Part 1 of Essay
Interest in a short route from the Atlantic to the Pacific began with the explorers of Central America early in the 16th century. Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, suggested a canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; other explorers favored routes through Nicaragua and Darién. The first project for a canal t ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... creation of a company to build it. Nothing came of this effort, however, and the revolt of the Spanish colonies soon took the control of possible canal sites out of Spanish hands. The republics of Central America instead tried to interest groups in the United States and Europe in building a canal, and it became the subject of debate in the US Congress. The discovery of gold in California in 1848, and the rush of would-be miners stimulated US interest in digging the canal. Various surveys made between 1850 and 187 ....