During the construction of the Panama Canal, the United States took over the project after which country abandoned its own attempt?
France
The answer was France. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.
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France began construction of the Panama Canal in 1881 under Ferdinand de Lesseps, the same engineer behind the Suez Canal. After nearly two decades of devastating tropical diseases, engineering challenges, and financial scandal, France abandoned the project, and the U.S. took over in 1904, completing it in 1914.
This answer is checked against Library of Congress — Today in History: Panama Canal and Wikipedia — Panama Canal.
A good trivia question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.
- Spain - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- France - correct answer.
- Great Britain - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- Netherlands - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
France is the one to remember. France began construction of the Panama Canal in 1881 under Ferdinand de Lesseps, the same engineer behind the Suez Canal. More than 25,000 workers died during the French and American construction efforts combined, mostly from malaria and yellow fever before doctors understood mosquitoes carried those diseases.
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Sources: Library of Congress — Today in History, Wikipedia — Panama Canal