The construction of the Panama Canal , 1881

The Panama Canal is often called the eighth wonder of the world. This masterpiece of engineering - one of the most intense, extensive and complicated by artificial waterways in the world. And hardly has such a rich and dramatic history has any engineering structure in the world.

Panama Canal - a navigation channel connecting the Gulf of Panama in the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located on the Isthmus of Panama in the territory of Panama.

Length - 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom and Panama Limon Bay (for the passage of ships to deep water).

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects implemented by mankind. The Panama Canal has had inestimable influence on the development of navigation and the overall economy in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, which led to its extremely high geopolitical importance.

Through the Panama Canal sea route from New York to San Francisco dropped from 22.5 thous. Km and 9.5 thousand. Km.

January 1, 1880 at the mouth of the Rio Grande, the ceremony of laying the first stone. The maximum number of workers involved in the construction, was 19,000 chelovek.A work was carried out with a grand scale, but only one-tenth has been carried out by 1885 of the planned. The main reason for this project were unforeseen technical difficulties and a tropical climate. Proximity malarial marshes caused the outbreak of the workers living in unsanitary conditions. People were killed, and hundreds of yellow fever. The lack of timely medical treatment and essential drugs led to huge casualties among the builders.

Isthmus of Panama is one of the most complex geological areas of the earth's surface - a mountainous, covered with impenetrable jungle and deep swamps. The local mountains formed by volcanic activity, are a mixture of hard rock to soft, with a mixture of chaotic and positioned at different angles. Builders channel 6 passed the large geological faults and 5 centers of volcanic activity. Add to this the scorching sun, very high humidity typical of these places heavy tropical rains, as well as regular spill Chagres River, taking sometimes catastrophic proportions, and, of course, yellow fever. Okay, that last engineers did not have detailed information about the geology of the Isthmus and the rest of the natural "surprises", or the Panama Canal would be unlikely to ever be built.

Lesseps decided to found a joint-stock company - the last time this idea turned out to be successful. Three years after the completion of the Suez Canal, he began to bring net profit and before the nationalization in 1955, the company paid to shareholders 12.4 billion. Francs. But in this case, the company Lesseps ended in complete failure and a tragedy for many French.

In 1876, Lesseps purchased the project engineer Vase and concession. It took 10 million. Francs. In 1880, a report was drawn up, according to which the costs were estimated at 843 million. Francs. As it turned out later, the amount was very low. February 1, 1881 the construction of the Panama Canal began. He had to run at sea level, with no locks and dams. After the pass at the junction of the mountain ranges Veragua and San Blas (87 meters above sea level) should pave the tunnel.

Material difficulties began almost immediately. Few people wanted to invest in the construction of the canal somewhere on the other side of the world. It was necessary to conduct a broad advertising campaign, and this - to lay out a large sum for banks and printing. Railroad crossing with the route of the future channel, had to buy from the Americans for an amount three times greater its value. During the years of 1879-1889 expenditures amounted to 1.274 billion. Francs. Meanwhile, the construction hardly progressed.

At the end of 1887 year under the pressure of a young engineer Philip Byuno-cooked Lesseps was forced to agree to move to the gateway channel. According to the engineer the highest level of the channel was to be 52 meters, and this entailed the need to revise the project. To do this, Paris has been called the engineer Alexander Gustave Eiffel, who has just finished the construction of its legendary tower that he was involved in the work and prepared the canal project using gateways. But all efforts to resuscitate rapidly decaying works were in vain, because of lack of money, they were stopped at around 72 meters.

Financial difficulties Panamanian company grew from year to year. In 1885 de Lesseps and his colleagues decided to correct the affairs of the company through the issuance of long-term loan premium. For the release of the loan required the consent of the government and parliament - the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, because private companies do not have the legal right to conduct lotteries. The company started processing the journalists, ministers and deputies, to make changes in the law. Baron de Reinach distributed across all echelons of government cash bribes to more than four million francs!
The fight over the issue of sanctions on the state winning bonds lasted about three years. The company could not conceal any unsatisfactory work progress on the isthmus, nor of their financial problems. Halo Lesseps dimmed, and his physical strength was waning.

Panamanian company to stay afloat, has released two more conventional loan that did not require permission from the authorities. To attract subscribers, it has made the bonds particularly attractive by raising the nominal (the so-called coupon) interest rate up to 10% per annum. All you had to pay more to banks to place bonds.

In April 1888 the Chamber of Deputies approved a loan backed by the Senate and the President, the maximum amount which was increased to 720 million. Francs. President Theodore Roosevelt actively supported the Panamanian project, for which he was subsequently accused of that public money did not reach the French investors, and ended up in the pockets of Morgan.
Theodore Roosevelt (center)

Launched in June 1888 subscription bonds almost immediately was a complete failure. She has collected only 254 million, of which 31 million will be the cost issue, took out a jar. Finally, the law required that the company allocated the money collected from the special reserve fund as a guarantee of payment of winnings and redemption.
Panama Company executives, led by father and son Lesseps continued to make desperate efforts to avoid bankruptcy, reassuring the shareholders' meeting that the construction will be completed in time and money will flow into the company's cash.

They had made the trip across the country with speeches about the guarantee of their integrity. But after the failure of deputies to support a bill to the preferential mode of repayment of debts - came to an end. Seine Court of Civil Affairs 4 February 1889 officially announced the bankruptcy and liquidation of the Panama company and appointed a liquidator.
At the time of bankruptcy, after eight years of construction of the canal, the work was completed only two-fifths. Panama company collected through the issuance of shares and bonds of 1.3 billion. Francs. . Of these, 104 million francs were paid to banks as commission, 250 million -. As interest on bonds and their repayment. The contractor was paid 450 million. Francs, however, much of the work performed under the estimate was not.

In the process of liquidation of the company revealed that its balance sheet remained liquid assets, except for the giant nedokopannoy ditches and piles of rusting machinery in the jungles of Central America. The number of investors who have lost their life savings after the bankruptcy of the Panama company, reached by various estimates of 700-800 thousand. Man.
Three years after the financial collapse in 1892, he broke the corruption scandal, when the French nationalist press began to publish revelations of mass bribing of politicians, government officials and the press in advance of the Panama company, which tried to conceal from the public the deplorable situation of the company and to obtain permission to carry out "bail "winning the loan.

There were revealed numerous financial abuses in the first place - the general climate of corruption of all branches of government. The charges of accepting bribes were brought against 510 members of parliament who took bribes to sneak in an envelope, and bank check!

The scandal led to the fall of three governments of France. In it were involved many ministers, including future prime minister Georges Clemenceau, and virtually none of them has been brought to justice.
In the dock were senior and junior de Lesseps, Gustave Eiffel, several managers of the company and a former minister of public works. In 1893 they were sentenced to various prison terms (Eifel -. To two years and a fine of 20 thousand francs), but these sentences were annulled by the court of cassation in four months, and the figures of the case were released.
Ferdinand de Lesseps due to old age and service to the country was spared from jail. Health Lesseps significantly undermined for years in Panama, a very substantial damage was done in the circumstances. He went mad and died in December 1894 at the age of 89 years. Charles lived until 1923, before he could see the Panama Canal in action and to learn about what kind of his name and his father restored ...

Ferdinand de Lesseps and experienced the intoxication of success - it's Suez, and the bitterness of disappointment - it is Panama. When he was able to connect two seas princes and nations honor him, but after he was defeated, unable to cope with the rocks of the Cordillera, it has turned into an ordinary cheater ...

Once the dust settled, it became clear that cheated depositors can save at least some of their money only on the condition that construction will continue. In the year of the death of de Lesseps, in 1894-m, the new Panama Canal Company was established in France, which is very slow, but continued construction and survey works.
The Americans, who have bought a new property of the Company, do not forget the sad experience of their predecessors, substantially corrected channel project by selecting gateways, do not bet on private equity, and public funding and well-debugged construction management process. They came to their aid and modern discoveries in the field of medicine: at the time it was established that the French destroyers - vector of yellow fever and malaria were the mosquitoes and gnats, therefore on the territory of an unprecedented effort to destroy the insidious insects were taken. Serious sanitary measures have been taken, and for the entire construction of the canal. However, in this case there were no casualties - the second phase of the construction of the Panama Canal killed 5,600 people took part in it as 70 thousand workers.. Construction was difficult and lasted for ten years. According to official information, the construction of the century has cost Americans at $ 380 million.

Was there really guilty of fraud Ferdinand de Lesseps, or is this just an old man was the victim of self-deception and became a pawn in someone else's unscrupulous game now is probably not installed. The methods that were used in the construction of the canal, can be safely called fraudulent. Excessive underestimated the project cost and timing of his execution initially misleading the investor. It also contributed to an active advertising campaign extolling the optimistic forecasts, but is constantly silent about the complexity.

Despite this, public opinion and the press did not approve of the severity of the sentence ...

By 1888 the construction of the channel was spent almost 2 times more than expected, and was carried out only one-third of the work. The company went bankrupt, which led to the ruin of thousands of small shareholders.

Further investigation revealed the facts of massive corruption, bribery by officials, newspaper editors. This adventure called Panama, and the word "Panama" has become synonymous with fraud, fraud.

In 1894, a new Panama Canal Company was organized in France, but the work has not been renewed. "New company" conducted secret negotiations with the United States government intends to use the channel for further penetration into the economy of Central and South America. The negotiations were unsuccessful, and the transaction was concluded February 13, 1903 The company conceded the government of the United States for the sum of $ 40 million in its rights to build a canal and all the equipment available on site and the property.

The conditions under which the company carried out works on Colombian territory, did not satisfy the United States, and they have a new contract in which the entire strip of land 10 miles wide was developed, which forms the channel was withdrawn from under the sovereignty of the Republic of Colombia. Colon and Panama City were declared free ports. Security channel assigned to the Government of the Republic of Colombia. The Government of the United States was obliged to pay a lump sum to the Government of the Republic of Colombia miserable sum of $ 10 million and then pay a small annual compensation of 250 thousand dollars.

This treaty is already March 18, 1903, a month after acquiring the rights to the channel, was signed by the two Governments and submitted for ratification by their senat

Colombian Senate under the pressure of the masses angered by enslaving terms, rejected the treaty, demanding secure its sovereignty over the Canal Zone, and wanting to get behind the concession represents a large compensation. Disclaimer Colombian Senate ratification of the treaty has caused a storm of indignation among the ruling circles of the United States. United States President Theodore Roosevelt offered to not stand on ceremony with casual owners required the United States territory, and deal with them on your own.

Having started in the course of bribery and pressure, the American entrepreneurs of Wall Street through their agents 4 November 1903 staged a "Panamanian revolution."

The newly formed Republic of Panama, which includes 84 thousand square kilometers, including the area of ​​the passage channel of the future, declared itself independent from Colombia, and led her become seasoned web pro-American businessmen bought for US dollars.

President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt immediately ordered the commanders of the US military ships moored in the colonies and the Pacific port of Mexico - Acapulco, avoid landing on the coast of Panama Colombian troops heading there to suppress the "revolution". American Directorate Panama Canal Railway also refused to transport for the purpose of Colombian soldiers.

Barely a week after the "revolution" of the United States rushed to formally recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Panama, and November 18, 1903 entered into with the Government of the Republic on the construction of a new treaty on the channel even more favorable conditions for the United States than a treaty, previously rejected by the Senate of Colombia. February 26, 1904 the territory adjacent to the channel, in 1422 square kilometers with a population of 14,470 people was annexed to the United States and is called "the Panama Canal Zone."

The Republic of Colombia has not risked a war with the United States and has been forced to admit defeat. Canal construction was resumed and continued by the United States.