0.7 A global view of disease: yellow fever and the panama canal

A global view of disease: yellow fever and the panama canal

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 efficiently transport goods and peoples to Asia and beyond. Despite these incentives, building a canal would prove difficult 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 unfinished 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 reflects 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. official in Panama, as well as the journal of George Dunham , 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 Partnership (a digital collaboration on the hemispheric Americas).

The french in panama

Used in conjunction with a partner module on yellow fever, Environmental History in the Classroom: Yellow Fever as a Case Study , this module describes how educators can incorporate a study of disease and empire within the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s) or, as the AP guidelines state, “The Emergence of America as a World Power” lectures in introductory U.S. history and literature courses. In particular, a class lesson could focus on how the U.S. became involved in Panama, which led to the creation of the canal. This involvement was not accidental, but the continuation of an international policy that highlighted the acquisition of territories, including Puerto Rico. Of course, these expansionist policies were not without financial costs and risks. Along those lines, students could be asked to look at items such as Osterhout’s Bocas del Toro (Panama) Yellow Fever Victim List and ask what was the financial impact of these lost lives? At one point in 1906, the casualty figures became so great that President Theodore Roosevelt visited Panama to quell worker discontent and build confidence in the project (Missal 48). For a solid overview of the Panama project see Alexander Missal’s Seaway to the Future (2008).