Panama

Panama is a central American country, with a population of 2,839,170 (2000). It shares borders with Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Panama's social, economic, political, and cultural history has been marked by its strategic geopolitical location. Panamanian intellectuals have considered their republic a “place of transit,” and have struggled to develop an identity to define a country characterized by large temporary and permanent migrations. During colonial times, (early 16th to mid-19th century) Panama (known then as Castilla de Oro) became a tactical site for the Spanish Empire, as it was a point of connection between the Caribbean and the Pacific, and therefore a communications node between the Viceroyalty of New Granada (with its capital in Mexico City) and the Peruvian Viceroyalty administered from Lima. Slavery (1508–1852) in Panama was not closely linked, as in other regions of America, to plantation life, although some slave labor was used for tobacco and sugar plantations. The economy of colonial Panama rested on six major activities: mining, agriculture, cattle herding, handicraft production, commerce, and domestic work. The most important of these was mining, which used black labor almost entirely. Black labor and, to a lesser degree, indigenous labor were used to build roads and infrastructure to support the Spanish Crown's transportation of wealth. For instance, 60% of the total production of silver in the Viceroyalty of Peru passed through Panama. In addition, Panama served as a major port for transshipment of slave labor to other Spanish colonies.

As a result of this strategic position, Panama's history is marked by a series of important infrastructure projects with consequent transformations for the society. From 1850 to 1855, the Panama Railroad was built as a suitable route to facilitate communication between the West and East of the United States. From 1880 to 1890, the French Company of the Isthmus worked toward the construction of the Panama Canal under the direction of Count Ferdinand de Lesseps (whose major work prior to this was the Suez Canal). By 1884, there were more than18,000 workers on the project. However, the project was an economic failure that left stranded the thousands of workers brought from the Caribbean, Europe, and China. During the first decade of the 20th century, the United States oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal (1904–1914), and enlisted more than 45,000 workers to continue this monumental task. Most of these workers resided on Barbados and other Caribbean islands. Workers from Colombia, England, France,Germany, India, Austria, and China also worked on the project.

Another element essential to understand Panama is its relationship with Colombia. Panama became a colony of the Spanish Empire in the early1500s. It became independent from Spain in 1821, and in 1822 it voluntarily allied itself to Colombia, then known as New Grenada, and throughout the 19th century was a neglected province of New Grenada. Some scholars argue that failed negotiations with Colombia for the construction of a transisthmian canal led the United States to support Panama's independence from [Page 1822]Colombia in 1903. Most Panamanian scholars, however, emphasize that a movement toward independence was already in effect, and that the United States did not participate in Panama's process of independence, noting that between the years of 1862 and 1903 there were more than 50 rebellions to establish independence from Colombia. This contentious issue continues to be an important debate in the historical memory of Panamanians.

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