The Suez Canal
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Posted by Jim Down in History section |
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The Suez Canal (Qanat as Suways in Arabic), stretches 167 kms across the Egyptian desert, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and allowing ships to access India and the Far East without sailing all the way around Africa. By cutting the distance from Europe to the Far East by a third, and to India by half, the Suez Canal became the source of long-standing political controversy.
The idea of a canal linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea is not a new one. Pharaohs, Persians and Romans all worked on constructing a smaller canal - one linking the Gulf of Suez to the Nile, which pours into the Mediterranean.
A canal was built in the 20th or 19th century B.C. to Lake Timsah, the northern end of the Red Sea at that time. Xerxes I had the canal extended. It was restored several times by Ptolemy II and Trajan, until the 8th century A.D., when it was closed.
During his Egyptian expedition, Bonaparte himself rediscovered the remains of the ancient canal of the pharaohs near Suez and ordered Gratien Le P?re to study the problem. He submitted an important Report on the linking of the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and the Suez isthmus . The route planned kept very close to the pharaonic canal. But the Egyptian Pasha, Mohammed-Ali, absolute ruler of the country from 1811 to 1848, showed little interest in the project.
There was nothing to show that the canal would one day be built until the arrival of the young French diplomat, Ferdinand de Lesseps, grandson, son, nephew and brother of diplomats, born of a family of Basque origins with a taste for adventure. The modern canal was planned and supervised by him.
Great Britain, which had opposed the construction of the canal, became the largest shareholder in 1875 by purchasing the interest of the Egyptian khedive. The Convention of Constantinople signed in 1888 by all major European powers of the time declared the canal neutral and guaranteed free passage to all in time of peace and war. Great Britain was the guarantor of the neutrality of the canal; management was placed in the hands of the Suez Canal Company.
From 1859 to 1867, Egyptians worked on the construction of the Canal in conditions described by historians as slave labor. On 15 August, 1869, the waters of the Mediterranean finally flowed into the Red Sea via the Bitter Lakes, and Verdi’s famous opera “Aida” was commissioned for the opening ceremony.
The maritime canal from Suez to Port Said, passing a little West of the Peluse, was 164Km long, 54Km wide and 8m deep. 75 million m3 of debris had been extracted, 3 towns founded (Suez, Ismailia and Port Said), 2 ports created (Suez and Port Said), and millions of hectares were now covered with rich farmland thanks to the fresh water canal. It cost Frf 432,807,882. Enthusiasm for it was as great in Great Britain as it was in France. Russia too was pleased. The US, however, owing to its geographic position, felt only marginally interested in the event.
The Khedive Ismail asked Empress Eug?nie to inaugurate the canal an apt tribute to France. After being received in Constantinople by the Sultan Abdul-Aziz, she continued on to Port Said on board the imperial yacht, the ?Aigle?, arriving there on 16 November, 1869. She was greeted with gun salutes from the war ships which had come from all over the world. The Khedive, the Austrian Emperor, the Prince Royal of Prussia, the Prince of the Netherlands, the Prince of Hanover and the Ambassadors of Great Britain and Russia went to greet her.
On 17 November, the Aigle was the first vessel to enter the canal, followed by an impressive cortege of about 40 war and merchant ships. In the evening, they dropped anchor at Ismailia on Lake Timsah. On 19 November, they reached the Bitter Lakes and on 20th, the flotilla came out at Suez into the Red Sea.
They returned to Port Said on 21 November, in a single day?s journey, as easily as they had travelled out. The culmination of all the work was successful in every sense and there was a joyful celebration of ?the marriage, on the canal, of East and West?.
Under the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which made Egypt virtually independent, Britain reserved rights for the protection of the canal, but after World War II, Egypt pressed for evacuation of British troops from the area. Egypt in 1951 repudiated the 1936 treaty, and anti-British rioting and clashes on the border of the zone erupted. In 1954, Britain agreed to withdraw, and in June 1956, the British completed their evacuation of armed forces from Egypt and the Canal Zone.
By international convention, the canal was open for ships of all nations. In 1956, Egyptian president Nasser claimed the canal for Egypt. He did this in response to the British, French, and American refusal for a loan aimed at building the Aswan High Dam. The revenue from the Canal, he argued, would help finance the High Dam project.
The announcement triggered a swift reaction by Great Britain, France, and Israel, who all invaded Egypt less than two months later. The international community condemned their action, and the canal reopened in 1957. The second closure occurred after the June 1967 War with Israel and lasted until 1975, when Egypt and Israel signed the peace treaty.
Today, approximately 100 ships cross the canal daily, and, with the threat of war long gone, the cities and beaches along the Canal serve as summer resorts for tourists.
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