the first group that tried but failed to dig a canal across panama in the late 1800s was from colombia.
the first group that tried but failed to dig a canal across panama in the late 1800s was from colombia.
the first group that tried but failed to dig a canal across panama in the late 1800s was from?
colombia
after the 1869 completion of the suez canal, france thought that an apparently similar project to connect the atlantic and pacific oceans could be carried out with little difficulty. in 1876 an international company, la société internationale du canal interocéanique, was created to undertake its construction; two years later, it obtained a concession from the colombian government (since panama was a colombian province) to dig a canal across the isthmus.
history of the panama canal
roosevelt sought the creation of a canal through central america which would link the atlantic ocean and the pacific ocean. most members of congress preferred that the canal cross through nicaragua, which was eager to reach an agreement, but roosevelt preferred the isthmus of panama, under the loose control of colombia. colombia had been engulfed in a civil war since 1898, and a previous attempt to build a canal across panama had failed under the leadership of ferdinand de lesseps. a presidential commission appointed by mckinley had recommended the construction of the canal across nicaragua, but it noted that a canal across panama could prove less expensive and might be completed more quickly. roosevelt and most of his advisers favored the panama canal, as they believed that war with a european power, possibly germany, could soon break out over the monroe doctrine and the u.s. fleet would remain divided between the two oceans until the canal was completed. after a long debate, congress passed the spooner act of 1902, which granted roosevelt $170 million to build the panama canal. following the passage of the spooner act, the roosevelt administration began negotiations with the colombian government regarding the construction of a canal through panama.
history of u.s. foreign policy, 1897–1913