In 1534, Charles I of Spain ordered the first survey of a proposed canal route through the Isthmus of Panama. More than three centuries passed before the French actually tried it in 1880. They worked for 20 years but financial problems and disease defeated them.

In 1903, Panama and the United States signed a treaty allowing the United States to construct a canal. The project was completed in 10 years at a cost of about $387 million.

There were three main problems: engineering, sanitation, and organization. The first two were ... (more)