoil could not be French, De Lesseps ran out of money through the construction of the Panama transported away at the same rate as the to fund the project; his company went Canal. canal was being dug. Consequently, the bankrupt and the project was abandoned By November 1904, the workforce excavation was stopped in order to focus in 1889. had reached 3,500 and had been on the repair of the railroad. identified as the cause of 70% of workers’ By mid-1906, new tracks had been The third attempt illnesses. Another outbreak of yellow fever built along the Panama railroad, meaning Around the time of Panama’s hit workers over the next two months, that more spoil could be transported independence in 1903, a new treaty causing labourers to resign and return away from the site. With a workforce of was negotiated by French businessman to the US. As a result, productivity was around 22,000, the canal was beginning Philippe Bunau-Varilla, giving the US low, leading to the resignation of chief to make steady progress. This was further perpetual rights to build a canal across engineer John Wallace. augmented by the ICC, which had set the Isthmus of Panama for an annual July 1905 saw the arrival of the new up recruiting agencies in order to attract payment of US$250,000. chief engineer, John Stevens, who called European workers. Around 12,000 Excavation began again in 1904, under for state-of-the-art equipment to help contracts had been issued and the work

3 Edition 63: September 2014 www.porttechnolog y.org Panama Canal Centenary Credit: Property Canal AuthorityCredit: of (ACP). the Panama

The first transit 'SS Ancon in upper west chamber, (1914). ethic of unskilled Spanish labourers was developments had clearly worked because around 15,000 ships were using the canal helping to increase productivity on the during January 1908, around two million every year. project. cubic metres had been excavated – However, in recent years, the canal With the introduction of a new approximately 400,000 cubic metres more has not been sufficient to accommodate railroad, Stevens began to feel as though than the previous month. the larger ships. Currently, the largest his expertise was no longer needed on The Panama Canal was finally ships that can sail through the canal the canal. He described the canal as ‘a big completed in 1914 and officially opened are the vessels. To increase ditch’ in a letter to Roosevelt in February for trade in the same year. The cost to capacity, work has begun on a canal 1907 and this subsequently led to his transport goods was set to 90 cents per expansion project. Once this project has resignation. cargo ton, and by 1939, annual traffic had been completed, it will allow the passage After the appointment in 1907 of a surpassed 7,000 ships. of larger (12,000-13,000 TEU) ‘new- new chief engineer, George Goethals, With the arrival of channel lighting Panamax’ ships to sail through the canal. the workforce totalled 46,000 men. A in the 1960s, transportation through the Sovereignty was handed back to variety of leisure activities, including canal was available 24 hours a day. Annual Panama during the late 1970s, and the the introduction of a YMCA-club had traffic had risen continuously during canal is now managed by the Panama been set up to fuel productivity. These the 40s, 50s and 60s, and by the 1970s, Canal Authority.

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