The idea of constructing an artificial water-way between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Panama is as old as the discovery of America. Christopher Columbus, in early life, became converted to the idea that the world was round, and his studies led him to believe that by sailing in a direct course and sailing far enough, he could circumnavigate the[3] globe and come back to the point from which he started, provided he could keep on that straight course. This belief naturally led him to the conclusion that by sailing westward from Spain, across the Atlantic, he could reach the coasts and the islands of Asia, which about that time were coming into great prominence as a desired market for the exchange of the wares of the producers and the manufacturers of Europe.

Similar Bookshelves 591j1m