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Post by AztecWilliam on Aug 11, 2014 10:38:39 GMT -8
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Post by AztecBill on Aug 11, 2014 16:19:11 GMT -8
Nicaragua canal was believed to be the path the US would take when building the canal. The French tried and failed to build a canal across Panama. Their failure was due to being over confident (mainly because of their success with the Suez Canal). The French foolishly tried a straight cut, without locks. The French failed. It was a private company who sold stock to most all French. It was a huge national black eye to the top country in engineering at the time. The US wanted to buy all their equipment and rights in Panama but the French held out. The US to flirted with Nicaragua. The French caved and sold all that stuff for pennies on the dollar. The causes of malaria was found between the two efforts and the US took steps to kill the mosquitoes that caused it. That saved countless lives. The French lost thousands to malaria. Nicaragua was only ever a better idea because of malaria. It is much longer but the elevation is lower. A very good book on the subject is A path between the seas by David McCullough. I read it last year and was very impressed. It also talked about the Panamanian railway, which was a huge endeavor that became very profitable. The railway was built right before the gold rush in California. Virtually all the gold going east went on that railway. The Panama Canal was finished and the first boat crossed but that was not the front page news of the day. The front page read WAR IN EUROPE. WWI started the day the Panama Canal was finished. It helped bring ships to action quickly when the US got involved. |
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Post by AztecWilliam on Aug 13, 2014 13:20:56 GMT -8
Nicaragua canal was believed to be the path the US would take when building the canal. The French tried and failed to build a canal across Panama. Their failure was due to being over confident (mainly because of their success with the Suez Canal). The French foolishly tried a straight cut, without locks. The French failed. It was a private company who sold stock to most all French. It was a huge national black eye to the top country in engineering at the time. The US wanted to buy all their equipment and rights in Panama but the French held out. The US to flirted with Nicaragua. The French caved and sold all that stuff for pennies on the dollar. The causes of malaria was found between the two efforts and the US took steps to kill the mosquitoes that caused it. That saved countless lives. The French lost thousands to malaria. Nicaragua was only ever a better idea because of malaria. It is much longer but the elevation is lower.
A very good book on the subject is A path between the seas by David McCullough. I read it last year and was very impressed. It also talked about the Panamanian railway, which was a huge endeavor that became very profitable. The railway was built right before the gold rush in California. Virtually all the gold going east went on that railway. The Panama Canal was finished and the first boat crossed but that was not the front page news of the day. The front page read WAR IN EUROPE. WWI started the day the Panama Canal was finished. It helped bring ships to action quickly when the US got involved. But wasn't that the reason why Nicaragua was a much better location for the canal? I thought that the proposed Nicaraguan route posed far fewer engineering challenges. AzWm |
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Post by AztecBill on Aug 13, 2014 14:02:35 GMT -8
Nicaragua canal was believed to be the path the US would take when building the canal. The French tried and failed to build a canal across Panama. Their failure was due to being over confident (mainly because of their success with the Suez Canal). The French foolishly tried a straight cut, without locks. The French failed. It was a private company who sold stock to most all French. It was a huge national black eye to the top country in engineering at the time. The US wanted to buy all their equipment and rights in Panama but the French held out. The US to flirted with Nicaragua. The French caved and sold all that stuff for pennies on the dollar. The causes of malaria was found between the two efforts and the US took steps to kill the mosquitoes that caused it. That saved countless lives. The French lost thousands to malaria. Nicaragua was only ever a better idea because of malaria. It is much longer but the elevation is lower.
A very good book on the subject is A path between the seas by David McCullough. I read it last year and was very impressed. It also talked about the Panamanian railway, which was a huge endeavor that became very profitable. The railway was built right before the gold rush in California. Virtually all the gold going east went on that railway. The Panama Canal was finished and the first boat crossed but that was not the front page news of the day. The front page read WAR IN EUROPE. WWI started the day the Panama Canal was finished. It helped bring ships to action quickly when the US got involved. But wasn't that the reason why Nicaragua was a much better location for the canal? I thought that the proposed Nicaraguan route posed far fewer engineering challenges. AzWm Far fewer engineering challenges but far more work. A direct cut at Panama would be more work but using locks and the inland lake makes Panama easier overall. Although the Locks themselves were a big challenge. Note: The US effort was well underway when the largest recorded earthquake in Panama history refilled most of the excavation via land slides. The last couple years of effort creating the canal vaulted Panama to the #1 tourist destination in the world. Visitors could watch the steam engines at work. |
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