Ferdinand de Lesseps stood on the Panama shore. It was time to build. De Lesseps was a French engineer. He liked to take on big projects. He had seventeen children, and he had just finished engineering the Suez Canal in Egypt. That canal connects the Mediterranean and Red seas. Now de Lesseps was ready to join together the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

A canal is a huge, water-filled ditch. Ships pass through it. De Lesseps wanted to dig one across a narrow strip of land in Panama. With a canal, trade across the huge oceans would be a breeze. Well, at least it would be about 8,000 miles shorter.

The United States had its eye on Panama, too. U.S. surveyors studied the land there. They decided the project would cost too much. So it was free game for de Lesseps and his crew.

De Lesseps and his men ran into more trouble than they bargained for. Diseases carried by bugs killed many. Many others died in work accidents. In fact, during de Lesseps’ venture 27,000 men died. Later the United States took over the project.

We have many people, both French and American, to thank for the waterway that connects the oceans.