Isthmus of Panama

The Panama Canal: One Canal, Three Chief Engineers In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt called John Wallace, the first chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project, into his office and ordered him to “make the dirt fly!” However, digging a canal across the Isthmus of Panama and successfully linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans would require extensive planning and preparation before digging could commence. The task of building the Panama Canal would prove to be one of the most expensive…

I. The Incas A. The Incas were the native peoples of South America. Their empire extended from Ecuador to Chile. B. Around 1200 B.C., they founded Cuzco as the capital. C. They were great builders: 1. Paved roads through the Andes 2. Tunnels 3. Suspension bridges 4. Distance markers along the roads 5. Rest stations D. There were four classes (levels) in the Incan society. 1. Rulers 2. Nobles - The rulers and nobles lived in palaces. 3. Common people - This was the largest group. Most of…

Francisco Pizarro left Spain with explorer Alonzo de Ojeda, and went on a voyage to Uraba, Colombia. A short three years later, Francisco joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa through the Isthmus of Panama looking for the “South Sea”. On this long and extravagant journey, Balboa and Pizarro…

One was a spanish conquistador who led the fall of the Aztec Empire and the other accompanied Vasco de Balboa in the crossing of the Isthmus of Panama to the pacific coast. These two men were born around the same time but accomplished two very different things. Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro heros if you will, of their time and have left a lasting impression on the Americas forever. Hernán Cortés owned land in Cuba. He heard of Spanish expeditions that had been repelled by Indians. He…

Francis Drake partook in some of the first English slaving voyages to Africa and earned a reputation for piracy against the Spanish. Sent to South America by Queen Elizabeth II in 1577, he returned home by the Pacific and thusly became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. The queen rewarded him with knighthood. Drake died in January 1596 of dysentery. In 1567, Drake sailed to Africa in order to join the fledgling slave trade. When he sailed to New Spain to sell his captives to…

this repulsive virus. “Colonel Gorgas arrived in the canal zone in June of 1904 as Chief Medical Officer” (Yellow Fever in Canal). On January 30, 1905, the Panama Star And Herald recognized the outbreak and the story headline read: “Yellow Jack in Panama”. “Following the death of several prominent canal officials in April 1905, the Isthmus erupted into chaos” (Freeman). In the spring of 1905 the Canal excavation had come to a stop after Chief Engineer Wallace resigned. By June 1905 the…

The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era began in the 1800s and lasted till the 1920s. In this period, it was marked by major movements for reform against the backdrop of socioeconomic conflicts; in addition, America emerged as a world power. It was the perfect period for business moguls and corrupt politician to manipulate the government and the economy for their benefits; consequently, it involved people at home and internally. During the late 19th and early 20th century, racism, social and…

The earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, including Parictis (late Eocene to early middle Miocene, 38–18 Mya) and the slightly younger Allocyon (early Oligocene, 34–30 Mya), both from North America. These animals looked very different from today's bears, being small and raccoon-like in overall appearance, and diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger. Parictis does not appear in Eurasia and Africa until the Miocene.[8] It is unclear whether…

12. James Cook James Cook, a captain of the English Royal Navy and fellow seaman, disproved the theory about the “Southern Continent” when he led the first expedition to cross the Antarctic Circle. Throughout his expeditions, Cook created numerous charts of unexplored islands in the Pacific Ocean. On his third voyage south he discovered many islands, including Hawaii. Cook’s discoveries and numerous charts became invaluable to the future English explorers. 13. Vitus Bering The Danish explorer…

Chinese miners sailed across the Pacific Ocean, spending up to two months making the trip in small boats. The three main routes used by American gold seekers were the Oregon-California Trail, the Cape Horn route, and the Panama…