TRAVERSING THE PANAMA

Early in the 16th century European explorers such as Bastidas and Columbus sailed the Atlantic Ocean eventually touching the eastern shores of North America. In 1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa not only sailed the Atlantic but traversed a narrow strip of land, which we know as the Isthmus of Panama, and encountered the crystal blue waters of the what he called the South Sea. Six years later the first European settlement on the shores of the Pacific Ocean was established. Panama City of today was then known as Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion de Panama.

For many centuries the indigenous people of the area had travelled on rough, makeshift trails between the two oceans. The Spaniards refined the trails for trade purposes. Roads such as Camino de Real and Camion de Cruces were used to transport goods, precious metals, supplies and armaments across the narrow strip of land which separated two great oceans. Spain was renowned for its Treasure Fleets made possible by roads carved through the jungles of Central America.

For three centuries the perilous land route existed; always there was the dream of finding a natural waterway between the two oceans. The Panama land route was a labour intensive, time consuming portage vulnerable to pirate attacks and environmental perils. The other option for the European explorers and settlers was to sail round Cape Horn, also a time consuming, dangerous journey.

It was not until the middle of the 19th century that an alternate means of travel was developed when the first transcontinental railroad opened in 1855. The Panama Railway connected Aspinwall/Colon on the east to Panama City on the west. The first in my family to cross the Isthmus of Panama, a mere nine years after it opened, was my great grandfather, John Newell Evans. Here lies my ancestral connection to the history of the Panama. Great Grandpa John in 1864 recorded his thoughts on this journey in a diary. The next blog post will pay tribute to some of his memories. For today I will finish with a photo of the ship which took him from South Hampton to the Eastern shores of North America.

Royal Mail SS La Plata, 1852: photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich London, #PAF6003