Panama Canal Zone was a strip of land across the Isthmus of Panama that was governed by the United States from 1903 to 1979. The Panama Canal, a waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, cuts through the center of the zone. The zone came under Panama’s control as a result of a treaty with the United States that went into effect in 1979.
The Panama Canal Zone was established in 1903 by a treaty between the United States and Panama. The pact gave the United States permanent control of a zone of land 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide and about 40 miles (64 kilometers) long. This grant was made for the construction and operation of the proposed Panama Canal, which the United States completed in 1914. The area designated by the treaty excluded what are now Panama City and Colon.
Later agreements between Panama and the United States added Madden Lake and Trinidad Bay to the area under U.S. control. Before Panama took control, the zone covered 647 square miles (1,676 square kilometers), including 275 square miles (712 square kilometers) of water. The zone had a population of about 40,000, of whom about 36,000 were U.S. citizens. Most of the people worked for the U.S. Army, the Canal Zone government, or the Panama Canal Company, a U.S. government corporation that operated the canal. The U.S. citizens were called Zonians.
The United States and Panama had many disputes over U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone. The Panamanians considered the zone part of their country. Crowds of Panamanians rioted in 1958 and 1959, demanding the right to fly their country’s flag in the zone. In 1962, Panama and the United States agreed to fly the flags of both countries side by side in selected civilian areas of the zone. The United States also granted higher wages to Panamanians in the zone. Previously, Panamanians were paid less than Americans were for the same work.
Riots broke out again in 1964, and 20 Panamanians and 4 Americans were killed. Panama then cut off diplomatic relations with the United States. Relations between the two nations were restored after the United States agreed to negotiate a new treaty to replace the 1903 pact. During the following years, three treaties were drafted. However, neither government approved any of those pacts.
During the 1970’s, the two nations again held negotiations for a new treaty. In 1977, they signed two new treaties. One provided for Panama to assume territorial jurisdiction over the zone in 1979. It also provided for Panama to assume control over the operations of the canal and its associated military installations on Dec. 31, 1999. The other treaty gave the United States the right to defend the canal’s neutrality. The agreements were approved by Panama’s voters in 1977 and by the United States Senate in 1978. Both treaties went into effect in 1979.
