Panama Canal.pptx For CAPE HOSTORY UNIT1

Panama canal notes cape history unit 1

1. Building the panama canal, 1903-1914

2. The background President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal- a trans-isthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. The French attempted to build a canal through Panama (a province of Colombia). It was led by Ferdinand de Lesseps - the builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

3. The background The French started excavating in 1880. After 9 years and th e loss of approximately 20,000 lives the French project went bankrupt. W orkers died of diseases like Yellow Fever and malaria In 1889 the project is abandoned after spending over $200,000,000

4. The background Despite such setbacks the US was still interested in building a canal The Hay- Pauncefote Treaty 1901, licensed the US to build and manage its own canal. In 1902 the US Senate voted in favour of building the canal through Panama Secretary of State John Hay signed a treaty with Colombian Foreign Minister Tomas Herra n to build the new canal

5. The background The financial term s were unacceptable to Colombia’s Congress and it rejected the offer. The offer: The United States offers to buy rights to build the canal from Columbia for US $10 million dollars and US$250,000 per year. They wanted more money. President Roosevelt refuses to negotiate with Colombia

6. The background Panamanian independence A small group of Liberals in Panama including the agents of the railroad, which was still owned by the French Canal Company, and shipping companies began plotting to secede from Colombia, and negotiating with the US over canal rights. With assurance of support from the US, the rebels declared independence from Colombia on November 3, 1903.

7. The background Panamanian independence The rebels are quickly victorious and on November 6, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt officially recognizes the new nation of Panama who in turn signs the treaty previously refused by Columbia. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, known as the Canal Treaty of 1904.

8. Building the canal The United States begins work on the canal in 1904. It is a project of the U.S. government so unlike the French, they did not run out of money. At first, the Americans try to build the canal at sea level, like the French The project engineer, John Frank Stevens, that the canal will have to be a lock canal

9. labourers to the canal The US canal project attracted approximately 200,000 Caribbean workers among many global migrant labourers to work on the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914 The American engineers needed a lot of workers to keep the project on schedule. The Isthmus Canal Commission (I.C.C) recruited workers The ICC offered free passage, living accommodations, board and return home after 500 days of a labour contract

10. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama People migrate to improve their economic and social status West Indians were lured by the opportunity for employment and better wasges . Nearly 20,000 workers from Barbados and Jamaica; 5,500 from Martinique; 2,000 from Guadeloupe; 1,400 from Trinidad and about 1,000 from St. Kitts came under contract with the ICC. Thousands more came without a contract.

11. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama In high density colonies like Barbados, workers earned low wages. Immigration- indentureship in Trinidad kept wages low- competition for jobs. Effects of Free Trade- increasing competition, lower sugar prices, declining profitability Declining sugar prices led to some estates closing down and further lowering wages. Eg , in Barbados in 1900 wages were reduced from 10p to 8p daily.

12. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama Bankruptcy and estates closing down creating less employment opportunities and underemployment The decline of the sugar industry affected high- and low-density colonies. For example in Trinidad, planters could no longer maintain paying attractive wages Competition from sugar beet producers from France and Germany lowered sugar prices throughout the BWI Drought in Barbados affected the provision grounds in Barbados therefore labourers had to buy imported foods which costs more.

13. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama Competition from sugar beet producers from France and Germany lowered sugar prices throughout the BWI Drought in Barbados affected the provision grounds in Barbados therefore labourers had to buy imported foods which costs more. Barbados did not have a large peasantry. Land availability was limited, land was expensive. Most Blacks could not afford land and had to work on the plantations. Lack of opportunities for social mobility. Blacks had limited political representation despite Crown Colony Government in some colonies. Whites still dominated the political landscape and introduced policies to keep the masses down- unfair taxation, land access.

14. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama Lack of opportunities for social mobility. Blacks had limited political representation despite Crown Colony Government in some colonies. Whites still dominated the political landscape and introduced policies to keep the masses down- unfair taxation, land access. In Barbados this was especially difficult since they still had the ORS- the planter dominated assembly. With the decline of the sugar industry, less revenue coming into the colonies which can affect the development of infrastructure such as medical care.

15. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama Barbados: The Isthmus Canal Commission arrived in Barbados in January 1905 and encountered difficulties in recruiting canal workers. Despite the grim economic conditions in Barbados, Barbadians were reluctant to go to Panama. Why? Earlier migrants who returned after the failed French attempt brought back stories of the bad working conditions and the high mortality rate because of malaria and yellow fever. Panama had the reputation as the workers’ graveyard.

16. Factors encouraging Caribbean people to migrate to panama Barbados: By 1906 Barbadians were willing to go. This was because of: The advertising done by the ICC to attract workers More importantly, 17 returnees coming home with money and stories of tolerable conditions led to a change of mind.

17. Jobs west Indians did Labourers to dig, clear the land and level or grade the earth. Few whites were assigned these tasks

18. Conditions in Panama Flooding- The average yearly rainfall is 105 inches Climate- It is very humid that after it rains steam rises from the ground. Jungle animal s Accidents Racial segregation was practiced. Diseases- yellow fever, malaria, typhoid and pneumonia

19. Conditions in Panama Most people thought Yellow Fever was caused by bad hygiene and dirty living conditions One American doctor thought it was caused by mosquitoes Dr. William C. Gorgas convinces President Roosevelt to allow him to solve the mosquito problem By 1906, the mosquito population is largely dead and fewer workers died from Yellow Fever

20. discrimination in Panama West Indians were paid lower wages and were the majority workforce preferred by the American bosses. West Indian migrants in Panama were divided by class, place of origin, ethnicity, education level and employment status. As such new divisions among them grew depending on the location of their residence on the Isthmus. West Indians got inferior housing and were paid in silver currency

21. discrimination in Panama Panamanians used the term antillano to refer to West Indians The silver roll and the gold roll- West Indians were paid in silver currency but Americans were paid in gold dollars, worth 2 to 3 times as much as the silver currency to attract skilled workers and reduce turnover. Some white workers who were on the silver roll were paid at a higher rate than the majority of silver workers who were coloured labourers .

22. Effects of Migration to Panama on BWI The resident population became increasingly female although some sent for family members. Effects on family- improve relationship among family members or led to feelings of neglect and abandonment Threatened the labour supply for the plantations Led to modernization of the sugar industry Remittances and savings led to an improvement in material living conditions Encouraged the creation of a cash economy

23. Panama dollars- effects on barbados “Silver Men” was the term used to describe West Indian returnees From Panama Improved lives of black Barbadians- land purchases, newer and better housing. With more money it created a demand for better clothing, better sanitation and better medical care. Panama dollars bought between 5,000 and 10,000 small plots of land both rural and urban areas. The movement to the urban areas such as Bridgetown had better and more varied economic opportunities than before- shopkeepers, artisans.

24. Panama dollars- effects on barbados Some bought fishing boats which allowed them independence from the plantations and indirectly improved local diets. Panama money “developed” higher economic expectations so that Blacks no longer accepted the conditions they had tolerated in the past. The personal food sharing relationship in Barbados disappeared. The idea of buying food was taken back to Barbados (in Panama the cost of meals was deducted from wages). Food became a cash-based commodity and social relationships thus changed. “Long ago people used to share their food. After Panama, they had to buy it. There was no longer any love in their hearts.”

25. Panama dollars- effects on barbados Panama money increased the number and transformed the character of Barbadian friendly societies. Between 1904 and 1914 the number of friendly societies increased from 92 to 285. Total friendly society memberships also increased from 13,933 to 42,458 They received a “bonus” at the end of the year. Members were more interested in the bonus than on “relieving the sick and distressed and burying the dead.”

26. Panama dollars- effects on barbados Money sent to Barbados was invested. The number of depositors in the government savings bank increased from 14,212 in 1904 to 20, 881 in 1914. Total bank deposits increased from £117,000 to £209,000 In December 1912 Governor Probyn noted the general increase in lcal government revenue from import duties, attributing a substantial demand for imports to the “large amount of money remitted to the island by Barbadian emigrants, and especially by the labourers who are employed at Panama…”

27. Panama dollars- effects on barbados Changes in Barbados sugar industry- central factories, steam power replacing wind power In March 1911 the Barbados assembly passed an act supporting the establishment of large central factories. Labour was no longer cheap or efficient. The number of mills in Barbados in 1911 was 329. by 1921 it was 263.