Timeline of Events
Panama Canal Timeline
Discover some of the significant events in the history of Panama leading up to the building of the Panama Canal, during the American Eras, and as it enters a new era under Panamanian control
Timeline of Events
-
1500 - 1900
The Spanish Era
Spaniard Rodrigo de Bastidas Discovers Panama
-
1845 - Present
The Panama Railroad Era
Trains and Transportation
-
1880 - 1889
The French Era
Defeated by a Mosquito
-
1903 - 1904
The American Era: Roosevelt and the Panama Canal Treaty
The Father of the Panama Canal
-
1904 - 1914
The American Era: Construction Period
The Big Ditch
-
1914 - 1979
The American Era: Operation Phase
Canal Opens for International Shipping
-
1979 - 1999
The American Era Ends: Treaty and Transition
US Hands Over Control
-
2000 - Present
The Panamanian Era: Canal Expansion
Canal Expansion and Its Future