The French Failure of The Panama Canal
Mar 10 2025
76 mins
The French effort to build a sea-level canal through Panama’s mountainous jungle failed due to dangerous, difficult work, insurmountable financial problems, ceaseless rains that triggered mudslides, and corruption and scandal. The French company in charge went bankrupt in 1889, with an estimated 20,000 workers dead. The French had spent $262,000,000 on the project, with little to