Everything started when Vasco Nuñez de Balboa was told by Panquiaco, the son of the indian Chief Comagre, astonished for the eagerness of the Spaniards for gold, that they should go look for it where there was plenty, at “the other sea”. It was the first time the Spaniards heard of the existence of another sea.

Balboa returned to Santa Maria and organized an expedition to discover such ocean. He departed on September 2, 1513 with 190 men and headed south as Panquiaco had indicated. On September 26, 1513, he had traversed the isthmus and from the summit of a mountain range, he saw the immense blue of the South Seas. (He should have discovered the west seas, but due to the unique geographic characteristic of the isthmus, he walked from north to south, which is exactly how the Canal runs today). From this moment, the idea of finding a fast way to cross from one ocean to the other was born.

Spanish king emperor Charles V in 1513, was already considering building a canal to link both oceans to facilitate trips to the Southern Continent. The first studies registered in history to see the feasibility of building a canal through the isthmus dates back to the XVI Century, when Hernando de la Serna and Pablo Corso explored the Chagres River. Alvaro de Quijo did the same at Rio Grande, with the purpose of studying the means to open a communication system between the two oceans. Back then; Alvaro de Saavedra was commissioned by king Charles V to chart the maps for such an endeavor.

In the XVII Century, Phillip III suggested the initiation of studies through Darien to find a feasible route, nevertheless; the “Consejo de Indias” considered that this could be a temptation for other countries, and based on this reasoning, the crown banned it, enacting the death penalty for anyone who tried to build a canal through the isthmus.

Later, at the beginning of the XIX Century, the Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda –who was fighting for the independence of the American countries- proposed to England the armed intervention, and in return, he would give the right to build a canal through Panama. The proceeds, without being exclusive, would be for some years until recover its investment and expected gains had been paid off. After his death, the world had to wait another century to see his dream become a reality.

In the year 1835, the Americans started to show interest in the construction of the Canal. Jackson sent Coronel Charles Biddle to research the area, product of such investigation resulted in the request a concession on behalf of the American government, which was refused by the Granadian government (remember, that from 1821 – 1903, Panama was part of Colombia). Instead, concession was granted to a Grenadian consortium of which Colonel Biddle became a partner. The project failed because they could not raise the needed capital and did not receive the American government support.

The interest to open an interoceanic route was still latent, but dormant for a little while.

To the previous attempts, others followed such as Simon Bolivar, Francisco de Paula Santander and a great number of explorers, scientists and adventurers. There where several projects to draft a contract, some of them where even subscribed, but it was not until 1878 that the contract signed by Napoleon Bonaparte Wise and the Colombian government was put into effect. Such contract was transferred to the “Compagnie Universal du Canal Interoceanique” in charge of Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had just come triumphant in the construction of the Suez Canal, and who then started the construction of the Panama Canal in 1882.

Several circumstances, 20 years later, and after some useless efforts by the French brought the company to go bankrupt and the project came to a halt.

Confronting the determination by the Americans to build a canal in the region, President William McKinley commissioned Rear Admiral John G. Walker to study the best place to open up a route. The two best options were Panama and Nicaragua.

The Isthmian Canal Commission, as it was named, started their research in 1900 and the final report did incline in favor of the Nicaraguan route. But a mail stamp sent by Phillip Bunaeu Varrilla to the Canal Commission, showing an erupting volcano in Nicaragua, changed the course of history, because it showed that a Canal through Nicaragua could be too risky. Therefore, the French company who wanted to sell their rights to the Americans managed to convince them to build the canal through Panama.

Nevertheless the Colombian Congress rejected the Herran-Hay Treaty, which was signed for that purpose, and once again, the work was paralyzed. This provoked such a disappointment among the Panamanians, raising once again the desire for separation, and finally; on November 3, 1903 separation from Colombia was declared. Equally, on November 18 of the same year, the Hay-Buneau Varilla Treaty was signed, to the distaste of the Panamanians, because it was considered less advantageous than the Herran-Hay treaty, but in the end, resulted in the conclusion of the interoceanic route.

Such treaty allowed the United States to build and operate a Canal through the Isthmus, linking the Pacific with the Atlantic oceans. It also gave the United States in perpetuity, the use, occupation and control of the Canal Zone, of approximately 10 miles wide running alongside the Canal, where the United States would exercise full sovereign rights, and with the “complete waiver of the Panamanian government of the exercise on behalf of such rights, powers and sovereign authority”.

The United States on their part guaranteed the independence of the Republic of Panama and accepted to pay 10 million dollars and a yearly sum of $250,000.00. Besides, the private owners of the land where the future Canal Zone would be located would receive a previously agreed compensation for their land. A year later, the United States bought the rights of the French Canal Company for 40 million dollars.

Construction lasted 10 years and it took the work of over 75,000 men and women at a cost of $400 millions. The builders of the canal faced many unprecedented engineering, health and organization problems. Many of the names of the men and women that worked in the construction of the canal are forgotten now, but their legacy still remains.

Among the most memorable ones are Colonel William Crawford Gorgas and his medical team, to whom the eradication of the yellow fever and malaria are credited.

The Engineer John F. Stevens and other workers of the railroad built an important railroad system to dig out the excavated dirt.

Colonel George Washington Goethals and his personnel deserve credit for the final plans and for the construction of Gatun Dam, the biggest land dam in its time. For the building of the biggest lock and floodgate ever imagined, and for enormous environmental problems they faced such as the cut through the main mountain range. The Panama Canal was excavated at the narrowest part and lowest mountain range of the isthmus which unites North with South America. It’s construction is due thanks to an international labor force which made possible a dream that for so many centuries humankind had of uniting the two oceans. Finally, on August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opened it’s locks to world commerce with the transit of the “Steamship Ancon” and a big celebration on the part of the Panamanian government, which included an international fair in the capital, one of the most solemn acts realized in Panama throughout its history.

The big celebration following the inauguration of the interoceanic route, little by little, it turned into disappointment the Panamanians due to the abuses from some of the American military members stationed in the area, which harmed the image of the northern country and damaged the relationship among both countries. For example: Intervention happened in Chiriqui in 1908, as a means to help the government to watch over the delegates elections, turning later into an occupation. It was not until 1920, and after a persistent protest from the Panamanian government, that the troops under the command of William Gerald Chase, a resident of the area and who committed many abuses, where called back. Mayor H. E. Page, in charge of the 5th infantry regiment showed such disrespect, arbitrated and discourtesy for the local authorities (of which he bragged about), that a dislike for the American government awoke in the Panamanians.

That same year, another incident happened with the Americans. The authorities of the Canal Zone based on the Hay-Buaneu Varilla treaty, notified the Panamanian government of its intention of taking over the island of Taboga. The population discomfort was so great that was finally calmed when the then president of Panama, Ernest T. Lefevre declared that he would not cede “an inch of soil of our mother country”.

Again, in 1931, the arbitrate was felt once again, when the north American army forced, under the menace of an armed intervention of Panama, to accept the White ruling concerning the frontier limits between Panama and Costa Rica. Given the physical impediment of Panama to defend itself against such an imposition, and then protest to the whole world about it, there was no other choice but to accept such a ruling

Incidents kept happening on different levels, and even thought some of the presidents of the United States wanted to keep a friendly relationship, some of the Americans living in the “Canal Zone” did very little to help with such efforts. On the contrary, everyday, the rage against the US kept growing and the wish to have Panama’s sovereignty recognized grew even stronger on all Panamanians.

There were several agreements after the treaty of 1903 to try to concede more benefits to Panama, such as the 1936 one and the “Remon/Eisenhower” treaty. In 1955 even though the terms improved for Panama, they were not enough to heal the dignity of the Panamanian people.

In keeping up with the struggle to fulfill Panama’s dream, two more treaties where signed between the Republic of Panama and United States of America. The agreement of August 10, 1977 and signed on September 7 of the same year . One refers to the operations and defense of the Canal until the end of 1999, and the other, guarantees its permanent neutrality.

66% of the Panamanian voters agreed with to the treaty terms and ratified it in a plebiscite on October 23, 1977.

On April 18, 1978, both treaties where ratified by the United States Congress and where put in force on October 1, 1979. This treaty includes the elimination of the perpetuity condition, of the Canal Zone, considers the increase growth in the number of Panamanians in the Canal administration and turns over the operations of the Canal to Panama, which came into effect on December 31, 1999.

After the treaty came into force, Panama assumed the territorial jurisdiction of the old Canal Zone and was able to apply the civil and penal codes in all its territory. It also gained the responsibility to offer commercial, repair ships and ship chandler services to all ships as well as all the port and railroad operations and police and judicial services.

Panama and the world lived this important moment, the turning over of the Canal and Canal Zone area to Panama, as the end of a long struggle a nation to gain full sovereignty over all its territory.