The 100th Anniversary Of The Panama Canal

In the summer of 1914 the world witnessed two monumental events. One was the start of World War 1 (WW1); the other was the opening of the Panama Canal. The former event was extremely destructive, the latter was undoubtedly constructive. Yet it is ironic that the constructive outcome of the Panama Canal was marred by a deadly toll of human lives that went into its construction. This is a stark reminder of the destructive death toll of WW1.

Though the completion and opening of the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914 was an astounding engineering feat, we should remember that blood, sweat and tears went into the building of this amazing waterway. It should also be remembered that this agonizing process was borne mainly by a large cadre of Black West Indians that made up approximately two-thirds of the workforce. Of the 45,000 that worked on the canal from 1904-1914, 30,000 were people of African ancestry.

Let us not forget that the majority of these Black workers were from Barbados and Jamaica. Let us also not forget that the majority of those who perished on unsafe scaffoldings, in the mud pits and landsides, from premature dynamite explosions, and manifold diseases were Black West Indians.

The treacherous Panamanian terrain, with its frequent landslides and cave-ins, is reminiscent of WW1 trenches where soldiers died like flies. The insanitary conditions in the trenches brought about outbreaks of dysentery and pneumonia. Even worse than the European trenches, the entire Panamanian environment was rife with smallpox, malaria, yellow and typhoid fevers.

What was equally brutal and inhumane along the Panamanian coast was the existence of widespread discrimination in working conditions, wages and living accommodation. It was outrageous that almost every West Indian worker had to do the most dangerous job of dynamiting. The dynamites were extremely unstable and it was not uncommon for workers to be blown to smithereens by premature explosions.

Although Blacks were assigned to the most dangerous jobs they were paid significantly less than White workers assigned to less dangerous work. Black workers were paid 10 cents an hour while White workers were paid twice as much.

While White workers enjoyed hospitable eating and sleeping accommodations, all Blacks were denied tables and chairs, and were bunked in overcrowded barracks. While Whites were encouraged to send for their wives and were provided with rent-free housing, Blacks were systematically deprived of that kind of luxurious treatment. While Whites could form baseball and social clubs, Blacks were denied that too.

Notwithstanding the dismal, demeaning and agonizing treatment of the indispensable Black labour force, the Panama Canal can be looked upon as a great engineering feat. There is no doubt that it has shortened the time it takes to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific and vice versa. The economic cost has also been reduced significantly.

The traffic that flows through the canal is phenomenal. Sources report that “annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the Canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008.” With the expansion and opening of the new canal lanes in 2015 to accommodate very large ships, the overall capacity will be doubled.

From my perspective, sailing through the Panama Canal has certainly been a breathtaking and a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Thanks to the many courageous workers who gave their lives to construct this magnificent structure. 

Rupert Johnson can be reached at: r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca