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- In the history of Panama, the earliest known inhabitants were the Cueva and Coclé tribes, but they were drastically reduced by disease and fighting when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. But some moved out of Panama to have children and increase population. Rodrigo de Bastidas, sailing westward from Venezuela in 1501 in search of gold, was the first European to explore the Isthmus of Panama. 10 years later, Vasco Núñez de Balboa visited the Isthmus and established a short-lived settlement in the Darién. Vasco Núñez de Balboa's torturous trek from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1513 demonstrated that the Isthmus was, indeed, the path between the seas, and Panama quickly became the crossroads and marketplace of Spain's empire in the New World. Gold and silver were brought by ship from South America, hauled across the Isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Spain. The route became known as the Camino Real de Portobelo, or Royal Road of Portobelo, although it was more commonly known as Camino Real de Cruces (Royal Road of the Crosses) because the road led to the TOWN of Venta Cruces located on the Rio Chagres. Panama was part of the Spanish empire for nearly 300 years, from 1538 to 1821. From the outset, Panamanian identity was based on a sense of "geographic destiny", and Panamanian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the Isthmus. The colonial experience also spawned Panamanian nationalism as well as a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism. (en)
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