Panama History

Panama - national flag

The flag was officially introduced in 1904. The colors lead to the country's two traditional parties, red for the liberals and blue for the conservatives. The white color stands for peace between the parties, and the blue star represents purity and honesty, the red law and authority.

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Panama - history

Panama's history is largely determined by its geography and the consequent geopolitical interests of the various superpowers.

In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa and his men were the first Europeans to discover the existence of the Pacific Ocean. In the following years, Panama became the starting point for many Spanish expeditions; in 1532 it resulted in the conquest of the Inca Empire. Wealth from the territories of the Inca in the form of silver and gold began to flow to Europe through Panama.

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In the 1500's. the idea of ​​a canal across the country was conceived, but it was not until 1881-89 that a French company under the leadership of Ferdinand Marie Lesseps began construction of the Panama Canal. As early as 1846, the United States had, by the Treaty of Bidlack, signed with Colombia, secured the right to "protect uninterrupted transit" through the country.

Panama was until 1903 part of Colombia. In the 1800's. however, there were several attempts to secede the province. After Lesseps' Panama Canal Company went bankrupt in 1889, the United States became interested in building the canal, but Colombia was unwilling to hand over the rights to the Americans. As a result, the United States supported the separatist movement, led by Manuel Amador Guerrero (1833-1909), and on November 3, 1903, Panama was declared an independent state, which was immediately recognized by the United States. Then a new treaty was signed and the United States began canal construction. In February 1904, Amador Guerrero became the new president of the new country.

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The Panama Canal was taken into use in 1914. The treaty handed over sovereignty to the United States over a belt on both sides of the canal, the so-called Panama Canal Zone. Here, Panama and the United States were to share the administration. The treaty, which favored the United States, has caused many conflicts and has had to be renegotiated and revised on several occasions. Thus, in January 1964, a student uprising took place in the Channel Zone. The American students, contrary to an agreement reached, would not allow the Panamanian flag to be hoisted next to the American one. Police from the United States intervened and the riots resulted in many dead and hundreds injured. Panama severed diplomatic relations with the United States and brought the matter before the United Nations, which handed it over to The Organization of American States. After lengthy negotiations, the presidents of the two countries agreed in September 1965 to repeal the 1903 treaty and recognize Panama's sovereignty over the Channel Zone.

On September 7, 1977, a new treaty was signed in Washington in the presence of representatives of 24 nations from across the continent. In 1978, the final treaty under which Panama was to take over all rights and the channel on 1.1.2000 was ratified and signed by the Presidents of the United States and Panama. The United States systematically transferred the Panama Canal and the associated 24,000 hectares of land to Panama on December 31, 1999. In the short term, Panama lost some revenue from US personnel, but a major expansion of the canal began, so that after 2002 it should be able to take 16,500 ships a year compared to the previous 15,000.

In the 1980's, relations with the United States escalated. In 1983, Manuel Noriega became commander of the armed forces. He consolidated the dictatorship of Omar Torrijos Herrera from 1972. Although he allowed the first presidential election in 16 years in 1987, he manipulated the election result so that his own candidate was installed in office. Reports of Noriega's co-operation with Colombian drug cartels also aroused great concern, and in 1988 he was accused by the United States of drug trafficking and extortion.

In March 1988, the United States imposed economic sanctions on the country. In addition, there were major internal problems with several failed coup attempts. In December 1989, the Noriega regime declared war on the United States, and immediately after, Panamanian soldiers killed a U.S. Marine. On December 19, 1989, US President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to protect US citizens and capture Noriega for prosecution in the United States. The Americans quickly defeated all resistance, and on January 3, 1990, Noriega was captured and taken to the United States. Here he was brought before a court, convicted and imprisoned.

Following the end of General Noriega's military dictatorship, Parliament decided in 1994, on an equal footing with Costa Rica, to abolish the armed forces. That same year, the first free elections in a quarter of a century with the participation of a large number of parties were won by Ernesto Perez Balladares (b. 1946). He was replaced in 1999 by the leader of the opposition, Mireya Moscoso, who was the widow of former Conservative President Arnulfo Arias Madrid (1901-88).

In 2006, a referendum decided to invest in widening the Panama Canal so that the number of vessels crossing the canal can double; construction work began in 2007.

In 2006, a free trade agreement with the United States was negotiated in place; it was first approved by the US Congress in 2011.