> In 1881, a company from which country began the construction of the PanamaCanal?And the answer: France. Photo credit: © Ovidiu Craciun/Dreamstime.comIn 1881, French diplomat Ferdinandde Lesseps, whose team built the Suez Canal in Egypt, led the first efforts toconstruct the Panama Canal. However, after 9 years and a loss of 20,000 livesdue to tropical diseases and other unexpected challenges, the project wentbankrupt. Soon after, the United States took over the project, and completed itin 1914.It wasn't until Teddy Roosevelt took office in 1904 that the Panama Canal beganto truly take shape. After the French efforts to dig out the region resulted incomplications and bankruptcy, the project sat dormant for nearly a decade.However, Roosevelt had new ambitions.When construction restarted, Panama was still under Colombian jurisdiction. Theterms of American effort required complete sovereignty of the project –something that Colombia was unwilling to grant. As a result, America turned toPanama directly and proposed a revolution. Backed by America's massive warshipsand military power, the country of Panama was formed, and a treaty grantingcomplete power of the canal to the United States was signed. A series of locks were created on either end of the canal to raise and lowerpassing boats to and from sea level. Hundreds of miles of jungle, towns andrailroads were flooded to create a lake large enough to supply constant water tothe canal. In 1914, construction was complete. The first ocean-to-ocean linerpassed through – albeit with little fanfare. That very same day, Germanydeclared war on France, marking the beginning of World War I. Learn more about the creation and history of the Panama Canal below.