J5062-2011 Actions

• Jun 5, 2012: ADOPTED
• Jun 5, 2012: REPORTED TO CALENDAR FOR CONSIDERATION
• May 31, 2012: REFERRED TO FINANCE

J5062-2011 Text

 LEGISLATIVE  RESOLUTION  commemorating 109 years of Panamanian Independ
 ence from Spain on November 3, 2012
 WHEREAS, Prior to Spanish colonization,  Panama  was  inhabited  by  the
 Cuevas and Coele tribes who were largely decimated by disease and fight
 ing upon arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s; and
 WHEREAS, The Spanish came to Panama in pursuit of gold and other valu
 ables; the first to land in Panama was Rodrigo de Bastidas, and one year
 later, Christopher Columbus, who established a short-lived settlement in
 the Darien; and
 WHEREAS,  The  first  trans-Panamanian  trek  by Vasco Nunez de Balboa
 proved that the Isthmus was the path between the seas and would  be  for
 centuries to come; and
 WHEREAS,  Panama became the path for gold and silver which were hauled
 by ship from  South  America,  by  land  across  the  Isthmus  and  then
 reshipped  to  Spain;  this  route  became known as the Camino Real, the
 Royal Road, though it was more commonly known as the Road of the  Cross
 es; and
 WHEREAS,  Panama  would  remain  a part of the Spanish empire for more
 than 300 years and their  identity  would  be  based  on  the  sense  of
 "geographic  destiny";  the Isthmus was of paramount importance to Spain
 and the rest of the world; and
 WHEREAS, On November 28, 1821, Panama was liberated  from  Spain,  but
 was assumed under Colombian rule; and
 WHEREAS,  Between  1880  and 1890, a French company under Ferdinand de
 Lesseps made an unsuccessful attempt  to  construct  a  sea-level  canal
 where the U.S. developed canal now sits; and
 WHEREAS,  On  November  3,  1903, Panama entered the Hay/Bunau-Varilla
 treaty with the United States which granted a  significant  right-of-way
 to  a  zone  10  miles  wide  and  50  miles long in which the canal was
 dredged, operated and fortified by U.S.  forces; and
 WHEREAS, Signing the November 3, 1903, treaty with the  United  States
 occurred  parallel  to a proclamation of separation from Colombia, known
 as "Separation Day" in Panama; Panama also celebrates the anniversary of
 their independence from Spain on November 28th; and
 WHEREAS, Many Panamanians have made New  York  their  home,  and  this
 Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to thank the Panamanian people for
 their contributions to this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
 RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause  in  its  deliberations  to
 commemorate  109 years of Panamanian Independence from Spain on November
 3, 2012.

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