And the Canal goes to... Nicaragua

This would have happened too late to butterfly away the existence of Augusto Sandino, who could have made trips through the canal very… exciting… while he was in business.
 
Results in a completely different Panama, for one thing. Probably no independence from Columbia, no influx of Japanese workers (a quarter of Panamanians have at least some Japanese ancestry), etc. Instead, some of those effects may be present in Nicaragua instead.
 
This would have happened too late to butterfly away the existence of Augusto Sandino, who could have made trips through the canal very… exciting… while he was in business.

Not exactly, Sandino wasn't revolutionized until the US intervention in 1912, which would be butterflied away by the building of a Nicaragua Canal. Who knows where he would end up with a POD in 1902.

How the US decides on Nicaragua would have some interesting consequences -

If it happens because T. Roosevelt is not president, that is one thing. If it happens because the Congress pushes forward the Nicaragua idea against Roosevelt's wishes, then we have an interesting political blow to him that would have consequences. It could be that without the American intervention Roosevelt actually is in a stronger political standing, with the isolationists less upset.

Panama would remain part of Colombia unless the US decides to intervene at some other point. It may push all of Colombia over the edge, with the country torn apart over what to do about their rebellious territory to the north.

If Colombia ends up at war with any of its neighbors, supporting the Panamanian rebels would certainly be a good strategy.

IIRC the Nicaragua Canal was in the south of the country and relatively close to Costa Rica. US affairs would therefore be much more interested in that country as well as Nicaragua.


Other than that I cannot really think of any big differences. Any eruption of Nicaragua's volcanoes would cause a lot of economic concern.
 
I read somewhere that one reason they chose Panama was the Panama Railroad, which made construction a lot easier. Would the lack of that somewhat offset the easier terrain?
 
Wider...

IF the Nicaragua canal was built instead of Panama, it would have a major influence on naval architecture over time. Widening the canal would be much easier--and less costly--so American warships could be wider--and later supercarriers would be able to fit. As a result, world merchant shipping could also be larger--MANY ships are built to Panamax standards, just barely able to fit through the canal.
 
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