The Pearl Industry Of Panama

For many, many years prior to the advent of the Conquistadores, the Pearl Islands (Islas de las Perlas), were known and exploited for the rich pearls that abounded in the shoal waters off the shore.  These islands constitute an archipelago and lie well out in the Bay of Panama about ninety miles from Panama City.  There are in the neighborhood of 16 islands and 100 islets in the group, the largest of which is the Isla del Rey.  San Miguel, the only town of consequence in the archipelago is located on this island.

The pearl fisheries have been worked more or less vigorously ever since the Spanish occupation, and thousands upon thousands of beautiful gems have been brought to light.   At the present time the grounds are not so prolific, and it is only now and then that a pearl of exceptional value is discovered.  The pearls found in these islands are credited with having a superior brilliancy of lustre, and range in value all the way from $2 to $2,000.

The fishing is done almost entirely by negroes who live on the islands and dive for the pearls in the most primitive fashion.  The usual method of fishing is as follows:—Upon reaching the banks which lie from fifteen to eighteen fathoms under water, the diver ties a rope about his body, and with a small weight attached to his person to facilitate sinking, plunges out of the boat straight to the bottom.  Landing in the oyster bed, he seizes and tucks one oyster under his arm, and holding one in each hand with occasionally one in his mouth, he ascends rapidly to the surface to regain breath.  Half a minute is usually consumed in the operation.

The results are often very discouraging.  Sometimes upwards of 1,000 oysters are opened before a pearl of value is found.  In early Spanish times, slaves were impressed into the service, and many lost their lives from sharks and mantas that infest these waters.  The manta is a flat fish of great size which wraps its fins about the object it seizes upon, and crushes it to death.   Octopuses are also found in the vicinity of these waters.  This element of risk makes the avocation of a pearl-diver anything but a pleasant one.  The divers usually carry knives for protection, but notwithstanding this precaution, they often lose their lives.  Most of the diving is done in the rainy season, that is from May to December, as during the other months of the year the temperature of the water changes, and on account of its coolness, the diver dislikes to go down.  Pearl shells are also quite valuable and tons are shipped to the United States and Europe to be made up in buttons and buckles.  The Panama Government exacts a license from those engaged in the pearl industry.  The life of the mollusk is only nine or ten years, and it is not until the fourth year that the pearl, formed of accretions, begins to develop.

At the time of the Conquest, pearls were held in great estimation by natives in various parts of the New World.  Hernando de Soto found them in Florida where they were used to ornament the tombs of the Indian princes.  Gomara mentions that before Cortez made his triumphal entry into Mexico, he was presented by Montezuma with a magnificent necklace of pearls and precious stones.  This necklace was afterwards given by Cortez to Emperor Charles V.  Garcillaso records that the Incas of Peru set a great value on pearls, but the laws of Manco-Capac prohibited the natives from exercising the trade of diver on account of the great risk involved.

Humboldt describes the statue of a Mexican priestess in basalt, whose head-dress, resembling the calantica of Isis, was lavishly ornamented with pearls.  Las Casas and Benzoni have related, not without some exaggeration, the cruelties practiced on the Indian and negro slaves employed in the pearl industry.   Pearls early came into demand by the inhabitants of Southern Europe, and were introduced in diametrically opposite directions.  The Paleologi of Constantinople wore garments covered with strings of pearls, while the Moorish kings of Granada in Spain displayed them in profusion.  The pearls of the West Indies were preferred to those of the East Indies.

The islands of Margarita, Cubagua, Coche and Punta Araya off the Spanish Main, the mouth of the Rio Hacha in Colombia, and the islands in the Bay of Panama were as celebrated in the sixteenth century as was the Persian Gulf, and the Island of Tarprobane with the ancients.  The first Spaniard who landed on Tierra Firme, one of the early names given to the Isthmus, found the Indians decked out with pearl necklaces and bracelets.  Shortly after the adventurers from the Old world began flocking to the Americas, the traffic in pearls grew amazingly.  Acosta tells us that in 1587, six hundred and ninety-seven pounds of pearls were imported into Spain from its Western possessions.  Those of the greatest size and beauty amounting to some eleven pounds were set aside for the monarch, Philip II.

The diving operations at that period were under the charge of an overseer, or Armador.  As fast as they were brought up from the ocean's bed, a division was made, two oysters going to the Armador, two to the diver, while the fifth was apportioned to the King.  Those of the Armador were opened first, and he had to use the utmost vigilance for the diver had a knack of swallowing the most valuable pearl along with the live oyster which he threw into his mouth with a dexterity defying detection.   After the Armador's, the king's fifth was opened, and lastly the diver's share.   All the pearls collected were then deposited in one pile, the Armador generally taking the diver's share for debts owing him.  Notwithstanding the precautions taken, the divers usually managed to reserve some to trade for liquor, cigars and knock-knacks.

The use of the diving bell in connection with the pearl industry has been tried on several occasions, but without signal success.

From:  Canal Zone Pilot: Guide to the Republic of Panama
Edited by William C. Haskins; published by A. Bienkowski, The Star & Herald Company, 1908

CZBrats
March 19, 2000

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