This thesis aims to demonstrate and analyse the historical processes which led to the creation of the independent Republic of Panama and the building of an interoceanic canal that connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Isthmus of Panama for the first time. My approach was primarily based on analysing the work of two private citizens who played a key role in these historical processes. The first was Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a french patriot and an experienced engineer, who combined his technical knowledge with a good deal of charisma and swagger. The second, a pragmatic and ambitious corporate lawyer named William Neslon Cromwell, operated more discretely — not in public speeches and in newspapers, but in closed offices and through clandestine channels. Together they led the so called Panama Canal Lobby, which played an important role in realizing the vision of the Panama Canal. They did all this on behalf of a failing private company from France, which wished to direct their lobbying exploits to maximise shareholder profits.
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