The History Forum

The Economic Consequences of the Panama Migrations in the Caribbean By: Sharifa Giles, Tianna Scott and Shaquan Foster  In the early twentieth century, migration had become a significant part of Caribbean society as it provided opportunities to overcome the economic struggles faced during this time. After emancipation, Caribbean societies were ‘characterised by underemployment, poverty and unemployment and were subject to the labour demands of the plantation and the inconsistency of the sugar economy’ ( Chamberlain 2008) . Due to these push factors, many Caribbean people seized the opportunity to work on the Panama Canal when the Americans began to recruit people from the British West Indies in 1904. However, despite drawing away a large number of the population , the positive consequences on the Caribbean’s economy greatly outweighed the negative consequences which resulted after the migration to Panama . Many of these migrants to Panama were p...