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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Rise to World Power

Geography and History Activity

Lesson 4 Latin American Policies

Understanding Location: PanamaGeography has played an enormous role in shaping the history of Panama. Panama's location made it a perfect site for a canal. The Panama Canal makes the small Central American nation unique among its neighbors. 

Panama had been a Spanish colony since the early 1500s and then became a province of Colombia during most of the 1800s. Panama did not win its independence until 1903. Today, it has one of the fastest- growing economies in Latin America. Its geographical location has helped Panama become a stable and independent nation.

GeographyPanama is an isthmus—that is, a narrow strip of land that connects two larger bodies of land. Only 31 miles wide at its narrowest point, Panama lies at the southeastern tip of Central America. It links the great landmasses of North America and South America. Slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina, Panama is the narrowest spot of land separating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, making it the most likely location for a canal linking the two oceans.

Ca ri b b e a n S e a

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DOPA (Discovering our Past - American History)

RESGChapter 23Map Title: Panama’s locationFile Name: C23_wsgh_01A.aiMap Size: 39p6 x 23p0

Date/Proof: March 11, 2011 - 2nd Proof

Notes:

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Rise to World Power

Geography and History Activity Cont.

TradeWhen Spanish explorers arrived in the New World in the early 1500s, they immediately appreciated Panama’s strategic location. They took advantage of Panama's unique geography to transport gold and silver from Peru to Spain. The first European settlement on the west coast of the New World was established in Panama. With ports on both its eastern and western coasts, Panama soon became an important center of trade for Spain and its Latin American colonies.

Before the Panama Canal was built, travelers from Europe to Asia had to make a long and dangerous voyage around the southern tip of South America. In the 1800s, American traders needed a shortcut to lower the cost of transporting goods between the country's east and west coasts. They realized that a canal through Central America would cut the travel time from New York to San Francisco by more than half. In addition, the U.S. Navy needed a canal to give it easier access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as it sought to protect the overseas empire that the nation had begun to build after the Spanish-American War. The Isthmus of Panama was the obvious place in which to build a canal. 

GovernmentBefore there was a canal in Panama, there was a transcontinental railroad. In 1847, the Colombian government granted the United States a right-of-way through Panama. Protected by the American government, the railroad was built to help miners drawn to California by the gold rush. Around the same time, Colombia granted the rights to build a canal to a French company. The United States government then bought the French company's rights and assets, but Colombia rejected the terms of America's plan for a canal.

The American government recognized that American interests would be served if Panamanian rebels could win their continuing struggle for independence. President Roosevelt used the nation's military resources to prevent Colombian forces from crushing Panama's latest rebellion. The United States quickly negotiated a treaty with the newly formed Republic of Panama. The treaty gave the United States control of a 10-mile-wide Canal Zone and the right to intervene in Panamanian affairs whenever necessary to preserve order.

Building the canal proved to be tremendously difficult, but it was completed in just 10 years and opened in the summer of 1914. As a direct result of its geographical location, the tiny country of Panama had been transformed into a central point in international trade.

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Rise to World Power

Geography and History Activity Cont.

Directions Answer the following questions.

Understanding the Concept1. Identifying Which two countries governed Panama before 1903? 

2. Describing Why did Americans want to build a canal in Central America?

3. Defining Define isthmus.

Applying the Concept

4. Analyzing What effect did the Spanish-American War have on the United States’s interest in building the Panama Canal? 

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Rise to World Power

Geography and History Activity Cont.

5. Determining Cause and Effect Complete the Cause and Effect Chart below to show how Panama's location affected its history. Write the letter of each event in the correct box to show the chain of events in their correct order.

A. Colombia rejects U.S. plans to build a canal in Panama.

B. The independent Republic of Panama is established.

C. Panama is located on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

D. The United States purchases a French company's rights to build a canal in Panama.

E. The United States recognizes the advantages of building a canal in Panama.

F.  The United States builds the Panama Canal.

G. President Roosevelt provides military support to the rebels in Panama.

C F

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