Which country first tried unsuccessfully to build the Panama Canal?
History of the Panama Canal History of the Panama Canal The idea of the Panama canal dates back to 1513, when Vasco Núñez de Balboa first crossed the isthmus. The narrow land bridge between North and South America houses the Panama Canal, a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The earliest European colonists recognized this potential, and several proposals for a canal were made. By the late nineteenth century, technological advances and commercial pressure allowed construction to begin in earnest. Noted canal engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps led an initial attempt by France to build a sea-level canal. Beset by cost overruns due to
Panama Canal Department Panama Canal Department The Panama Canal Department was a department (geographical command) of the United States Army, responsible for the defense of the Panama Canal Zone between 1917 and 1947. The Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Canal Guard of 1904–1914 both played a pivotal role in the construction and early defense of the Canal. With the active support and encouragement of the United States, Panama declared its independence from Colombia on 3 Nov. 1903 and that same month, the United States received the right to build and administer the Panama Canal. On 8 Mar. 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed