The Great Divide

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism, enslavement, and baby loss.

Somewhere in the Pacific coastal waters of Panama, Francisco Aquino sits alone in his boat. He built the boat with his own hands from one large tree trunk. He has been a fisherman for many years, and in addition to his boatbuilding skills, he is knowledgeable about the ocean and its contents. On this particular morning, he is waiting for the right moment to cast his nets. As he waits patiently, he contemplates the idea of a canal. He has heard talk that there are plans to blast through the mountains that run through central Panama in order to allow ships to pass through from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. He finds this idea preposterous.

The Royal Mail boat eases into the port of Colón on the Atlantic side of Panama. Ada Bunting, a 16-year-old girl from Barbados, snuck aboard the ship dressed in men’s clothing to blend in with the mostly male passengers, all from various ports in the Caribbean. Ada had slipped out of her house before dawn, leaving her mother a note in a spot where she knew it would be seen.