Panamá

Capital of the Republic of Panama, on the east bank of the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, with its port at Balboa in the Canal Zone; population (2000 est) 463,100. It became capital in 1903 following independence from Colombia. The city developed rapidly following the completion of the Canal. Its good communications by air and rail, as well as by the Pan-American Highway, have enabled the city to become the main transport and industrial centre of Panama. Products include oil, plastics, leather, food, and drink.

The original old city was founded by the Spaniard Pedro Arias de Avila in 1519, on the site of an Indian fishing village; it was destroyed in 1671 by the Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan, and rebuilt on its present site, 8 km/5 mi to the southwest, in 1673. The city has two universities, founded in 1935 and 1965, and a cathedral, built 1688-1794. The Palacio Presidencial, built in 1673 to house successive colonial governors, is the official residence of Panama's presidents.