French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps completed work on the Suez Canal in Egypt on November 17, 1869. The canal allowed for a direct line of transportation and trade between Europe and Asia. Also that year, President Ulysses S. Grant established the Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission and sent out an expedition to investigate possible routes for a canal. The idea of a canal continued to be a priority for Grant throughout his presidency as he seeked a faster shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In January 1875, a investigatory team from the U.S. surveyed Panama to evaluate the site. After Panama, the team next evaluated a part of
the Republic of Colombia in hopes of finding a home for a canal. They concluded that Panama was too expensive and proposed a canal in Nicaragua.
The next attempt for a canal in Panama was made by the French. In May 1879, two years after a French team completed their own survey of Panama, their government approved Ferdinand De Lesseps' plan for a sea-level canal. The cost is estimated at $240 million. December of that same year, De Lesseps arrives in the Panama region and begins construction. In January 1882, French workers completed surveys began building accommodations and work yards as the long process began. By March of 1883, flooding and landslides were beginning to become a major problem for the French and caused major delays. To start off 1884 an epidemic of yellow fever panics the workers. In 1883, around 400 workers died of disease which was more than twice the amount than the previous year. 1886 rolls around and after four years of excavations, only a few feet had been removed from the top out of the hundreds that was necessary to reach sea level. After several attempts to raise more money for the canal, Ferdinand De Lesseps is found guilty of fraud in 1893 and dies shortly after.
The next attempt for a canal in Panama was made by the French. In May 1879, two years after a French team completed their own survey of Panama, their government approved Ferdinand De Lesseps' plan for a sea-level canal. The cost is estimated at $240 million. December of that same year, De Lesseps arrives in the Panama region and begins construction. In January 1882, French workers completed surveys began building accommodations and work yards as the long process began. By March of 1883, flooding and landslides were beginning to become a major problem for the French and caused major delays. To start off 1884 an epidemic of yellow fever panics the workers. In 1883, around 400 workers died of disease which was more than twice the amount than the previous year. 1886 rolls around and after four years of excavations, only a few feet had been removed from the top out of the hundreds that was necessary to reach sea level. After several attempts to raise more money for the canal, Ferdinand De Lesseps is found guilty of fraud in 1893 and dies shortly after.