The Panama canal was the missing puzzle piece for efficient economic trade and therefore, power. The Frenchman who built the Suez canal came in with arrogance and made a mess of a large investment, 7 years, and tens of thousands of migrant workers lives were lost. So the project was abandoned by everyone except 1 engineer named Phillipe – Jean-Bunau Varilla who refused to quit on the project and his investment.

Around this time the expansionist American president Teddy Roosevelt was gearing up to build the canal in Nicaragua. Philipe goes to the U.S and convinced them about the danger of volcanos and they backed out and he encouraged them to do it in Panama instead.

So Phillipe goes and essentially gets the people living around the canal to declare independence from Columbia so he would get his money from the U.S and they make him their ambassador.

To do this coupe without a bloody war was the tricky part so Phillpe puppeteers the U.S to send its Navy to ensure a clean takeover. Teddy Roosevelt gets involved directly and sends in the battleships for the fake coupe in where the only one losing is Columbia.

This fake coupe de ‘ta actaully worked and Phillip signs a deal on behalf of Panama to grant the total control of the land to the United States.

The U.S learned from the French mistakes and got the job done using brilliant engineering, turning the Panama Canal into strategic and economic leverage for the U.S

However, In the 1960s, the Panama people rose up against the United States’ occupation and gained control over the canal which has been carrying them economically ever since.

Reference: JohnnyHarris (Youtube)