Panama Canal: History, Impact & Canal Zone
This article is a summary of reporting by HISTORY. Originally published April 30, 2026.
After a failed French effort in the 1880s, the United States undertook the construction of the Panama Canal in 1904 following Panama's independence. Completed in 1914, the monumental engineering project reshaped global maritime navigation despite costing thousands of workers' lives and hundreds of millions of dollars. The canal and the surrounding territory remained under U.S. sovereignty until the Torrijos-Carter Treaties initiated a transition, leading to the full handover to the Panama Canal Authority on December 31, 1999.
AI Summary
An examination of the construction, geopolitical legacy, and eventual transfer of the 50-mile waterway crossing Panama.
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