The Panama Canal’s Dark Secrets Exposed

The Panama Canal, a 50-mile engineering marvel connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, was first attempted by France under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the renowned builder of the Suez Canal.

Construction began in 1880 with ambitious plans for a sea-level waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, then part of Colombia. The project faced insurmountable challenges, including treacherous terrain, landslides, and devastating tropical diseases like yellow fever and malaria, transmitted by mosquitoes in the humid, mosquito-infested environment. These illnesses ravaged the workforce, leading to widespread panic and high mortality.

After nine years of effort, the French company went bankrupt in 1889, abandoning the project and leaving behind partially excavated channels and equipment.

The United States took over in the early 20th century, driven by strategic interests under President Theodore Roosevelt. After Colombia rejected a treaty granting U.S. rights, Roosevelt supported a Panamanian independence movement in 1903, leading to Panama’s secession and a favorable Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty that gave the U.S. control over a 10-mile-wide Canal Zone in perpetuity.

The U.S. purchased French assets for $40 million and began construction in 1904, shifting to a lock-based system and implementing aggressive mosquito control measures led by Dr. William Gorgas, which dramatically reduced disease deaths.

The canal opened in 1914 after about 5,600 worker fatalities during the American phase (mostly from accidents and remaining diseases), compared to roughly 20,000-22,000 during the French attempt—bringing the total human cost to over 25,000 lives across both eras.