What was odd was that the territory was not united but rather split into numerous factions and between numerous stronger empires. This was before it was united into a single empire that became one of the strongest forces in Europe.
At the time when the United States of America decided to build the canal, Panama was a part of Columbia. Today, the canal is an essential route for maintaining good maritime trade links. It can take about eight hours to complete a full journey along the Panama canal.
It was forgotten in it's time because no one cared about being civil and listening to what EVERYONE wanted and being at peace with one another. They thought fighting in a war would help them simmer their dispute. Today, we don't fight over lands and things as much as we used to. While South America and North America are still fighting, *not in a huge war* it's not the same as it was then.
