Thematic Lesson On The History Of Panama

For decades, the history of Latin America has been shrouded in a cover of Spanish glory and myth that misleads and complicates the views of historians everywhere. Myths such as the relationship between natives and conquistadors, and the individuality of the conquistadors themselves stand as only a few examples of how this history may have become broken and distorted. However, in Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Matthew Restall goes to great lengths to dispel these myths and provide a more accurate history of Latin American, in a readable and enjoyable book.

In December 19989, thousands of American troops invaded Panama with the goals of extraditing the dictator, General Manuel Noriega, to the United States and reinstating true democracy within the nation after being indicted by two federal grand juries in Florida, after months of economic sanctions and covert tactics meant to force him out of power. In the years since there has been a question as to the validity of the reasoning behind the interference. Shortly after the invasion, President Bush gave his reasons and goals saying “the goals of the United States have been to safeguard the lives of Americans, to defend democracy in Panama, [and] to combat drug trafficking…” for the operation but further investigation contradicts what the people were

Is power necessary? Everyone wants power. People with power want to keep it and people with no power want to get it. Power is having control over one’s life and the lives of others. Power is very important in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird “by Harper Lee. In the novel the story is set in Maycomb, Alabama. The central conflict of the story is a rape trial between a black man named Tom Robinson and a lower class white woman named Mayella Ewell. Although Mayella is powerless when it comes to class and gender, but her race ultimately makes her powerful.

During the last decades, Madrid has surfaced as the heartbeat of modern business, art, technology, and fashion. Traveling to Spain on a tourist travel will only show me a glimpse of what Spain’s history treasures are, but this program will unveil many aspects of the Spanish culture that are unique and exclusive to the country. In addition, it will be a great opportunity to learn about my own culture a little better. As we already know, Spain conquered a vast majority of what is now the American continent. While in Madrid, and since I will be only a few hours from Seville, Spain; I would love to be able to visit the General Archive of the Indies which holds the records and complete documentation of the historical administration and discoveries made by the Spaniards in the New World during its prominent years in exploration. As a native Guatemalan, it would be fascinating to learn about my own roots from the accounts of the Spaniards who set foot on my country and many of the other American countries that were conquered by Spain. Sometimes, we get a better appreciation of history when it is viewed from both perspectives. It’s not the same to learn history of a country based on the narratives of a textbook, than to be actually experience it from its culture and people. The study abroad program will consist of a total of ninety classroom hours of interaction with native Spanish students and professors. In addition, one of the courses will be taught fully in Spanish, which will benefit me greatly by strengthening my Spanish speaking, reading, and writing skills. While in Spain, I hope to be able to interact with Spaniards and exchange information in order to compare and contrast their culture from my own. I’d also like to explore the city of Madrid,

The documentary, The Panama Deception, narrates a historical event which happened at 1989. In December of that year, the United States started the invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause. The operation involved 27,684 U.S. troops and over 300 aircraft. They secretly attacked at midnight with 27 targets many of which were densely populated. After about 10 hours of intense battle, the U.S. army had occupied almost all Panama’s military camps and overthrown the government which was controlled by Manuel Noriega.

It is interesting to see how Americans saw themselves and their capitalistic system during the early 1900s. The American quest to civilize the world with plans like the Panama Canal was referred to as a gift, a selfless act from the United States for the betterment of mankind (Herring 2008, 337). I am certain that the Panama Canal created many opportunities for the people in Central America, but was it in fact a sign of American kindness or was that canal done because it increased trade, income, and improved security in the United States? Furthermore, how wrong was Norman Angell? His theory did not hold for more than four years. Mankind is incapable of achieving peace and will continue to live in a constant state of struggle. Additionally, the early 1900s had a resemblance to the Cold War that started four decades later. The Russians and the British encircled Germany and contained her, and yet Stalin was surprise when the allies did the same to him after WWII?

Panama is one of the most happening countries in and around Central America. The place is the best holiday spot in the region which anoints the tired souls who are the victims of the urban responsibilities.

From the discovery of Panama by Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1501, Panama was a Spanish colony. After the independence from Spain on November 28th of 1821, Panama formed part of the Great Colombia due to fear of a possible reconquest by Spain, and the irresistible attraction of the glorious figure of the liberator Simon Bolivar. The Great Colombia, which consisted of what it is known today as Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, annexed Panama because Bolivar’s goal was to unite all Latin America as a confederation in defense of the continent against possible actions of the League of the Holy Alliance conformed by the European powers, and their claims of the territories that they have lost in America.

About twenty million years ago ocean covered where Panama is today. May 14, 1513 the spanish explorer, Vasco Nunez de Balboa claimed the land for their King, Ferdinand. Spanish began to populate the area with the wealth they had stolen from the Incas. With the help of the U.S. government, Panama issues a declaration of independence from Colombia. In 1903, the Hay-Herrán Treaty was signed with Colombia, granting the United States use of the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for financial damages. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, but the Colombian Senate, fearing a loss of power, refused. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt gave understood approval to a rebellion by Panamanian nationalists, which began on November 3, 1903. In 1989 the United States invaded Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who was accused of drug trafficking charges in the United States and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals. Noriega’s Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) were promptly crushed, forcing the dictator to seek shelter with the Vatican in Panama City, where he soon surrendered on January 3, 1990.

The Geography of Panama and the Panama Canal The Panama Canal is one of the greatest works of engineering and modern achievements of mankind. An all-water passage through the continental divide of the Panama region had been suggested since early Spanish colonial times of the 16th century. Today a canal that was cut through the Isthmus of Panama is a reality. It's presence has greatly affected Panama in many ways, politically, economically, and socially.

From a distance, the Panama Canal seems like an imperialist relic, a historical leftover from a nearly forgotten chapter of US history. Up close, however, it is apparent that the Panama Canal is one of the world’s great waterways, the highly efficient economic engine for a rather prosperous Latin American country. The creation of the Panama Canal was an unprecedented feat of engineering, the most costly single effort ever before mounted anywhere on earth. It affected the lives of tens of thousands of people at every level of society and of virtually every race and nationality. It marked a score of advances in engineering, government planning, and labor relations. The American effort to build the Panama Canal began in 1904. The first ship sailed through the canal in 1914, ten years and $326 million later. The canal would not be fully open to commercial traffic for another six years. Landslides shut it down for most of 1915 and 1916, and then briefly in 1917 and 1920. Strikes hit the canal in 1916 and 1917. World War I practically closed it to commercial traffic, and work continued on clearing dangerous hills, fixing locks, and finishing all the ancillary construction required by the canal. The Panama Canal finally opened to civilian traffic on July 20, 1920, after an additional six years and $53 million, costing twice its initial estimate, after adjusting for inflation.

For centuries, the idea of how to access the West Indies puzzled many sailors from across the globe. During colonial times, Europeans coveted the spices and goods found in Asian countries, but the inability of their sponsored expeditions to discover a time-saving western passageway hindered their interaction with this region of the world. As time progressed, nations began to find ways to trade with Asia, but the routes taken were long, expensive, and hazardous. According to an article found in the publication, Civil Engineering, “… the only way for a ship to travel between the oceans was via the Strait of Magellan, at the southern tip of South America, a dangerous and time-consuming route.” However, in nineteen fourteen, their struggles finally ended. At last, the completion of the Panama Canal provided a shorter sea route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean for trading countries all over the world. This occasion revolutionized sea travel and was consequently a widely documented and publicized event. Countless images and articles were created throughout the early twentieth century, which magnified the importance of this project. This collection of primary sources captures the significance of the Panama Canal for the American people and the international community at that time. The synchronic analysis of such documents will foster a greater appreciation for the Panama Canal and the influence it has had on civilization since its inception.

When visiting Latin America, many are surprised with the diversity in the Spanish speaking world. Visitors are captivated by the richness of the culture and the beauty of the streets. They hope to find the richness, and maybe even riches, of the culture and country. They do not realize, however, what exactly they’ve stumbled across. They are not ready to comprehend the shades of brown that pass by them as the walk along the streets of Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, etcetera. Here, they are looking at the hidden faces of Latin America. It is here that they find that there is an unwritten rule in Spanish speaking countries.

The Panama Canal has been called the big ditch, the bridge between two continents, and the greatest shortcut in the world. When it was finally finished in 1914, the 51-mile waterway cut off over 7,900 miles of the distance between New York and San Francisco, and changed the face of the industrialized world ("Panama Canal"). This Canal is not the longest, the widest, the deepest, or the oldest canal in the world, but it is the only canal to connect two oceans, and still today is the greatest man-made waterway in the world ("Panama Canal Connects).

As pointed out by Keskes I. (2014), fundamentally, the empirical and meta-analytic studies suggest that subordinates working with transformational leaders are more committed to their organizations and demonstrate fewer withdrawal behaviours (Bono & Judge, 2003). Besides, Bass and Avolio (2004) maintain that transformational leaders perceive the strategic goals of the organization. They argue that transformational leaders are more sensitive to their environment and thus formulate and disseminate strategic goals that capture both the attention and the interest of their followers. Besides, managers who have a transformational leadership style will focus on the big picture of the organization and try to encourage the employees to have the same