Tug pulling ship through newly constructed Panama Canal. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/US Army Corps Of Engineers/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images). The location of this image is Panama. Copyright: Time & Life Pictures

The history of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas . The narrow land bridge between North and South America offers a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The earliest colonists of Central America recognised this potential, and schemes for such a canal were floated several times in the subsequent years.
By the late 19th century, technological advances and commercial pressure advanced to the point where construction started in earnest. An initial attempt by France to build a sea-level canal failed, but only after a great amount of excavation was carried out. This was of use to the United States , which finally completed the present Panama Canal in 1914. Along the way, the state of Panama was created through its separation from Colombia in 1903.
Today, the canal continues to be not only a viable commercial venture, but also a vital link in world shipping.

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