The idea of an interoceanic canal in Central America had captivated the leaders of Britain, the United
States, and France since the early nineteenth century. A canal in Central America would allow ships from these world powers to quickly and e ciently transport goods and peoples to Asia and beyond.
Despite these incentives, building a canal would prove di cult and costly, in terms of lives lost and money spent. In 1881 Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, representing the French in Panama, began work on his grand canal.
Only eight years later de Lesseps was forced to admit defeat due, in great part, to the thousands of lives that were lost throughout the construction process of the still un nished canal. It has been estimated that 60 percent of the Frenchmen who labored on the canal died in the process (Sánchez 48). Many of these deaths resulted from diseases (yellow fever, malaria, bubonic plague, pneumonia), however this percentage also re ects accidental deaths as well.
It would take the intervention of the United States, and a few more years, before a functioning canal was completed in Panama. The United States, in a similar fashion as France, would have to deal with the deadly disease environment of Central America, including the prevalence of yellow fever. The personal letters and medical documents of Paul Osterhout, a visiting U.S. o cial in Panama, as well as the journal of George Dunham2, provide detailed descriptions and human insight into the causes and consequences of yellow fever.
These items are physically housed in Rice University's Woodson Research Center, but are made available online through the `Our Americas' Archive Partnership3 (a digital collaboration on the hemispheric Americas).
States, and France since the early nineteenth century. A canal in Central America would allow ships from these world powers to quickly and e ciently transport goods and peoples to Asia and beyond.
Despite these incentives, building a canal would prove di cult and costly, in terms of lives lost and money spent. In 1881 Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, representing the French in Panama, began work on his grand canal.
Only eight years later de Lesseps was forced to admit defeat due, in great part, to the thousands of lives that were lost throughout the construction process of the still un nished canal. It has been estimated that 60 percent of the Frenchmen who labored on the canal died in the process (Sánchez 48). Many of these deaths resulted from diseases (yellow fever, malaria, bubonic plague, pneumonia), however this percentage also re ects accidental deaths as well.
It would take the intervention of the United States, and a few more years, before a functioning canal was completed in Panama. The United States, in a similar fashion as France, would have to deal with the deadly disease environment of Central America, including the prevalence of yellow fever. The personal letters and medical documents of Paul Osterhout, a visiting U.S. o cial in Panama, as well as the journal of George Dunham2, provide detailed descriptions and human insight into the causes and consequences of yellow fever.
These items are physically housed in Rice University's Woodson Research Center, but are made available online through the `Our Americas' Archive Partnership3 (a digital collaboration on the hemispheric Americas).
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