This is from the history section of the official Panama Canal web site and concerns the source of the labor force. I believe that many more islands were represented and in many more years, as I noticed West Indians arriving in New York (Ellis Island) from the Canal Zone. WORK FORCE The following chart shows the maximum force employed during each year of construction work Date Work Force May, 1904 1,000 (Approx.) Nov., 1904 3,500 Nov., 1905 17,000 Dec., 1906 23,901 Oct., 1907 31,967 Apr., 1908 33,170 Oct., 1909 35,495 Mar., 1910 38,676 Dec., 1911 37,826 June, 1912 38,174 Aug., 1913 39,962 June, 1914 33,270 The following table shows the total number of contract laborers brought to the Isthmus throughout the work. It does not include the number of workers recruited from the United States. Country 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 Spain 1,174 5,293 1,831 Cuba 500 Italy 909 1,032 Greece 1,101 France 19 Armenia 14 Total Europeans 2,616 7,426 1,831 Fortune Island 361 Barbados 404 3,019 6,510 3,242 2,592 3,605 528 Guadeloupe 2,039 14 Martinique 2,733 585 2,224 Jamaica 47 Trinidad 1,079 205 143 Curacao 23 St. Kitts 933 9 St. Lucia 55 St. Vincent 296 Grenada 93 British Guiana 332 Total West Indies 404 5,799 9,491 7,505 2,592 3,605 205 942 528 Costa Rica 244 Colombia 1,077 416 Panama 334 10 13 Not classified 69 Grand Total 404 7,454 12,602 14,944 4,423 3,605 205 942 528 Providing food for more than 40,000 employees and their families in a country with little food production capability and few stores was a tremendous task at the beginning. With the goal in mind of maintaining a healthy and contented work force, the Isthmian Canal Commission imported food on the Panama Railroad steamers. They also started farms to grow fruits and vegetables, even plants and flowers, as well as farms to produce milk and eggs. It was a difficult task in the beginning, but every effort was made to ensure adequate living standards, in accordance with standards of the time, for canal workers. Ice and cold storage warehouses were constructed, and a bakery and ice cream plant were set up. The Panama Railroad had refrigerated cars to provide distribution to settlements along the line of the canal. Hotels or restaurants were established for the American bachelors. A number of mess halls were built for the European laborers where meals were furnished at 40 cents per day. Kitchens were built for the West Indian laborers. Rations were furnished and cooked in these kitchens for 30 cents per day. source: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html