» The Grand Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal!
  October 5th, 2006

As I discussed in earlier entries, I have been fascinated by the fact that Panama got a canal over Nicaragua. Just the other day, I was talking with my Dad, also a history buff, on why Nicaragua would have been such a better location for an inter-oceanic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (Doesn't every father and son eventually have this conversation?) After reading a couple books on the subject, I was excited to tell him what I had learned: that the decision for Panama over Nicaragua boiled down to the blind desire of a famous and respected Frenchman named Ferdinand de Lesseps.

In 1879, he called together the Congres International d'Etudes du Canal Interoceanique, a congress of representatives from around the world to decide on a location for a canal to connect the two great oceans. In attendance were engineers, economists, naval officers, and well-known Central American explorers from all over the world. Behind closed doors, proposals were made for fourteen different points in Central America, all of which were shot down within a week of discussions... except for two: routes through Nicaragua and Panama.

Representing the US was engineer Aniceto Garcia Menocal, whom passionately and intensely discussed not only how building a canal in Panama would be disastrous, but how well-suited Nicaragua was for building a canal. His five-hour lecture implemented detailed maps, charts, and figures acquired over the past decade of exploration and survey work. It must have been obvious to everyone in attendance that the man knew what he was talking about. Menocal had covered every foot of land along the route himself, which cannot be said about most in attendance. In fact, the next speaker, French Lieutenant Lucien Wise, had very few hard facts on why the canal should be placed in Panama. One delegate said that it was as if Wyse had dreamed up the plan without ever having left Paris. At the end of the day, most delegates were sold on the Nicaragua canal. Many had said, even de Lesseps in private, that if the vote was taken after the lectures by Menocal and Wyse, congress would have decided upon Nicaragua.

However, they would not vote at that time. Events that followed in the next few days would lead to delegates almost going fist-to-cuffs in arguments, refusing to vote, or walking out, frustrated by the incredible skills of persuasion de Lesseps had those none-the-wiser. In more ways than one, it all went south from there.

By the end of the session, it became obvious to many that the Congres International d'Etudes du Canal Interoceanique was a sham created by de Lesseps to appear as if meaningful decisions were being made by an international group of experts. McCullough writes in his book The Path Between The Seas that "the grand international gathering had been conceived not to arrive at a consensus, but to provide an inaugural ceremony for a decision already made by the one delegate who mattered, Ferdinand de Lesseps. The objective from the start had been to concentrate... the Wyse plan... in full public view, with all possible ceremony, to give the appearance of an impartial, scientific, international sanction. The Americans with their maps and plans and convictions had come alarmingly close to spoiling the effect, but even they had been no match for 'the first promoter of the age.'" Of the 136 delegates, only 82 would vote. 74 voted in favor of a sea-level canal in Panama while 8 opposed. 16 abstained. A whopping 38 refused to vote. Of those who voted for the canal, only 19 were engineers. Only one of those 19 had ever set foot in Central America.

Panama would get it's canal, completed in 1914 - "one of the greatest undertakings in modern times" - while Nicaragua would be left behind, losing many visitors due to the easier route. If those two weeks of May, 1879 were analogous to a final game in the World Cup of soccer, Panama would have scored the winning shot at the final moment, team members and coaches jumping for joy, excited fans running out on the field carrying the team out on the shoulders, while Nicaragua lay on the grass stunned and broken, having lost their only chance for the Cup.

Or was it their only chance?

Two days ago, on October 4th, Nicaraguan president Enrique Bolaños announced in a meeting of Western Hemisphere defence ministers that "The galloping increase in world business demands another canal in addition to a widened Panama Canal." He asked for international backing to build what is to be called the Grand Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal and plans to have it completed by 2018. He argued that there is a need for a second canal. "There's a lot of business to share. We know that for every 100 ships that come to the Americas, only seven use the Panama canal. If a Nicaraguan canal were built, it would bring an economic effervescence never seen before in central America," he said. This would be a dream come true for Nicaragua, where a canal would undoubtedly bring more tourism dollars.

Costa Rica has yet to comment on how they feel about becoming an island if this endeavor takes place.

As always, thanks for reading.
~K