Introduction
There is a well-known statement that without past world can not build its future. Events, which took place in the past, a decade, or even century ago can be interpreted differently, that’s why it is essential to research history of humanity from perspective of new generations, and their values.
Egypt is a country, touching the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, connected with the Arabian Peninsula. This geographical position has a strategic importance for global trade, so, no wonder that today Egypt is one of the main highways for product flows. Egypt is a link between three gigantic continents with the greatest global markets- Europe, Africa and Asia.
From the middle ages, many significant trade routes crossed this country making this land prosperous commercial hub of the world. However, after the discovery of the Cape route, a great amount of commerce has moved from Egypt to the Atlantic, reducing the commercial importance of Egypt.
In 1869 an impressive gateway was opened by building the Suez Canal, which not only helped Egypt to regain its old leadership position, but also establish one of the first medieval highways. According to Edouard Navillle, “The Store-City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus” the geographical position of Egypt had to be taken advantage of and construction of Suez Channel was inevitable process.
The idea of building the channel did not appear in the nineteenth century, however this idea belonged to Necho (c. 609-593 B. C.), an Egyptian king, who tried to facilitate communications between the Red Sea and the Nile with the Mediterranean. Information about completion of these canals is not found in any sources, however it is obvious that such project could not have been implemented at that time due to the lack of developed architectural and scientific methods.
Working by Channel
According to “The Natural History of Pliny” by Strabo, before the construction’s work started there was a pessimistic theory that the Suez Channel could lead to the flooding of Egypt’s great amount of territory.
In spite of such pessimistic point of view, strategic importance of the Suez Channel was emphasized by many politicians and scientists of the nineteenth century.
For example, quoting Bismarck, who said that the Suez Channel “like the spinal cord which connects the backbone with the brain”, it can be understood that this channel was of a great importance even for such leading countries, like England , Ottoman Empire or France3. According to Captain Mahan’s words, the Suez Channel “is a commonplace of the ages”. Even Napoleon had predicted the significant role of Egypt as a commercial center of the world, by saying that the ruler of Egypt would be the ruler of India.
England had its own imperialistic plans to control the Suez Channel and here is what was written by Edward Dicey: “It is no mere accident that the dominion of Syria and Arabia has with rare intervals, belonged to the Power which held the Isthmus. Given a strong military position in Egypt, and we could afford to be indifferent to any attack on India along the Euphrates Valley…. The one thing needful for us is to secure the free passage of the Canal”.
“It is England’s manifest destiny to become the mistress of the Canal as she has already become the mistress of Egypt; and against manifest destiny gods and men fight in vain, whether in Suez or in Panama,”- so it can be concluded that the construction of the Suez Channel have caused the conflicts of ascertaining who had to control it and England has shown a great interest in gaining the dominance over the channel.
Channel today
Today’s generations can clearly see the dominating and intervening policy conducted by England towards the Suez Channel. It is stated, that there was a failure from the side of the British, French and Israeli forces to implement their own limitations on the Suez Channel usage.
The articles from the nineteenth century are mostly devoted to the issues of who was the real owner of the Suez Channel; unfortunately, the history of construction itself is often omitted. However, these facts can be found in the newspapers of our time, which are describing the history of this enormous project.
In 1854 the French Diplomat, De Lesseps have convinced Viceroy Said of Egypt to cut unbelievably long canal across the Suez. So, the French ambassador received the right to implement this ambitious project. According to the contract, Egypt would lose its profit from the transit trade and was obliged to give De Lessep’s company the right for ninety nine years of free lease.
Today it can be argued, whether De Lesseps was an optimistic dreamer or smart entrepreneur, however he had managed to raise the support and finance for this project. It is interesting fact, that he faced much pressure from such giants like Britain or France in completing this project, which appeals to understanding of these countries of future channel’s importance.
In order to implement this engineering project, De Lesseps designed numerous machines and tools to help the construction of the Suez Channel. It took fifteen years to complete this project, and in 1869 the history of this wonderful creation and the start of long lasting issue of dominance began to unfold.
“The creation of the Suez Canal captured the imagination of people around the world, and its opening in 1869 was a party to end all parties. As the champagne flowed, it was hailed as a symbol of progress that would serve to unite the world. You might even call it one of the first adventures in globalization–an infrastructure project designed to strengthen links between Europe, East Africa, the Middle East and the Orient,”- these words of ZACHARY KARABELL best sum up the story of the Suez Channel, its importance in the world together with its controversial nature of ownership. As history unfolds, the only way to look objectively at the events is to view the same event in terms of events in the past and those taking place in the society now with history being the only one to decide who was right and who was wrong.
Works Cited
Hallberg, Charles W. The Suez Canal: Its History and Diplomatic Importance. New York: Columbia University Press, 1931.
Martel, Gordon. “Decolonisation after Suez: Retreat or Rationalisation?” The Australian Journal of Politics and History 46.3 (2000): 403.
M. Busch, Bismarck, London, 1898, vol. ii, p. 321.
“Our Route to India», the Nineteenth Century, 1877, vol. i, pp. 682-693.
“Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal.” African Business Dec. 2003: 64.
Strabo’s Geography, op. cit., bk i, ch. 2; “The Natural History of Pliny”, trans. by J. Bostock and H. T. Riley, London, 1855, vol. ii, bk. vi, ch.3.
T. Mahan, “The Problem of Asia and its Effect upon International Policies”, London, 1900, p. 72.
“Why not Purchase the Suez Canal?”, The Nineteenth Century, Aug. 1883, vol. 14, p. 205