Panama

HISTORY

Panama City, Panama, was founded on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Ávila, also known as Pedrarias Dávila. Within a few years of its founding, the city became a launching point for the exploration and conquest of Peru and a transit point for gold and silver headed back to Spain through the Isthmus.

In 1593, Vasco Nunez de Balboa became to first European to discover than Panama was just a thin strip separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a recognized and popular figure of Panamanian history

The Panamanian currency is called the balboa after him but they mainly use US dollars.

During The "War of Jenkins' Ear" between England and Spain, a British naval force, commanded by Admiral Edward Vernon. captured the port of Portobello in the Spanish Main (modern Panama) between November 20-22, 1739.  The British victory created an outburst of popular acclaim throughout the British Empire. More medals were struck for Vernon than for any other 18th-century British figure.

The bombardment of Portobello by Samuel Scott

Panama had been a Spanish colony since the sixteenth century. The country gained independence from the Spanish empire which began on November 10 and was completed on November 28, 1821.
They joined the Republic of Gran Colombia in the same year, along with Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

The Republic of Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1830 but the country remained part of Colombia for several decades, Panama finally achieved independence on November 3, 1903 with the help of the US.

A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway, run from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time on January 28, 1855.

The Panama Canal Railroad was the most expensive railway ever built per mile, costing nearly $8 million. Construction on the railroad began in August 1850 and building the 47 miles (76 km) of track through the jungle and rough terrain took four and a half years.

Track laying follows excavation

The railroad was one of the most profitable in the world, charging up to $25 per passenger to transport them from Panama City to Colon and back on a hard-laid track.

Until the opening of the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Railroad carried the heaviest volume of freight per unit length of any railroad in the world.

The separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903, allowed the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914.

The SS Ancon, was the first ocean steamer to pass through the Panama Canal in 1914.

The flag of Panama was made by María de la Ossa de Amador and officially adopted on March 25, 1925. The stars and quarters are said to stand for the rival political parties (blue was the color of the Conservatives, and red the color of the Liberals), and the white is the peace in which they operate.

The United States Invasion of Panama, code named Operation Just Cause, was an invasion of Panama by the United States during the winter of 1989-90. General Manuel Noriega, the deposed "strongman of Panama", surrendered to American forces on January 3, 1990. After Noriega was deposed, president-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office, and the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved.

FUN FACTS

The Panamanian flag day is celebrated on November 4, one day after Panamanian separation from Colombia. On Flag Day, Panamanians celebrate their national flag and the country's history through various events, ceremonies, and educational activities. 

The flag of Panama is a quartered flag with two five-pointed stars, one blue and one red. The flag was designed by María Ossa de Amador, the wife of the first president of Panama, Manuel Amador Guerrero. It was officially adopted on November 4, 1904, one day after Panama gained independence from Colombia.

The four quarters of the flag represent the four political parties that were active in Panama at the time of independence: the Conservative Party (blue), the Liberal Party (red), the Republican Party (white), and the National Union Party (white). The two stars represent the unity of the Panamanian people and the nation's commitment to peace and progress.

Geographically all of Panama – including the part east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is usually included in North America and among the countries of Central America.

Panama is the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise on the Pacific and set on the Atlantic.

The only thing preventing an American from driving all the way to Argentina is a short strip of Jungle in Panama called the Darien Gap.

The Panama Canal generates one-third of the country’s entire economy.

Its official currency is the balboa, after Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa. However because one balboa is equal to one US dollar, the US dollar is more commonly used in the country. Panama was the first Latin American country to adopt the US currency as its own.

Panama has the second largest rainforest in the Western hemisphere.

Panama City is the only capital city in the world that has a rainforest within the city limits.

The population in the country is just 3.6 million and 1.5 million of these people live in Panama City.

The skyline of Panama City near Cinta Costera

The official language of Panama is Spanish, although many Panamanians are bilingual with English being the most common second language.

Panama is a democratic republic. Elections are held every five years and the last presidential ballot was won by businessman and politician Laurentino Cortizo on May 5, 2019  with around 33% of the vote.

The country's name is believed to have come from a local Indian word for an abundance of butterflies, fish and trees.

Panama is home to more species of birds than the United States and Canada combined, with 940 avian species native to the country.

Panama’s only Olympic gold medal was won by Irving Saladino in the Men’s Long Jump in Beijing in 2008.

Panama doubled as both Haiti and La Paz, Bolivia in the James Bond movie Quantam of Solace.

Sources Daily Express, Propertyshowrooms.com