Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
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Signed on November 18, 1903 (less than 1 month after Panama's independance from Colombia), Bunau-Varilla went to Washington, DC and New York City to negotiate the terms with several US officials, most prominently, Secretary of State John Hay.
The two men negotiated the terms of sale for the Panama Canal and the zone surrounding it. Philipe Bunau-Varilla was a Frenchman involved in the building of the canal under the same man that built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps. It is also called "The Treaty No Panamanian Signed," though they later agreed to the terms (under pressure from the US government).