Empire 277. America Drills Through Hell’s Gorge (Part 5)
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Jul 30, 2025 Matthew Parker, an author and expert on the Panama Canal, dives into the dramatic tale of American intervention in Panama's independence. He reveals how the U.S. orchestrated the revolution and signed controversial treaties without Panamanian representation. The conversation explores the significant engineering challenges, like battling yellow fever, and highlights the racial disparities in worker treatment. Parker also discusses the canal's impact on American imperialism and the shifting dynamics of U.S.-Panama relations as World War I approached.
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American-Facilitated Panama Coup
- Manuel Amador secured American support to separate Panama from Colombia in 1903 through bribery and strategic deception.
- The Colombian troops were disarmed in a coup facilitated by Americans, with only one fatality: a donkey.
Treaty Without Panamanian Voice
- The 1903 Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gave the US canal control with no Panamanian input.
- This deal caused uproar, seen as imperial overreach and a stolen territory by many.
Jim Crow in the Canal Zone
- The Canal Zone operated under a racially segregated Jim Crow system imposed by Americans.
- "Zonians" lived in an apartheid-style enclave deeply unlike Panama's previous norms.
