History of Panama (to 1821)

The early history of Panama encompasses pre-contact Indigenous civilization and the subsequent era of European colonization. Archaeological evidence reveals sophisticated pre-Columbian societies, including Uto-Aztecan communities and advanced agricultural settlements.

When Spanish settlers first arrived, the Isthmus of Panama was home to numerous Indigenous groups, with the Guna people alone estimated at 750,000 individuals. Spanish colonization began in 1501 with Rodrigo de Bastidas, followed by Christopher Columbus and Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who found the Pacific Ocean in 1513.

Under Spanish colonial rule, Panama became a crucial transit point for Peruvian gold and silver, though this period was marked by significant Indigenous population decline and assimilation, the introduction of African enslaved people, and the emergence of maroon communities. The route became known as the Camino Real de Portobelo, or Royal Road of Portobelo, although it was more commonly known as Camino Real de Cruces (Royal Road of the Crosses) because the road led to the Town of Venta Cruces located on the Rio Chagres. The Spanish established strict control over trade through Panama, making it one of only three authorized ports in Spanish America for trade with Spain, while also implementing a complex administrative system through audiencias and later incorporation into the Viceroyalty of Peru. Panama was part of the Spanish empire for nearly 300 years, from 1538 to 1821.

The colonial experience also spawned Panamanian nationalism as well as a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism.