After the defeat of Spain, America had already taken control of Cuba and Puerto Rico, but the struggle had delayed the construction of the Panama Canal, which was the main interest since the beginning of the imperialist movement. . With the annexation of Hawaii and the acquisition of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, President Theodore Roosevelt aggressively pursued construction of the canal. After persuading Britain to no longer jointly operate the canal, President Roosevelt purchased the rights to Panama from the French for forty million dollars. For the Colombian side, President Roosevelt offered ten million dollars and an annual payment of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. However, Colombia was not interested because France's rights to Panama were expiring and if Colombia could block the deal then it would have to receive the forty million dollars because Colombia would own the rights to Panama after the expiration of those of France. In response to this, President Roosevelt, with the help of a Frenchman, started a latent revolt in Panama against Colombia, then blocked Colombian troops from entering Panama and Colombia gave in. In 1904, Panama became an American protectorate and the Panama Canal was built in 1904.