The Tehuantepec Isthmus surveys of the 1850s

A series of maps of Mexico created during an attempt to create a trade route by canal and railroad across the Mexican Isthmus of Tehuantepec, linking the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, half a century before the Panama Canal.

The rights to build a canal and railroad here were sold by Mexican President Santa Anna, and passed through the hands of a British bank before becoming the property of Peter A. Hargous and the Tehuantepec Rail Road Company of New Orleans in 1849. After funding surveys and buying land, the project failed because of disagreements between the Mexican and U.S. governments. Hargous sold his stock, reporting losses of $5 million. The government of Panama proved to be more amenable to American companies.