This piece of propaganda was published by the magazine Judge during American expansionism in the late 19th century.

The map shows American interests marked with flags in Hawaii, Cuba, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Cuba was still embroiled in its War of Independence with Spain, in which the United States played a very important role.

In 1898, the Nicaragua Canal was a hot topic, as a commission had been formed in the United States a year earlier to study the economic viability and risks of building a maritime canal to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, the French completed construction of the Panama Canal in 1914, leaving the Nicaragua Canal project on the shelf.

Sources

• We Must Complete the Nicaragua Canal – Cornell University