Before knowing the characteristics of the Panama Canal, it is necessary to clarify what a canal is. Canal corresponds to a passage almost always built by man used by navigation to cross a given continental area, the best known channels are the Suez Canal, the English Channel and the English Channel. Beagle.
The Panama Canal is located on the Isthmus of Panama, which is a country with territory located to the south of Panama. Central America, this channel aims to join the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, it has an extension of 82 km. The channel is of great importance in the international maritime flow, which today corresponds to 4% of world trade, each year around 13 thousand ships pass through the channel. The main trajectories depart from the North American east coast to, mainly, the west coast of South America, there is also a flow of European origin to the west coast of the USA and Canada.
In the year 1821, Panama achieved its independence, once its territory was united with Colombia, this was possible due to the North American support in the 1903 rebellions, the States United States intervened in the region because of their interest in the canal that was used by the Americans to connect the west coast to the east coast. Colombia.
The Panama Canal was built and inaugurated by the Americans in 1914, to use and control this construction the US started to pay an annuity to the Panamanian government as a form of compensation.
As most Latin countries have gone through military coups, Panama was no different, in 1968 there was a military coup in which the General Omar Torrijos took power, in 1977 the general made an agreement with the US, so that from the year 2000 onwards administration and control of the canal were taken over by the Panamanian leadership, in 1981 the general died in a somewhat how suspicious.
After the death of General Torrijos, who assumed power was the former head of the secret service, General Manuel Antonio Noriega. In 1989 Noriega annulled the election in which he had been defeated by the opponent Guilherme Endara, fearing to harm American interests, the US sent troops and invaded Panama, putting Noriega in power.
In December 1999 a ceremony was held to hand over control of the canal to Panama.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
General geography - geography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "Panama Canal"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/canal-panama.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
