United States Enters the Canal Contest
Abstract
This chapter examines the rise of U.S. interest in the Nicaragua Canal in the context of the Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century as well as the beginning of a transatlantic rivalry between Great Britain and the United States over control of the canal route. This chapter illuminates how the status of the Mosquito Kingdom as an Indigenous polity became the crucial fulcrum around which this transatlantic rivalry operated so that the Mosquito question became inextricably linked to the Canal question at a time when the canal also became central to Nicaragua’s nationalist project and regional aspirations.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Historical Studies in Central America
History and International Relations
Historical Studies in Latin America
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Pages
- 97–119
- Publication date
- 27 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter