Societé Internationale du Canal

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The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama (English: Universal Company of the Interoceanic Panama Canal) was a french company created on 1880 by Ferdinand de Lesseps to construct the Panama Canal.

History

Origins

In June 1876, General Étienne Türr, a French merchant, obtained a first concession from the United States of Colombia for the construction of a canal. To finance the research in the Isthmus of Darien to specify the best possible implantation of the canal was created on August 19, 1876 the Société Cvile Iternationale du Canal Iterocéanique par l'Isthme du Darien chaired by Etienne Türr and Ferdinand de Lesseps was a member of it. Two expeditions were undertaken by the Scientific Commission for the exploration of the isthmus directed by Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte-Wyse between 1876 and 1879 to study a canal route across the Isthmus of Panama.. In the April 4 meeting of the Société de géographie of Paris, two drilling solutions were presented by Louis Simonin: the Nicaragua Canal and the Panama Canal; which concludes that the isthmus can only be crossed by a sluice channel or by a tunnel 16 km long.

On May 18, 1878, the Société Civile Internationale du Canal Interocéanique par l'Isthme du Darien obtains from Colombia the concession, also called Concession Wyse, for the construction of a Panama Canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps then took a financial option of 10 million francs. As he had done for the Suez Canal with the Commission Internationale pour le percement de l'Isthme de Suez, convened at the Société de géographie, from May 15 to 29, 1879, an International Congress of studies for the piercing of the interoceanic canal, composed of 136 delegates representing 26 nations but mostly french, including the United States and China, to agree on the project to adopt. There were two presented projects: one by Adolphe Godin of Lépinay and the other by Ferdinand de Lesseps. Was finally adopted the last one. It's costs were estimated by the Congress for 1,200 million francs. After the Paris Congress, Wyse studied with Lieutenant Armand Reclus the solution for the breakthrough of the Isthmus

Creation

The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama was created on the 20th of October of 1880 by Ferdinand de Lesseps. The company bought in 1880 the concession of the Société Cvile Iternationale du Canal Iterocéanique par l'Isthme du Darien and the study of the route of the canal which had made Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse.

Originally, to not scare associates, Ferdinand de Lesseps announced a cost of construction of the Panama Canal of 600,000,000 francs. At the last subscription, he had spent, adding the borrowed capital, 1,335,000,000 francs. Short of money, the Universal Company launched a new series of deeds on December 2, 1888, but which met with no success, and they had to stop the payments.

Dissolution

The dissolution was pronounced and provisional administrators and a liquidators were appointed by the court of Seine in its judgments of December 14, 1888 and February 4, 1889. During the liquidation and under the pressure of parliamentarians, a commission of inquiry is formed and delivers it's final file in June 1892. The Panama scandals bursts in September with a press campaign against the leaders of the Company and revealed corrupted politicians. After the trial, a law promulgated on July 1, 1893 specified that an attorney must be appointed to defend the interests of the security holders.

References

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