Panama history

Every country has history and traditions of its own which its people are invariably proud of and Panama is no exception. Its close proximity to North and South America may mean that it is sometimes overlooked by certain people but this unique location has actually strengthened the quality and mix of cultures that are available in this Country.

Panama Information

It was back in the days of Christopher Columbus that this impressive country was first discovered and the nation acted as the final spot of his fourth expedition. Remnants of this trip exist to the modern day as the discovery of the Chagres River which was later used as the main source of water for the Panama Canal. Given that the Panama Canal now links the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, who would have considered its importance back then. The trip and the lasting impact did not end successfully for Columbus and his followers as their settlements were destroyed by Panama natives and managed to cause the discovering expedition party to retreat and return to Spain.

However, Spain retained strong links with Panama and in 1519, it was decided that the Spanish would set up a new city in this region. This new city was expected to be a base for much of the Spanish Gold Trade and would be used as a linking port to the Caribbean and Europe. The city was called Panama La Vieja and saw a great number of merchandise arrive in its location from all across South America.

This era was the era of pirates and it is fair to say that Panama La Vieja suffered greatly from this band of marauders. This is partly due to the fantastic location of the city and the ease of access and escape routes, which although was damaging at that period due to the influx of pirates, is ironically of great benefit to Panama these days. The number of people who are looking to set up home in Panama, influenced by its great location and easy traveling routes has risen sharply and this is a key reason for the amount of holiday and retirement homes that are being bought in Panama. There are many great reasons to move to Panama and these include the climate, the scenery, the ease of life but the heritage, culture and tradition of the country should never be underestimated either.

Panama’s Independence

It was not until 1821 that Panama gained its freedom from Spain and a period of 320 years of Spanish rule was declared over in a small city called La Villa, and this city is known today as La Heroica. This rather impressive sounding name is entirely befitting of the situation which came to pass and it is one that most citizens of Panama take immense pride in. For a period of time, Panama joined forces with a number of other nations including Ecuador and Venezuela in the Republic of Colombia but this was to be a short-lived existence.

There then followed a period of independence and civil war which was a trying time for all concerned in Panama, with the independent nature of the country changing hands several times. As always with internal issues in a nation, history shows many different viewpoints of the same situation and even to this day there are bitter arguments and debate in Panama about the true extent of the wars and who was in the right and wrong. Panama is no different from many other countries when it comes to recounting internal wars and depending on who you speak to, the opinion will vary greatly.

This long running debate and conjecture provides another fantastic reason to visit and perhaps even consider setting up a retirement home. A holiday home in Panama is something that is appealing to a great number of visitors but with so much heritage and tradition to take in, many people are deciding they would like to spend longer amounts of time here to find out the full story. For people with time on their hands, this is entirely possible and the rising demand for retirement homes in the nation has definitely been influenced by the rich tradition that Panama holds.

Historical Developments

The development of the Panama Canal was a very massive project which joined together the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and, comes with a sordid past of its own, and its development adds some vital coloring to the history of this fine country. This is only to be expected given that the scope of the project was enormous, extremely dangerous and difficult. Just about the time of the completion of the project over 20,000 construction workers had lost their lives, and although the Canal has offered monumental benefits to a great number of people and nations, not just Panama, there is always the sad side to the story of its construction.

The key reason for the development of the Panama Canal was to reduce the length of traveling distance and time that people would have to take to cross from one Ocean to another. Previously, boats were required to head all the way down to the bottom of South America and traverse through the Drake Passage and then around Cape Horn in order to get to the other side. Opening up the Panama Canal managed to reduce the previous travel time by half so the benefits were very obvious for all concerned.

Although the shipping and trade benefits were extremely apparent, there was also an improvement for Panama in the fact that many areas of the country would be better lined and people could travel through the country in a more defined route, if they so desired. This route has been well worn by countless travelers in the modern era and it provides a fantastic opportunity to view so many of the different tribes and groups that exist today in the nation. These tribes would never have had any contact with each other but the development of the Panama Canal enabled people to move more freely and obviously, allow tourists to see much more of the country.

The development of the Panama Canal has clearly impacted on the countries modern day attractiveness to a great number of people interested in visiting and moving to the country. With so many different cruises on offer, the opportunity to see the differences between the various tribes that make up the heritage and culture of Panama provides people with a perfect opportunity for spending a serious amount of time in the country.

More recent matters of note revolves around the US invasion of the late 1980s and in these battles, thousands of Panamanians lost their life too in another era of much unrest and uncertainty in the country. Manuel Noriega surrendered to America and eventually full control of the Canal and surrounding lands was returned from out of Americas grasp. Ever since then, plans to widen the Panama Canal have been undertaken, which should to lead to further development of the country and its interaction with other nations.

Panama’s Real Estate Developing Rapidly

The modern day sees the country on the up and the infrastructure growing rapidly, improving roads and ensuring internet and medical supplies are freely available in the major cities. There have been many changes in Panama over the years and if the past few years are anything to go by, there looks to be a lot more coming in the future too. All this means that there has never been a better time to seriously consider moving to this fantastic country perfectly located in Central America which could be a great place for your new home.