Ever since Christopher Columbus discovered that a New World blocked the sea route to China, the eyes of princes, nations and fortune seekers have turned to finding and controlling a water route through the Americas.

At first, he joked about Canada being an additional US state. Since, he has threatened to take back control of the Panama Canal. He also reiterated a desire from his first term to own the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, which is not for sale.

President-elect Donald Trump is decrying the increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.