Panama: The Shining City

“Many see Panama as a shining city on the bay with an inherent national destiny to become the center of commerce for the Americas. It might surprise some to know that in the 1500’s Panama was the center of commerce for all of Latin America. In those days Nombre de Dios (on the Atlantic coast) was the crossroads for trade routes throughout the Americas from Mexico to Peru. Subsequent to several pirate attacks at Nombre de Dios the Spanish port was moved to Portobelo in 1599 and was improved upon (expanded and modernized) several times as trade grew and the weekly gold shipments to Spain increased. New trade routes were established that brought people from all over the navigable world and the trading activity initiated annual trade fairs in Portobello that lasted 150 years, making Panama the center of commerce in Latin America and the wealthiest colony in the New World.”

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