USPR Unit I Lesson 2

21a) Where was the watermelon riot?

Happened in 1856, outside a railroad station in Balboa.

21b) What happened in the watermelon riot?

An American named John Oliver refused to pay for a slice of watermelon. He pulled out a gun and attacked the shopkeeper, José Manuel Luna. Luna pulled out a knife to fight back and chased Oliver into the train station with the support of a local mob.

21c) What were the results of the watermelon riot?

16 people died: 2 Panamanians and 14 Americans

22) What caused US troops to land in Panama in September 1856?

There was a political party known as The Blacks, which threatened to take up arms and take over the country. The US Intervened to neutralize this.

23) What happened in Panama on September 27th, 1860?

Another attempt to take over the country from The Blacks, so the Colombian Government declared Martial Law.

24) How many times has the US military intervened in Panama?

20 times, before 1989.

25) Date and briefly explain 2 interventions of the US Military in Panama before 1989.

(Example: 2 medium ones)

1) November 1903, Colombian Military prevented from putting down independence.

2) 1908, 1910, and 1912; US Troops supervised elections outside the Canal Zone.

26) What motivated Abraham Lincoln to come up with the idea for creating a mining colony of emancipated slaves in Chiriqui in 1861?

Pressure after the Civil War to deal with slavery, especially with the vast number of ex-slaves.

27) What was the plan for the Chiriqui coal mining colony of 1861?

To take the freed slaves and deport them to Chiriqui, making them work in mines where they had to sell the coal at half price back to the US.

28) What was the Monroe Doctrine?

If any European country comes to colonize any part of the American Continent, the US would consider this an act of war.

29) What was president Hayes Rutherford’s warning to Europeans in 1880?

If any European country were to send their troops to a future canal in Panama, the US would consider this an act of war.

30) What were the 1880 incursions in Almirante Bay and Golfo dulce for, and what were their orders?

Americans going to explore Panama for Coal, without asking anyone for permission. They were ordered to shoot anyone who tried to interrupt their work.

31) QUOTE: What were Justo Arosemena’s declarations in Washington regarding the incursions in Almirante Bay and Golfo dulce?

“When governments attempt to acquire land in foreign countries, for construction or enterprises such as that under discussion, they normally begin by obtaining the consent of the sovereign country in which the land is located.”

32) What was the reaction of the US congress after Justo Arosemena’s declarations?

They ignored Justo Arosemena, and an additional $200k was spent to continue exploring for coal.

33) Why did the railroad transit cease in March 1885?

The Prestan rebellion

34) Who were the leaders of the armed Liberal faction in the Prestan rebellion in 1885?

Rafael Aizpuru and Pedro Prestán

35) Where were the weapons Prestan and his rebellion being shipped from? And by whom?

From the US, shipped by the PMSC.

36) Who was the Colombian Minister who openly complained to the US for supplying weapons to the rebels of the Prestan rebellion?

Ricardo Becerra

37) What did the US Secretary of State Thomas Bayard tell Becerra about the supply of US weapons for the Prestan rebellion?

Because Capitalism. Private companies could technically sell things to whoever they wanted.

38) What happened when the weapons arrived from the US for the Prestan rebellion?

The customs agent refused to give the weapons, so they were confiscated. Prestan then took six of them hostage.

39) What was the US marine’s role at the beginning in the Prestan rebellion?

They guarded the railroad, the US Consulate, and the PMSC.

40) What happened to the city of Colon on March 31st, 1885?

It got lit 🔥