Afro-Panamanian
In 1904 when the construction of the Panama Canal was taken over by the United States for the failure of the French company, will again resort to the West Indian worker. Although between 1904 and 1914 the vast majority of Afro-West Indians who arrived in Panama did a one-year contract with the idea of returning to their home islands once the offshore project, after construction of the canal many Afro-Antillean stayed in Panama. Afro-West Indians who remained in Panama many got jobs in the Canal Zone and became the largest immigrant group in Panama. On the subject of Afro-Antillean Panama, Leslie B. Rout said that when the canal was opened in 1914, some 20,000 African-West Indians remained in Panama.
Prostitution in Panama
During the construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914), many prostitutes came to the canal zone to service the needs of the workers building the canal. Many were from the Caribbean, especially the English speaking islands. In 1905, the US Government arranged for several hundred women from Martinique to be transported to Panama. President Roosevelt launched an inquiry into the morality of these women, in case they had been brought in to work as prostitutes.