Panama Exam 1
Key People:
Rodrigo de Bastidas – Spanish explorer who mapped parts of Central and South America.
Christopher Columbus – Credited with "discovering" the New World.
Vasco Núñez de Balboa – First European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.
Pedrarias Dávila – Spanish governor who ruled over Panama.
Francisco Pizarro – Conqueror of the Incan Empire.
Francis Drake – English pirate and privateer.
Henry Morgan – Welsh privateer and pirate in the Caribbean.
Simon Bolivar – Leader in South American independence movements.
William Aspinall and George Law – Influential figures in Panama’s development.
Alexander Von Humboldt – German naturalist and geographer.
Lucien Wyse – French engineer involved in Panama Canal plans.
Ferdinand de Lesseps – French diplomat and Panama Canal project leader.
Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero – First president of Panama.
Theodore Roosevelt – U.S. President key to the Panama Canal.
Manuel Noriega – Panamanian dictator, linked to the CIA and drug cartels.
Major Walter Reed – Helped prove mosquitoes transmit yellow fever.
Colonel George Goethals – Chief engineer of the Panama Canal.
Omar Torrijos – Panamanian leader instrumental in canal treaty.
Jimmy Carter – U.S. President who negotiated the Panama Canal transfer.
Oliver North – U.S. official involved in Iran-Contra affair.
Hugo Spadafora – Panamanian politician and doctor, opposed Noriega.
United Fruit/United Brands/Chiquita – Major banana company with historical influence in Latin America.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute – Research center for tropical ecology.
Important Terms:
Isthmus – Narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses.
Westward passage – Maritime route sought by European explorers.
El Camino Real – Historic Spanish road network.
Buccaneer – Pirates active in the Caribbean.
Cimarrones – Escaped enslaved people in the Americas.
Corsairs – Privateers and pirates sanctioned by governments.
Pirates – Outlaws engaging in maritime theft.
Jolly Roger – Pirate flag.
California Gold Rush – Event influencing Panama's role in travel.
Panama Railroad – Built to aid Gold Rush transport.
Panamax – Maximum ship size for Panama Canal passage.
Zonians – U.S. citizens living in the Canal Zone.
Panama Hat – Straw hat originally from Ecuador.
Bananas – Important crop in Panama’s economy.
Corregimientos – Administrative divisions in Panama.
Tectonic plates – Large-scale Earth structures affecting Panama.
Abundance – Population measurement in ecology.
Central American Seaway – Ancient body of water closed by Panama's formation.
Gulf Stream – Ocean current influenced by Isthmus of Panama.
Coral – Marine organisms crucial for reefs.
Biodiversity – Variety of life in an ecosystem.
Zooxanthellae – Symbiotic algae in corals.
Symbiosis – Relationship between two species.
Calcium carbonate – Mineral forming coral reefs.
Polyps – Coral organisms.
Colony growth forms – Various coral structures.
Transects – Ecological survey method.
Gorgonian reef – Coral reef type dominated by sea fans.
Exotics – Non-native species.
Marine protected areas – Zones limiting human impact.
Marine tenure system – Rights to marine resources.
Marine ecotourism – Sustainable tourism in marine areas.
Key Concepts:
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Agreement – Treaty granting U.S. control over Panama Canal Zone.
Malaria prevention – Key to canal construction.
Gunboat Diplomacy – Use of naval power to influence policy.
“Into perpetuity” – Term in the original U.S. Panama Canal agreement.
Operation Just Cause – U.S. invasion of Panama (1989).
Operation Nifty Package – U.S. operation to capture Noriega.
Closing of Central American Seaway – Event that shaped ocean currents and climate.
Great American Interchange – Migration of species between North and South America.
Geologic convergence and subsidence – Tectonic processes in Panama.
Artisanal fisheries – Small-scale fishing practices.
Marine protected areas – Conservation zones.
Services provided by marine environments – Ecosystem benefits.
Species richness – Number of species in an area.
Resistance and resilience to change – Ecosystem stability concepts.
Diversity-stability hypothesis – Theory linking biodiversity and ecosystem function.
Top-down fisheries – Fisheries where predators control populations.
Inverted food web/trophic dynamics – Unusual ecosystem structures.
Primary productivity – Rate of energy production by producers.
Sink and source dynamics – Population sustainability concepts.
Single-species management – Conservation strategy focusing on one species.
Ecosystem-based management – Holistic conservation approach.
Geography:
South Sea – Old term for the Pacific Ocean.
Panama – Central American country.
Panama City – Capital of Panama.
Gran Colombia – Historical country including Panama.
Chagres River – Important waterway for the canal.
Lake Gatun – Artificial lake in the Panama Canal.
Nicaragua – Country considered for an alternate canal.
Panama Canal – Waterway connecting Atlantic and Pacific.
Continental Divide – High point determining water flow direction.
Cordillera Central – Mountain range in Panama.
Volcán Barú – Highest peak in Panama.
Bocas del Toro – Coastal region known for biodiversity.
Key Dates:
1849 – California Gold Rush began.
1964 – Panama Canal riots against U.S. control.
December 31, 1999 – Panama Canal transferred to Panama.
Approximately 4-5 million years ago – Formation of Isthmus of Panama.