Editing Panama (section)

===Conquest to 1799===
[[File:Balboa südsee.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]], a recognized and popular figure of Panamanian history]]
[[File:New Caledonia in Darien.jpg|thumb|"New Caledonia", the ill-fated Scottish [[Darien scheme]] colony in the Bay of Caledonia, west of the [[Gulf of Darién]]]]
[[Rodrigo de Bastidas]] sailed westward from [[Venezuela]] in 1501 in search of gold, and became the first European to explore the isthmus of Panama. A year later, [[Christopher Columbus]] visited the isthmus, and established a short-lived settlement in the province of [[Darién Province|Darien]].<ref>Bushnell, David, Woodward, Ralph Lee. "Central America". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Central-America. Accessed 8 May 2025</ref> [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]]'s tortuous trek from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1513 demonstrated that the isthmus was indeed the path between the seas, and Panama quickly became the crossroads and marketplace of Spain's empire in the [[New World]].<ref>Keen, Benjamin. "Vasco Núñez de Balboa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vasco-Nunez-de-Balboa. Accessed 8 May 2025</ref> King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand II]] assigned [[Pedro Arias Dávila]] as Royal Governor. He arrived in June 1514 with 19 vessels and 1,500 men. In 1519, Dávila founded [[Panama City]].<ref name=":4">{{cite web|title=Pedro Arias Dávila|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pedro-Arias-Davila|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415203557/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pedro-Arias-Davila|url-status=live}}</ref> Gold and silver were brought by ship from South America, hauled across the isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Spain. The route became known as the Camino Real, or Royal Road, although it was more commonly known as Camino de Cruces (Road of Crosses) because of the number of gravesites along the way.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Carolyn |date=2025-03-31 |title=Hiking the Camino Real de Panamá, a Historic Sea-to-Sea Trade Route |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/hiking-the-camino-real-de-panama |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Condé Nast Traveler |language=en-US}}</ref> At 1520 the Genoese controlled the port of Panama. The Genoese obtained a concession from the Spanish to exploit the port of Panama mainly for the slave trade, until the destruction of the primeval city in 1671.<ref name="Genoa">{{Cite web |title=I Genovesi d'Oltremare i primi coloni moderni |url=http://www.giustiniani.info/oltremare.html |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=www.giustiniani.info |archive-date=2020-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223140429/http://www.giustiniani.info/oltremare.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=15. Casa de los Genoveses - Patronato Panamá Viejo |url=http://www.patronatopanamaviejo.org/ppv2014/es/el-sitio-arqueologico/los-monumentos/mapa-de-monumentos/15-casa-de-los-genoveses |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=www.patronatopanamaviejo.org |archive-date=2017-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911025455/http://www.patronatopanamaviejo.org/ppv2014/es/el-sitio-arqueologico/los-monumentos/mapa-de-monumentos/15-casa-de-los-genoveses }}</ref> In the meantime in 1635 Don [[Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera]], the then governor of Panama, had recruited [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]], Peruvians, and Panamanians, as soldiers to wage war against Muslims in the Philippines and to found the city [[Zamboanga City|of Zamboanga]].<ref>[http://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm "SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS, AND CHRONICLE OF THE RELIGIOUS OF OUR FATHER, ST. AUGUSTINE"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508103044/https://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm |date=May 8, 2021 }} (Zamboanga City History)
"He (Governor Don Sebastían Hurtado de Corcuera) brought a great reënforcements of soldiers, many of them from Perú, as he made his voyage to Acapulco from that kingdom."</ref>

Panama was under [[Spanish Empire|Spanish rule]] for almost 300 years (1538–1821), and became part of the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]], along with all other Spanish possessions in South America. From the outset, Panamanian identity was based on a sense of "geographic destiny", and Panamanian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the isthmus. The colonial experience spawned Panamanian nationalism and a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La inmigración prohibida en Panamá y sus prejuicios raciales|last=Arango Durling |trans-title=Prohibited immigration in Panamá and its racial prejudices |first=Virginia |publisher=Publipan |date=1999 |lccn=2001388757 |location=Panamá  |language=es }}</ref>

Spanish authorities had little control over much of the territory of Panama. Large sections managed to resist conquest and missionization until late in the colonial era. Because of this, indigenous people of the area were often referred to as "indios de guerra" (war Indians). However, Panama was important to Spain strategically because it was the easiest way to ship silver mined in Peru to Europe. Silver cargoes were landed on the west coast of Panama and then taken overland to [[Portobelo, Colón|Portobello]] or [[Nombre de Dios, Colón|Nombre de Dios]] on the Caribbean side of the isthmus for further shipment. Aside from the European route, there was also an Asian-American route, which led to traders and adventurers carrying silver from [[Peru]] going over land through Panama to reach Acapulco, Mexico before sailing to Manila, Philippines using the famed [[Manila galleon]]s.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/44625493/Connecting_China_with_the_Pacific_World Connecting China with the Pacific World By Angela Schottenhammer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527045556/https://www.academia.edu/44625493/Connecting_China_with_the_Pacific_World |date=May 27, 2021 }}(2019) (Page 144–145)</ref> In 1579, the royal monopoly that Acapulco, Mexico had on trading with Manila, Philippines was relaxed and Panama was assigned as another port that was able to trade directly with Asia.<ref name="Fisher1997">{{cite book|author=John Robert Fisher|title=The Economic Aspects of Spanish Imperialism in America, 1492-1810|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRI-LiWuJh4C&pg=PA65|date=1997|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-0-85323-552-1|pages=65–66}}</ref>

Because of incomplete Spanish control, the Panama route was vulnerable to attack from pirates (mostly Dutch and English), and from "new world" Africans called [[cimarron people (Panama)|cimarrons]] who had freed themselves from enslavement and lived in communes or ''palenques'' around the Camino Real in Panama's Interior, and on some of the islands off Panama's Pacific coast. One such famous community amounted to a small kingdom under [[Bayano]], which emerged in the 1552 to 1558 period. Sir [[Francis Drake]]'s famous raids on Panama in 1572–73 and [[John Oxenham]]'s crossing to the Pacific Ocean were aided by Panama cimarrons, and Spanish authorities were only able to bring them under control by making an alliance with them that guaranteed their freedom in exchange for military support in 1582.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pike |first= Ruth |title=Black Rebels: Cimarrons in Sixteenth Century Panama|journal=The Americas|volume= 64|issue=2 |date=2007|pages= 243–66|doi=10.1353/tam.2007.0161|s2cid=143773521}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Panama History |url=https://www.soulofamerica.com/international/panama/panama-history/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Soul Of America |language=en-US}}</ref>

The following elements helped define a distinctive sense of autonomy and of regional or national identity within Panama well before the rest of the colonies: the prosperity enjoyed during the first two centuries (1540–1740) while contributing to colonial growth; the placing of extensive regional judicial authority (Real Audiencia) as part of its jurisdiction; and the pivotal role it played at the height of the Spanish Empire – the first modern global empire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antique Map - Anonymus - Ansichten von der Landenge von Panama |url=https://www.asommer.de/en/karte/ansichten-von-der-landenge-von-panama/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Antique Maps Adina Sommer |language=en-US}}</ref>

Panama was the site of the ill-fated [[Darien scheme]], which set up a [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] colony in the region in 1698.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Darien Scheme |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Darien-Scheme/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Historic UK |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Darien Scheme: Scotland's ill-fated colony in Panama |url=https://trulyedinburgh.com/scotland-history/darien-scheme/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Truly Edinburgh |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Founding of the Darien Colony {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/founding-darien-colony |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref> This failed for a number of reasons, and the ensuing debt contributed to the [[Acts of Union 1707|union of England and Scotland in 1707]].<ref>"[http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/DarienScheme.htm The Darien Scheme – The Fall of Scotland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205194052/http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/DarienScheme.htm |date=February 5, 2012 }}", Historic UK</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=2007-09-10 |title=The sorry story of how Scotland lost its 17th century empire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/sep/11/britishidentity.past |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 1671, the [[privateer]] [[Henry Morgan]], licensed by the English government, [[Henry Morgan's Panama expedition|sacked and burned]] the city of [[Panamá Viejo|Panama]] – the second most important city in the Spanish New World at the time. In 1717 the [[viceroyalty of New Granada]] (northern South America) was created in response to other Europeans trying to take Spanish territory in the Caribbean region. The Isthmus of Panama was placed under its jurisdiction. However, the remoteness of New Granada's capital, [[Santa Fe de Bogotá]] (the modern capital of [[Colombia]]) proved a greater obstacle than the Spanish crown anticipated as the authority of New Granada was contested by the seniority, closer proximity, and previous ties to the [[viceroyalty of Peru]] and even by Panama's own initiative. This uneasy relationship between Panama and Bogotá would persist for centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Legendary Captain Morgan Raids Panama |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/captain-morgan-and-sack-of-panama-2136368 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Viceroyalty of New Granada". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Viceroyalty-of-New-Granada. Accessed 8 May 2025.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New Granada, Viceroyalty of {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/new-granada-viceroyalty |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

In 1744, Bishop Francisco Javier de Luna Victoria DeCastro established the [[College of San Ignacio de Loyola]] and on June 3, 1749, founded La Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Javier.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=La universidad en la colonia |url=https://www.metrolibre.com/opinion/la-universidad-en-la-colonia-LBML221192 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.metrolibre.com |language=es-PA}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Jesuits in Panama |url=https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_Panama.htm |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.manresa-sj.org}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Francisco Javier de Luna Victoria y Castro [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdeluna.html |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> By this time, however, Panama's importance and influence had become insignificant as Spain's power dwindled in Europe and advances in navigation technique increasingly permitted ships to round [[Cape Horn]] in order to reach the Pacific. While the Panama route was short it was also labor-intensive and expensive because of the loading and unloading and laden-down trek required to get from the one coast to the other.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />

====1800s====
{{More sources|section|date=May 2025}}[[File:Arco chato.jpg|thumb|[[Santo Domingo Church]]]]
As the [[Spanish American wars of independence]] were heating up all across Latin America, Panama City was preparing for independence; however, their plans were accelerated by the unilateral Grito de La Villa de Los Santos (Cry From the Town of Saints), issued on November 10, 1821, by the residents of [[Azuero Peninsula|Azuero]] without backing from Panama City to declare their separation from the Spanish Empire. In both [[Veraguas]] and the capital this act was met with disdain, although on differing levels. To Veraguas, it was the ultimate act of treason, while to the capital, it was seen as inefficient and irregular, and furthermore forced them to accelerate their plans.

Nevertheless, the Grito was a sign, on the part of the residents of Azuero, of their antagonism toward the independence movement in the capital. Those in the capital region in turn regarded the Azueran movement with contempt, since the separatists in Panama City believed that their counterparts in Azuero were fighting not only for independence from Spain, but also for their right to self-rule apart from Panama City once the Spaniards were gone.

It was seen as a risky move on the part of Azuero, which lived in fear of Colonel [[History of Panama#José de Fábrega|José Pedro Antonio de Fábrega y de las Cuevas]] (1774–1841). The colonel was a staunch loyalist and had all of the isthmus' military supplies in his hands. They feared quick retaliation and swift retribution against the separatists.

What they had counted on, however, was the influence of the separatists in the capital. Ever since October 1821, when the former Governor General, [[Juan de la Cruz Mourgeón|Juan de la Cruz Murgeón]], left the isthmus on a campaign in [[Quito]] and left a colonel in charge, the separatists had been slowly converting Fábrega to the separatist side. So, by November 10, Fábrega was now a supporter of the independence movement. Soon after the separatist declaration of Los Santos, Fábrega convened every organization in the capital with separatist interests and formally declared the city's support for independence. No military repercussions occurred because of skillful bribing of royalist troops.