Learning History in the Canal Zone
This week, we came across several newspapers from the French Era in the collection. Below are images of De Lesseps and his engineers in Panama (February 14, 1880) and De Lesseps and his family (January 1, 1881). What do you remember about learning the history of the Panama Canal in and outside of school? What parts of the history were emphasized or left out?
Author
6 Comments
Carl N. Berg of Cocoli, CZ
The good histories written about the French effort tell us that thousands of West Indian laborers were employed to do the unskilled work, namely, digging with pick and shovel. The work done by the US from 1904 to 1914 also used thousands of West Indians, many who had chosen to remain in Panama after the French gave up. The US is always severely criticized for the mistreatment of those island laborers. The questions never brought up, never raised in those histories, is—-How, exactly did the French treat the West Indians differently? Or did they? Did the pick-and-shovel men get paid in gold? Were they offered decent housing and the food they liked? Did they praise their white foremen? How many died digging and blasting for Count De Lesseps? Were they offered free repatriation to their island homes? Were the French employers a model of how the European bosses from Paris treated their black workers humanely? If so, where is it written?
Two side notes:
1. How did Panamanians treat these West Indian foreigners during the French period, and the US period? 2. McCullough tells us that the very word “Panama” in France became synonymous with scandal.
—Carl N. Berg of Cocoli, CZ; BHS 1960
Mauricio
Well, in panama, the canal history is not well taught…panamanians also dont like to read so history is not learned.
Osborne Herndon
I remember as a young boy walking along the French dug canal. As I remember there were a couple of rusting excavating machines an little more than a short 30-40′ wide canal
Mimi Stratford Collins
Following his success in the Suez, De Lesseps failed miserably in Panama. I understood that the failure was due primarily to poor engineering, inadequate medical services, and shameless corruption. It’s very likely that De Lesseps himself was not directly responsible for the project’s failure, since it seems that his name was used (with his permission) to garner support, but it was others who actually attempted the project, with very little understanding of the geophysical differences between the Suez and Panama.
John Schmidt Jr
In my early years and especially during the war and living in Pedro Miguel we all were fascinated with the view of what and who was going back and forth thru the Canal for their participation in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. I never too much cared to really learn the history and most of all, the construction……….as I got older and was serving in the U S Air Force, I became more serious and while my brother Douglas, was still there working in the Canal.. He, over many years provided me with the best of all material on the Canal, By that time, in the late 60’s, I was giving talks on the Canal to faculty members at the USAF Academy. It was with great pride that I was able to pass on construction and the operation information to members of the Engineering faculty. First hand knowledge was at a premium on the Panama Canal.
Throughout my AF career and into retirement, I continued to give talks on the Canal and today as I reside in a retirement community here in Tallahassee, I have been asked to continue my sharing of the history, construction and operation.
With great connections still currently working on the Panama Canal and the birth of the New Canal to provide me with up to minute facts and presentations…….the folks(residents) of my community are some of the most knowledgeable in my town……on the Panama Canal.
Lastly… While attending the Senior level Professional Military Education schools, I was tasked with writing a paper of the Panama Canal in January 1974. The “Paper” was accepted into the USAF Air University Library as part of the “Reference Section”.
I continue to stay abreast of the going’s on at the Panama Canal.
John Schmidt’
BHS
Class of 1950
c
Robert Baldwin
I don’t think we had “Panama Canal History” lessons in school in the Canal Zone. I least I don’t recall any. What we learned was gleaned from living there. And we didn’t have Panama history either (maybe a little bit in advanced Spanish classes).
Bob Baldwin
BHS ’71