JHPier said:
Depends. If, say, Spain seizes it early on and holds it, Every one else will still have the urge to find a way around the American continent.
True. They could either devote resources to towards exploration or they could devote resources towards seizing and/or using a known route from Spain. It's the old 'bird in the hand' quandary. I'd think the other powers would drawn towards the seizing/sneaking method. It is what the Dutch did to the Portuguese along the Cape route after all.
BTW, how wide does everyone see this 'canal' to be? I'm thinking more of a 'strait'; Gib, Molucca, etc., then a 'canal'; Suez, etc. I presumed at least a ~10km width, it is natural after all.
Incas yes. Aztecs, why? They border the Caribbean after all.
Aztec lands proper bordered neither the Caribbean or Pacific. However the lands of their subjugated peoples did.
With a Panama canal/straits found soon after Columbus' arrival (it was what he was looking for after all) I'm presuming more Spanish shipping nosing around the coasts of Central America. In the OTL, after 'bumping into' Central America and satisfying themselves that no strait existed, the Spanish backed up and began expending their efforts towards settling the Caribbean. With a strait at Panama, Spanish attention would be drawn more towards either coast of the mainland much sooner. The Caribbean islands would not recieve the same amount of attention.
Why? The're still well to the south of the route between Central America and East Asia (which is more or less the same as the Acapulco-Philippines run)
More more trans-Pacific traffic much earlier. First, a Panama strait/canal would lead to a earlier circumnavigation. They were looking for a route to the Indies and it was soon apparent that the Americas weren't Indies. Passing through a Panama strait, bypassing the Americas, and pressing on westward would have happened almost immediately.
Second, sailing on the Pacific would now not depend on either crossing Panama on foot and building ships, fiding your way around the Horn, or getting there the 'long' way via Africa and the Indian Ocean.
So, the Europeans could get to the Pacfic earlier/sooner and they had reasons to sail the Pacific earlier/sooner. More ships earlier means more chances earlier to contact a Polynesian island.
It would eliminate the need for an overland portage of the Isthmus of Panama for the Peruvian part of it. Buccaneers like Henry Morgan would not have to climb over the isthmus and try to capture new ships to get at Spain's Pacific ports.
IIRC, the treasure was stored for a period of time in Panama. The Pacific fleet would arrive from the Phillipines, unload, and return home with European goods. The treasure was shipped across the ithmus and held for a time. Once sailing conditions were right, the Caribbean/Atlantic fleet would arrive, drop off European goods, load the treasure, and head for Spain.
The treasure being ashore in a known place for a certain period of time must have driven both the buccaneers and Spanish crazy.
An Panama strait means that the treasure's journey needn't be broken up. The ships can sail all the way, only stopping for resupply.
Bill