Bunau-Varilla, Philippe Jean (1859–1940)
French engineer who helped to orchestrate the separation of
Panama from Colombia and the construction of the Panama
Canal.
Philippe Bunau-Varilla worked his way up to become the
head engineer for the French company that held the rights to
construct a canal through Panama, which was a possession of
Colombia. When this company went bankrupt in 1889, he
formed a new company that obtained the rights of the failed
enterprise. Technical difficulties, disease (men building the
canal died from yellow fever and malaria), and funding problems led Bunau-Varilla to turn to the United States. He persuaded President William McKinley—and after McKinley’s
assassination, President Theodore Roosevelt—to pursue the
Bunau-Varilla, Philippe Jean 33idea of the United States purchasing the rights of the company and constructing the canal. When negotiations between
the United States and Colombia failed, Bunau-Varilla coordinated efforts with insurrectionists within Panama. When the
rebels declared their independence from Colombia,
Roosevelt ensured the success of the revolution by sending
U.S. warships to protect Panama City. Bunau-Varilla appointed himself Panamian Minister to the United States and
proceeded to negotiate the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which
granted the United States the authority to construct the
canal. The completion of the canal substantially shortened
oceanic voyages from the West Coast of the United States to
the East Coast, increasing trade and development throughout
the nation and the world.