PANAMA CITY

Spanish Panam, capital of the Republic of Panama, located near the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, on the Bay of Panama. The site was originally an Indian fishing village; the name Panam means many fish. The old city (Panam Viejo) was founded in 1519 by Governor Pedro Arias Dvila and was made the seat of both secular and ecclesiastical authority. From the Andean countries bullion was shipped northward by sea to Panama City and from there was carried across the isthmus by pack animals to Nombre de Dios or Portobelo on the Caribbean coast for shipment to Spain. The city prospered until the depredations of pirates and privateers curtailed trade. In 1595 Sir Francis Drake tried unsuccessfully to send a force across the isthmus to sack old Panama; in 1671, however, Henry (afterward Sir Henry) Morgan completely destroyed it. The new city (Panam Nuevo) was rebuilt 5 miles (8 km) west of the old site in 1674 by Alonso Mercado de Villacorta, a Spanish conquistador. Political and economic decline followed, and in 1751 the city and area became part of New Granada and eventually part of Colombia. During the 19th century, Panama was the scene of much disorder. In 1903 independence from Colombia was declared there, and the city was made the national Panamanian capital. In the HayBunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, the United States was given the right to keep order in the city and to maintain hygiene. Both rights were yielded in treaties of 1936 and 1959, respectively. Following the opening of the canal (1914), Panama City developed rapidly. It became a polyglot modern city with cabarets, nightclubs, and squalid slums (later partially cleared). The title to the water and sewer systems, built by the United States, was turned over to the government of the republic in 1942, and in 1953 their management was also transferred. The city was the site of Latin-American congresses in 1826, 1939, and 1959. The port facilities serving Panama City lie in adjacent Balboa, and many canal employees live in suburban Ancn. The city's economy is largely dependent on canal traffic and on providing services for canal personnel. Industries include breweries, oil refineries, steel-rolling mills, and clothing and wood factories. Panama City is linked with Coln by the canal, the Ferrocarril de Panama (Panama Railroad), and the Transisthmian Highway and with David and Chepo by the Carretera Interamericana (Pan-American Highway). It is served by an international airport at Tocumen, 17 miles (27 km) from the city. The city retains many reminders of colonial times, including several plazas, the cathedral (begun 1673), which contains Bartolom Murillo's painting of the Virgin of the Rosary, and the San Francisco Church (now renovated). Modern buildings include the Palace of Justice, La Presidencia, the National Palace, and the hotel El Panam. Panama City is the seat of the national university (founded 1935), the University of Santa Mara la Antigua (1965), and schools of dance, music, art, and theatre associated with the National Institute of Culture. There are a number of academies, libraries, museums, and research institutes. The Gorgas Memorial Laboratory of Tropical and Preventive Medicine was established there in 1928. Pop. (1990 prelim.) city, 411,549; (1984 est.) metropolitan area, 1,116,823. seat (1913) of Bay county, northwestern Florida, U.S. It is the port of entry on St. Andrew Bay (Gulf of Mexico), 98 miles (158 km) east of Pensacola. The first English settlement (c. 1765), known as Old Town, was a fishing village later called St. Andrew. In 1909 Panama City (then a village, named by developer George W. West for the Canal Zone city) merged with St. Andrew and Millville to form the present city. During the Revolution the area was settled by British Loyalists, who established indigo plantations and engaged in lumbering and naval stores industries. Saltworks on St. Andrew Bay, established to serve the Confederacy, were destroyed by Union raids from the sea in 1863. During World War II the city became a shipbuilding and war industrial centre, and the population grew rapidly. Its landlocked, deepwater harbour is on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The Naval Coastal Systems Center, a diving school, is in Panama City, and Tyndall Air Force Base is nearby. Fish, paper, chemicals, and tourism (especially sports fishing) are the chief economic factors. In the 1990s Panama City became a popular spring vacation destination for college students. Panama City is the seat of Gulf Coast Community College (1957). Pop. (1992 est.) city, 36,691; Panama City MSA, 132,386. Cultural life Panama's culture is a blend of African, American Indian, North American, and Spanish influences, which are expressed in its traditional arts and crafts, music, religion, sports, and cuisine. Traditional elements The cosmopolitan urban culture near the canal contrasts with the rural culture of the savannas. The latter area, with its cattle ranches and horsemanship, is something of a centre of Hispanic tradition. Old folk songs and handicrafts (like the straw-hat industry) are preserved therefor example, around the towns of Chitr and Las Tablas. Also culturally distinctive are the territories of the various Indian groups, each with its language and handicrafts, such as brightly embroidered smocks (molas) worn by Kuna women and netted carrying bags made by the Guaym. The Kuna have a strong tradition of storytelling, including epic poetry that can extend for hundreds or thousands of lines. Other areas of cultural interest include the Caribbean islands of Almirante Bay, with their Antillean customs. Panama City's Historic District is known for its colonial architecture, which dates to the 17th century. In 1997 the district was designated a World Heritage site, as were the old Caribbean coastal fortifications of Portobelo and San Lorenzo in 1980.