Panama+Canal+Treaty

=Panama Canal Treaty=

= = ==Overview == The Panama Canal Treaties were between the nations of the U.S. and Panama. A canal had been build by Americans at the beginning of the 20th century, and had since then been under American control. It was build because it was the narrowest piece of land between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, only being about 48 miles wide. The canal actually travels from southeast to northwest, coming from the Pacific Ocean. Without the canal, ships had a long travel of 8,000 miles around the southern tip of South America. Engineers build the canal using a system of locks and damns to raise the water and the ships, and then lower them back to sea level.

Central Issue
Relations were fine between the two nations until 1964; Panama broke off relation with America demanding a new treaty be written and ratified. Negotiations of a new treaty final began in 1977. The decision was whether to give Panama full control of the canal or for America to continue control, and for how long if we were to give it up. The decision was made to give Panama full control on December 31, 1999, right before the turn of the century.

Conclusion / Historical Significance
After American gave control of the canal in 1999, questions were asked about what would happen to the previous Canal Zone consisting of nearly 600 square miles of buildings and houses. This land was eventually taken over by Panama. The Canal currently has about 14,000 vessels go through its locks and damns every year. The average toll cost is around $54,000.