It is near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The city is the capital of Panama's Col n Province.
n, circa 1910
History
The city was founded in 1850 as one end of the Panama Railroad then under construction. For a number of years early in its history, the sizable United States emegre community called the town Aspinwall while the Hispanic community called it "Col n". The name "Col n" is in honor of Christopher Columbus.
Much of the city was burned during a Colombiancivil war in 1885, and again in an accidental fire in 1915.
In 1900 the population was some 3,000 people. It grew significantly with the building of the Panama Canal, and was 31,203 in 1920.
Since the late 1960's, Col n has been in economic decline. Nowadays, the unemployment rate is around 40% and the poverty rate is even larger than that. The decline has been so severe that, according to some sources, former residents of the town have broken down crying at the site of the city now.
External Link
Colon City Panama (http://www.geocities.com/coloncitypanama/) extensive site on geocities.com
Panama is a representative democracy with three branches of government: executive and legislative branches elected by direct vote for 5-year terms, and an independently appointed judiciary.
Panama is a member of the UN General Assembly and most major UN agencies and has served three terms as a member of the UN Security Council.
Panama joined its six Central American neighbors at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
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