<P> The idea of a canal across Central America was revived during the early 19th century . In 1819, the Spanish government authorized the construction of a canal and the creation of a company to build it . </P> <P> Although the project stalled for some time, a number of surveys were made between 1850 and 1875 . They indicated that the two most - favorable routes were across Panama (then part of Colombia) and Nicaragua, with a third route across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico another option . The Nicaraguan route was surveyed . </P> <P> After the 1869 completion of the Suez Canal, France thought that an apparently - similar project to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans could be carried out with little difficulty . In 1876 an international company, La Société internationale du Canal interocéanique, was created to undertake its construction; two years later, it obtained a concession from the Colombian government (since Panama was a Colombian province) to dig a canal across the isthmus . </P> <P> Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was in charge of the Suez Canal construction, headed the project . His enthusiastic leadership and his reputation as the man who had built the Suez Canal persuaded speculators and ordinary citizens to invest nearly $400 million in the project . </P>

When did the french start to build the panama canal
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