The Panama Crisis of 1885 was an intervention by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in support of a rebellion in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, at the time part of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, and an ensuing show of force by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Background

The 1846

Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty The Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty (also known as the Bidlack Treaty and Treaty of New Granada) was a treaty signed between New Granada (today Colombia and Panama) and the United States, on December 12, 1846.Kellogg Institute at the University of Notr ...

, signed by

Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the national flag wa ...

(

and

) and the

, obligated the United States to maintain "neutrality" in the Colombian state of

in exchange for transit rights in the isthmus on behalf of Colombia. Chile's influence in the region followed its victory in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. In this war, Chile defeated

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and gained large swathes of territory from both, removing Bolivia's access to the sea. U.S. imperialist economic interests lay with Bolivia and Peru, and Chile rejected American attempts to mediate. A Peruvian attempt to cede a naval base to the U.S. in

Chimbote Chimbote ; qu, Chimputi) is the largest city in the Ancash Region of Peru, and the capital of both Santa Province and Chimbote District. The city is located on the coast in Ferrol Bay, 130 km south of Trujillo and north of Lima on the No ...

Bay in 1881 was blocked when Chile, learning of the deal, sent marines to occupy Chimbote.

Panama Crisis

In March 1885 Colombia thinned its military presence in Panama by sending troops who had been stationed there to fight rebels in Cartagena. These favourable conditions prompted an insurgency in Panama. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

was sent there to keep order, in light of invoking its obligations according to the treaty being signed in 1846. On 7 April, the

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propelle ...

USS ''Shenandoah'' arrived in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

and three days later, other American ships started arriving in

Colón, Panama Colón () is a city and seaport in Panama, beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Originally it was l ...

. On 27 April a force of marines was landed in Panama City to help suppress rebels who had taken over the city when local troops had moved out to deal with a revolt in Colón. The next day, federal troops from Colombia arrived from Buenaventura, Colombia's nearest Pacific port. By this time, there was also a small force of the National Army of Colombia supported by a strong contingent of American troops in Colón. In response to the American intervention,

sent the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

, arriving on April 28. The ''Esmeralda''s captain was ordered to stop by any means an eventual annexation of Panama by the United States.William Sater, ''Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict'' (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1990), 52. . According to a U.S. publication in August 1885, right after the Panama events, " he ''Esmeralda''could destroy our whole navy, ship by ship and never be touched once."

Notes

{{reflist 1885 in Colombia 1885 in Panama Chile–Colombia relations Chile–United States relations Colombia–United States relations History of Chile History of Colombia History of Panama History of United States expansionism

Background

Panama Crisis

See also

Notes