The separation of Panama from Spain in 1821 had until recently been insufficiently studied compared to contemporary independence movements. Even in Panama itself, historiography devoted less attention to 1821 than to the break with Colombia in 1903, as if it were less important.

But this oversight changes radically with this work by Alfredo Castillero Calvo, who proves that Panama was a nerve center of vast political, strategic, economic, and ideological forces between the early 1800s and the late 1820s. Here Castillero Calvo brings in his prodigious knowledge of colonial Panama and decades of research in Spanish and Colombian archives to give readers a complex, exciting, and satisfying story of a small place that made a big difference in hemispheric history.

The Napoleonic Wars and arrest of Ferdinand VII caused Spain to lift trade regulations that had suffocated the Panama route since the 1730s, bringing an economic boom to the isthmus. When independence movements erupted simultaneously in Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Mexico, most of the silver from the mines of Upper Peru and Mexico began to flow to Panama, making it a Pacific trade hub linking Callao, Guayaquil, Panama, Guadalajara, and Jamaica. Bullion crossed the Isthmus of Panama bound for Jamaica, to be exchanged for British products for distribution in Pacific markets. With their fortunes thus fortified, some Panamanian merchants purchased wheat and cattle latifundia in Guadalajara, for cash.

Foreign merchants relocated to Panama to take advantage of the new commercial freedoms and the great flow of silver, and thousands of emigrants fleeing the war in New Granada sought refuge there also. And thanks to this affluence, Panama was able to send military and economic aid to those territories of New Granada that remained loyal to Spain. In the author's words, Panama became a financial bastion for royalist forces. The economic boom went bust in 1819, however, when war arrived at Panama's doorstep. In January, Vice Admiral Thomas Cochrane began his siege of Callao, in April Gregor MacGregor invaded Portobello, and months later Captain Juan Illingworth assaulted Panama City. These attacks killed off Panama's trade. Castillero Calvo's narrations of these military exploits enliven the text.

Caught in the tug-of-war between royalists and constitutionalists, Panamanians sought out clear signs of the future. Then, the commercial crisis of 1819, jointly with disruptions following Riego's revolt in 1820, accelerated the break with Spain. When Bolívar asserted his control over Colombia, San Martín and Cochrane blockaded Callao, and Iturbide seized control of Mexico, local sentiment shifted toward local governance. Exuberant locals proclaimed independence in November 1821 in the province of Los Santos, while calmer heads in the capital analyzed the options available amid the swirl of military and political events. They chose separation from Spain and adherence to Bolívar's new project, Gran Colombia. For his part, Bolívar regarded Panama's commercial and military hub as crucial to the success of his larger nation. Castillero Calvo wraps up the story with an assessment of Panamanians’ eventual disappointment with their voluntary annexation to Colombia.

The book provides a global vision of independence that the author terms contextualizing. Events in Europe and Latin America form a backdrop to his narrative. Spanish developments naturally weighed heavily on Panamanian affairs: the rise of cabildos abiertos after Ferdinand's arrest, the convocation of the Cortes in Seville in 1810, the revolutionary Cadiz Constitution of 1812, the restoration of Ferdinand three years later and his suppression of liberalism, and Riego's revolt and the resurrection of the 1812 Constitution. According to Castillero Calvo, Panama embraced the liberal, republican, and democratic 1812 Constitution enthusiastically and became the first territory of the viceroyalty of New Granada to adopt it. Its principles led to the political and ideological maturation of Panamanians, critical to their independence.

If one reads just one book on the political, social, and economic formation of nineteenth-century Panama, it should be Castillero Calvo's new book.