275. The Battle To Build The Panama Canal (Part 3)

Empire

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

What madcap schemes did French engineers use to drum up support to build the Panama Canal in the 1880s? How did the Gold Rush affect the flow of travellers through Panama looking for a shortcut? Who was the eccentric Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps and why did he fly a hot air balloon over Paris to support the building of the Panama Canal? William and Anita are joined by Matthew Parker, author of Hell’s Gorge: The Battle To Build The Panama Canal, to discuss the nineteenth-century history of Panama and the French campaign to drill a sea canal through the isthmus. Empire Club: Become a member of the Empire Club to receive early access to miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, bonus episodes, book discounts, our exclusive newsletter, and access to our members’ chatroom on Discord! Head to empirepoduk.com to sign up. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: [email protected] Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:21.7	This episode is brought to you by Babel.
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1:33.5	Until 9th of September, from 11 a.m.,
1:35.8	participating restaurants only, subject to availability. Hello and welcome to Empire with me Anita Arnhann.
1:52.4	And me, William Durember.
1:54.5	So the last couple of episodes you will remember, we spoke to Mark Horton.
1:58.9	And we were talking about Panama and the reason just to remind you
	...

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