“Over the last four centuries there has accumulated a vast literature relating to scores of projects for linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the American tropics... Mr. Mack has undertaken, in the volume under review, to combine these numerous and varied sources into a history of all interoceanic canal projects in the Western Hemisphere from the discovery of America to the present day. The result is a work of unparalleled comprehensiveness in this field, based upon extensive research, and presented in a well-organized and exceptionally readable form... [of] superior merit.” — The American Historical Review “[This] book is important. It is the first definitive history of the Panama Canal, richly complete with colorful details of the explorations, conquests, intrigues, crackpot theories and engineering genius that went into the making of it... The Land Divided is an important book.” — The New York Times “A history of the Panama Canal which should provide for study and reference the definitive book on that project. From the 16th century explorers, the search for the ‘doubtful strait’, the first conception of an artificial canal in 1529, this outlines the adventures and aggressions in Spanish waters down to the 19th century and the French revival of the project of a canal. Meticulous tracing of the controversy, of local affairs in Panama, of political and international claims and disputes, of private interests vying with government interests, innumerable surveys, accelerated interest as the gold discoveries in California emphasized the need. Then de Lesseps, and the grandiose scheme and tragic failure, the bankruptcy of the Panama Canal Company and the ensuing scandals. The formation of a new international company, rivalry between Nicaragua and Panama, the U.S. purchase of the concession, the decision for the lock canal, and the amazing achievement with Gorgas and Goethals responsible. A history which is history, politics, finance, science, and which ignores no phase and no detail of the accomplishment that was to unite the world.” — Kirkus “[A]n exhaustive history of the Panama Canal... The author has achieved splendid success in his five years of careful research, compilation, and presentation of a full-length history of all the elements present in the creation of the canal... the author deserves recognition for his painstaking effort and ability in writing this scholarly volume.” — Proceedings of the US Naval Institute “The economic historian will find this book interesting and useful. It covers the whole history of the isthmian route — the search for a strait, the transit business, the abortive canal projects, the construction of the Panama Canal.” — The Journal of Economic History “Of prime interest to the historian and economist perhaps, this book should be a welcome addition to any serious geographical library. It is a systematic and well documented history of the Panama Canal and other isthmian canal projects... Mr. Mack has produced a most useful and readable account.” — The Geographical Journal “[A] book written with knowledge and insight.” — Geographical Review “[A] useful work of reference.” — Political Science Quarterly

This tale of an unprecedented technological advance unfolds in a compelling narrative of risks, hardships, disasters, and triumph. More than 160 historic photographs depict exotic settings, workers' housing, dredging operations, much more.

This work is a history of the Pacific, the ocean that became a theatre of power and conflict shaped by the politics of Europe and the economic background of Spanish America. There could only be a concept of &�the Pacific once the limits and lineaments of the ocean were set and this was undeniably the work of Europeans. Fifty years after the Conquista, Nueva Espaą and Peru were the bases from which the ocean was turned into virtually a Spanish lake.

As the narrowest stretch of land in the Central American isthmus, Panama's geographical location has for millenia made it the crossroads for traders, travelers, European pirates, and world superpowers. Panamanian history is replete with explicit or tacit domination by others. In the post-Columbus period, Panama was first a Spanich colony, then a province of Colombia, and then finally a quasi-territory of the United States during the 20th century. Suffering invasion by the United States in 1989 to oust dictator Manuel Noriega and then receiving full ownership of the Panama Canal at the end of 1999, Panama has rebuilt itself into a strong, if contentious democracy. This work chronicles and highlights the key events and figures in the country's past 500 years of history, from Columbus to current day. It begins with Panama's colonial period, demonstrating how even in its early day, the isthmus was seen by the Spanish as merely a transshipment point. It then examines the post-Spanish period when the Colombian province of Panama became a forgotten backwater until European powers began vying for canal rights, leading to an ill-fated French effort. The main portion of the book details the events, figures, and intricacies of the Panama-U.S. relationship, which dominated Panama's history for the entire 20th century. It closes with an examination of the gains and challenges the country has faced in the post-U.S. invasion years.

A revelatory look at a momentous undertaking-from the workers' point of view The Panama Canal has long been celebrated as a triumph of American engineering and ingenuity. In The Canal Builders, Julie Greene reveals that this emphasis has obscured a far more remarkable element of the historic enterprise: the tens of thousands of workingmen and workingwomen who traveled from all around the world to build it. Greene looks past the mythology surrounding the canal to expose the difficult working conditions and discriminatory policies involved in its construction. Drawing extensively on letters, memoirs, and government documents, the book chronicles both the struggles and the triumphs of the workers and their fami­lies. Prodigiously researched and vividly told, The Canal Builders explores the human dimensions of one of the world's greatest labor mobilizations, and reveals how it launched America's twentieth-century empire.

Prize Possession is a history of United States policy towards the Panama Canal, focusing principally on the first two generations of American tenure of the Canal Zone between 1904 and 1955. John Major also provides an extensive look at the nineteenth-century background, the making of the 1903 canal treaty with Panama, the move after 1955 towards the new treaty settlement of 1977, and the crucial significance of the Canal to American policy-makers and their public. The book is based for the most part on the hitherto largely untapped sources of US government agencies, namely, the State, War, and Navy Department, and the Canal Zone administration, as well as on the papers of notable dramatis personae such as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Philippe Bunau-Varilla. As such it makes an important and original contribution to our knowledge and understanding of a subject which has not yet received its due from historians.

No previous work has covered the web of important players, places, and events that have shaped the history of the United States’ relations with its neighbors to the south. From the Monroe Doctrine through today’s tensions with Latin America’s new leftist governments, this history is rich in case studies of diplomatic, economic, and military cooperation and contentiousness. Encyclopedia of U.S.-Latin American Relations is a comprehensive, three-volume, A-to-Z reference featuring more than 800 entries detailing the political, economic, and military interconnections between the United States and the countries of Latin America, including Mexico and the nations in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Entries cover: Each country and its relationship with the United States Key politicians, diplomats, and revolutionaries in each country Wars, conflicts, and other events Policies and treaties Organizations central to the political and diplomatic history of the western hemisphere Key topics covered include: Coups and terrorist organizations U.S. military interventions in the Caribbean Mexican-American War The Cold War, communism, and dictators The war on drugs in Latin America Panama Canal Embargo on Cuba Pan-Americanism and Inter-American conferences The role of commodities like coffee, bananas, copper, and oil "Big Stick" and Good Neighbor policies Impact of religion in U.S.-Latin American relations Neoliberal economic development model U.S. Presidents from John Quincy Adams to Barack Obama Latin American leaders from Simon Bolivar to Hugo Chavez With expansive coverage of more than 200 years of important and fascinating events, this new work will serve as an important addition to the collections of academic, public, and school libraries serving students and researchers interested in U.S. history and diplomacy, Latin American studies, international relations, and current events.

An unprecedented undertaking by academics reflecting an extraordinary vision of world history, this landmark multivolume encyclopedia focuses on specific themes of human development across cultures era by era, providing the most in-depth, expansive presentation available of the development of humanity from a global perspective. Well-known and widely respected historians worked together to create and guide the project in order to offer the most up-to-date visions available. A monumental undertaking. A stunning academic achievement. ABC-CLIO's World History Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive work to take a large-scale thematic look at the human species worldwide. Comprised of 21 volumes covering 9 eras, an introductory volume, and an index, it charts the extraordinary journey of humankind, revealing crucial connections among civilizations in different regions through the ages. Within each era, the encyclopedia highlights pivotal interactions and exchanges among cultures within eight broad thematic categories: population and environment, society and culture, migration and travel, politics and statecraft, economics and trade, conflict and cooperation, thought and religion, science and technology. Aligned to national history standards and packed with images, primary resources, current citations, and extensive teaching and learning support, the World History Encyclopedia gives students, educators, researchers, and interested general readers a means of navigating the broad sweep of history unlike any ever published.

A historical and ethnographic study of the conflict between global transportation and rural development as the two intersect at the Panama Canal. In this innovative book, Ashley Carse traces the water that flows into and out from the Panama Canal to explain how global shipping is entangled with Panama's cultural and physical landscapes. By following container ships as they travel downstream along maritime routes and tracing rivers upstream across the populated watershed that feeds the canal, he explores the politics of environmental management around a waterway that links faraway ports and markets to nearby farms, forests, cities, and rural communities. Carse draws on a wide range of ethnographic and archival material to show the social and ecological implications of transportation across Panama. The Canal moves ships over an aquatic staircase of locks that demand an enormous amount of fresh water from the surrounding region. Each passing ship drains 52 million gallons out to sea—a volume comparable to the daily water use of half a million Panamanians. Infrastructures like the Panama Canal, Carse argues, do not simply conquer nature; they rework ecologies in ways that serve specific political and economic priorities. Interweaving histories that range from the depopulation of the U.S. Canal Zone a century ago to road construction conflicts and water hyacinth invasions in canal waters, the book illuminates the human and nonhuman actors that have come together at the margins of the famous trade route. 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal. Beyond the Big Ditch calls us to consider how infrastructures are materially embedded in place, producing environments with winners and losers.