Brief History to the Present Day:
From the arrival of the first conquistador, Rodrigo de Bastidas, on Panama's shore, the course of its history has been determined by the unique importance of its location to world trade.
During 300 years of Spanish rule, much of Spain's gold and silver was ferried through the gravestone-marked "Road of the Crosses," which ran between the ports on Panama's Pacific (Panama City) and Atlantic coasts. Though Panama had been much more economically tied to the Viceroyalty of Peru, Colonel Jose de Fabrega chose to remain with the states of New Granada in Bolivar's newly-declared Republic of Columbia.
