Who had the idea of building a canal through the Isthmus of Panama?
The dream of building a canal through the Isthmus of Panama to join the Atlantic and the Pacific dated back to the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed Panama in 1515, and discovered that only a narrow strip of land separated both oceans. Emperor Charles V espoused the belief that there was no natural passage, and began efforts to build a passageway through the Isthmus.
