Author: Marixa Lasso Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674984447 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 353
Book Description
The Panama Canal's untold history—from the Panamanian point of view. Sleuth and scholar Marixa Lasso recounts how the canal’s American builders displaced 40,000 residents and erased entire towns in the guise of bringing modernity to the tropics. The Panama Canal set a new course for the modern development of Central America. Cutting a convenient path from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, it hastened the currents of trade and migration that were already reshaping the Western hemisphere. Yet the waterway was built at considerable cost to a way of life that had characterized the region for centuries. In Erased, Marixa Lasso recovers the history of the Panamanian cities and towns that once formed the backbone of the republic. Drawing on vast and previously untapped archival sources and personal recollections, Lasso describes the canal’s displacement of peasants, homeowners, and shop owners, and chronicles the destruction of a centuries-old commercial culture and environment. On completion of the canal, the United States engineered a tropical idyll to replace the lost cities and towns—a space miraculously cleansed of poverty, unemployment, and people—which served as a convenient backdrop to the manicured suburbs built exclusively for Americans. By restoring the sounds, sights, and stories of a world wiped clean by U.S. commerce and political ambition, Lasso compellingly pushes back against a triumphalist narrative that erases the contribution of Latin America to its own history.
Author: Ulrich Keller Publisher: Courier Corporation ISBN: 0486319253 Category : Photography Languages : en Pages : 132
Book Description
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.
Author: Noel Maurer Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691248079 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 440
Book Description
An incisive economic and political history of the Panama Canal On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened for business, forever changing the face of global trade and military power, as well as the role of the United States on the world stage. The Canal's creation is often seen as an example of U.S. triumphalism, but Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu reveal a more complex story. Examining the Canal's influence on Panama, the United States, and the world, The Big Ditch deftly chronicles the economic and political history of the Canal, from Spain's earliest proposals in 1529 through the final handover of the Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, to the present day. The authors show that the Canal produced great economic dividends for the first quarter-century following its opening, despite massive cost overruns and delays. Relying on geographical advantage and military might, the United States captured most of these benefits. By the 1970s, however, when the Carter administration negotiated the eventual turnover of the Canal back to Panama, the strategic and economic value of the Canal had disappeared. And yet, contrary to skeptics who believed it was impossible for a fledgling nation plagued by corruption to manage the Canal, when the Panamanians finally had control, they switched the Canal from a public utility to a for-profit corporation, ultimately running it better than their northern patrons. A remarkable tale, The Big Ditch offers vital lessons about the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, American overseas interventions on institutional development, and the ability of governments to run companies effectively.
Author: George Washington Goethals Publisher: Wentworth Press ISBN: 9780526813292 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 26
Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: Jaime Massot Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781981424832 Category : Photography Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Revised Edition - April 2018: My great-grandfather, Pedro Hernández Díaz Leal, contract employee # 7604 was hired by the Isthmian Canal Commission (I. C. C.), and arrived at the Cristobal dock on October 21, 1907. As one of forty eight other workers, sailing from Vigo (Spain) and transported on the SS Taurus, Pedro was assigned to excavation work in the Culebra Cut. Because of the harsh living conditions for the Silver Payroll workers, Pedro elected to live in a jungle hut near the work area where he could hunt, fish, and plant his own food. A year and a half later, already settled and with enough savings, he purchased steamship tickets for his wife (Rosa) and their children (Julio and Genaro) who joined him in Panama in early 1909. Julio began working at the Culebra Cut, in 1910, as a water boy. Later, he was promoted to car repairman in Gorgona (1911) and machinist in Empire (1913). As the construction of the Canal advanced, the Hernández family moved to various labor camps in Gorgona, Empire, and Bas Obispo. After the opening of the Canal, they resided in La Boca and Balboa until 1950. This book takes us back to that historic period through postcards, tales, and facts. Some postcards from before 1904 (or after 1914) are also included. Because of space limitations, the longer titles on the postcards were shortened. The images presented in each chapter, more often than not, are in chronological order. This proved to be a very difficult task as they did not have dates present in them. Attached to each postcard is a text referring to the content or title of each photo. Some of the tales and facts written on the images sound inappropriate today, but that was the writing style back in 1900-1910s. A bibliography is included for those who wish to delve into the topics presented. This has been a fascinating experience. I hope that lovers of photography and history enjoy it, especially those whose ancestors worked in the Isthmian Canal Commission or lived in the Panama Canal Zone.
Author: Marixa Lasso
Author: Ulrich Keller
Author: Noel Maurer
Author: Frederic Jennings Haskin
Author: Isthmian Canal Commission (U.S.)
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Author: George Washington Goethals
Author: 
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services
Author: Jaime Massot