Panama Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Panama appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 5 different states, among them Panama, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Viceroyalty of Peru, Colombia, Viceroyalty of New Spain.
PanamaExplore the history of Panama in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Panama, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1600 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 100% |
| 1650 | Viceroyalty of Peru 100% |
| 1700 | Viceroyalty of Peru 100% |
| 1783 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1800 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1815 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1880 | Colombia 100% |
| 1900 | Colombia 100% |
| 1914 | Panama 100% |
| 1920 | Panama 100% |
| 1930 | Panama 100% |
| 1938 | Panama 100% |
| 1945 | Panama 100% |
| 1960 | Panama 100% |
| 1994 | Panama 100% |
| 2010 | Panama 100% |
Battles and historic sites
| Year | Battle or site |
|---|---|
| 1914 | Panama Canal |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Panama?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Panama belonged to Panama, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Viceroyalty of Peru, Colombia, Viceroyalty of New Spain.
What was Panama part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Panama lay within Colombia.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.