Panama History & real estate

In 1501 Rodrigo de Bastidas of Spain landed on the Caribbean side, discovering the Americas. Just a short 18 years later, 1500 Spanish settlers had established the oldest European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas in what was called Panama Viejo, near the current Panama City. Finding that the two oceans were not far apart, conquistadors began transporting goods from the Caribbean side to the Pacific side in what became known as the El Camino Real or Royal Trail. This enabled two-way traffic of carts carrying treasures to go from sea to sea. In 1671 the famous pirate Henry Morgan burned down the original Panama City.

For over 300 years, the Spanish ruled Panama. Struggles to gain control of many of the Central American countries continued for decades. In 1821, Panama gained independence from Spain only to join what was then Colombia later that same year. In 1846, a treaty between Colombia and the United States was signed, permitting the U.S. to construct a railway across the country.

By 1900 Panama wanted to declare itself independent from Colombia and in 1903, Panama declared independence and the U.S. recognized the sovereignty of the new country. Colombia finally relinquished in 1921 and declared Panama a separate nation. As U.S. presence increased with the building of the canal, taken on from the French, but the U.S. influence and intervention was not welcomed in all circles of Panama.

As Panama came into its own, full control of the Panama Canal was given to Panama on the last day of the year in 1999. This was followed by a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Panama. real estate