nterest in a canal Panama signed a treaty with the United States giving permission for the canal project6. Construction Canal construction began in 1904 Most of the excavation and construction was done by private contractors The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supplied the technical guidance, and Colonel George W. Goethals served as chief engineer from 1907 to 1916. The canal commission recruited more than 50,000 laborers, mostly from nearby Caribbean islands, to work on the canal. In all, another 100,000 people migrated to Panama during the construction era, adding to the diversity of Panama’s population Malaria and yellow fever had killed thousands of workers during the French canal attempt. But a U.S. campaign, directed by Army medical officer William Gorgas, drained or sprayed mosquito breeding grounds and built sewage and water systems. Within two years the diseases were brought under control The overall cost of the canal was about $350 million, the largest and costliest work ever undertaken by the U.S. government. It became one of the world’s premier feats of engineering. The first ship traveled through it from the Atlantic to the Pacific on August 15, 19147. Since completion the u.s. and panamanians have been in conflict over the control of the canal. The land and ownership was slowly given back until all of it was turned over to panama in 1999...
