Panama City: History

Pre-20th-Century History

The city was founded on the site of an Indian fishing village by the Spanish governor Pedro Arias de Ávila in 1519, not long after explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa first looked upon the Pacific and claimed it and everything it touched as the property of Spain.

The Spanish settlement, known as Panamá, quickly became an important centre of government and church authority. It was from Panamá that gold and other plunder from the Pacific Spanish colonies were taken along the Camino Real (King's Highway) and the Sendero Las Cruces (Las Cruces Trail) across the isthmus to the Caribbean.

This treasure made Panamá the target of many attacks over the years. In 1671 Welsh buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan and 1200 of his men ransacked the city. A terrible fire ensued - no one knows for certain whether it was set by the pirates or by fleeing landowners - leaving only stone ruins. Now known as Panamá Viejo, these ruins can still be seen today.

Three years after Morgan's assault, the city was re-established 8km (5mi) to the southwest, down the coast at what is now the San Felipe district (or Casco Viejo, as it is popularly known). The Spanish believed that the new site, on a small peninsula, would be easier to defend; a shallow sea flanked the city on three sides and a moat was constructed on the fourth side, separating the city from the mainland. The new city was named Nueva Panamá.

The streets of the new city were laid out at right angles around a central plaza. A cathedral, governor's house and bishop's palace would eventually face the plaza, and many churches and convents were gradually constructed throughout the town. The famous church of Santo Domingo, now in ruins, was built in the 1670s and the Parque Catedral, with its two imposing towers, was completed in 1760. The presidential palace, leading businesses, municipal offices and those of foreign legations were constructed within a short distance of cathedral.

Unlike Nueva Panamá, the Camino Real overland trade route was attacked repeatedly, and the principal Caribbean port at Portobelo was destroyed in 1746. The Spanish stopped using the route altogether and Panama City gradually declined in importance. It was not until the Panama Railroad was completed in the 1850s that the city returned to prominence. The railroad was popular with gold rushers from the US east coast who made their way to California via Panama to avoid hostile Indians in the central US.

Modern History

On November 3, 1903, in the Parque Catedral, Panama was declared independent of Colombia; Panama City became the capital of the new nation. Since the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, the city has grown in importance as a center for international business and trade.

The city's only major setback in recent times occurred in 1989, when it was invaded by the USA to oust dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega. The capital suffered damage both from the invasion itself and from looting. Many residential blocks in the Chorillo district were also lost to combat-ignited fire.

Recent History

Today, Panama City is by far the wealthiest city in Central America, and residents are wholly optimistic about the future - and with good reason. Following the handover of the Canal in 1999, and the subsequent closure of American military bases in the country, Panama City is finally in charge of its own destiny. Furthermore, a spate of foreign investment and the recent referendum to expand the Panama Canal means that the capital is likely to continue its remarkable boom.

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