The Groundbreaking and the Digging Process:. The digging started on April 25th, despite objections from Britain and the Ottoman Empire. Water flowed into Lake Timsah on November 18th, , and the lake was then a depression surrounded by sand dunes midway between Port Said and Suez. Water of the two seas met on August 18th, putting an end to 10 years of toil and creating an invaluable artery for world navigation.
The Legendary Inauguration Ceremony November 17th, [5] :. That Canal was described by the late renowned geographer, Dr. A procession of ships entered the canal that day November 17th, , headed by the L'Aigle; carrying the most important figures attending the inauguration ceremony on board, and followed by 77 ships; 50 of which were warships.
The inauguration extravaganza cost Khedive Ismail approximately one and a half million Egyptian Pounds. The Years following the Inauguration until the Constantinople Convention:. A statement by Lord Grandfield on January 3, issued to the major powers declaring that the British government was willing to withdraw its army from Egypt at the nearest opportunity, when the conditions of the country would allow.
Then, on March 30th, , an international committee met in Paris to draft a document which ensures the freedom of navigation in the Canal at all times and for all countries, but, they failed to reach an agreement on it. The Constantinople Convention October 29th, :. Nationalization of the Canal Rights Restored:. All its assets, rights and obligations are transferred to the Nation and all the organizations and committees that now operate its management are hereby dissolved.
Stockholders and holders of founders shares shall be compensated for the ordinary or founders shares they own in accordance with the value of the shares shown in the closing quotations of the Paris Stock Exchange on the day preceding the effective date of the present law.
The payment of said indemnity shall be effected after the Nation has taken delivery of all the assets and properties of the nationalized company. Indeed, Egypt has fulfilled all its duties on January 1st, , as it has paid all the compensations that were intended to be paid to the stakeholders for what they owned of establishment quotas and shares for the estimated worth at the closing rate of Paris Bourse on the previous day of the nationalization.
The compensation reached L. E the value of shares which totally paid in foreign currency and before one year of maturity [7]. However, the nationalization decree came as a direct response to the major countries and World Bank's stances concerning financing the High Dam [8] , but the decree in fact revealed the Egyptian rights and it was closely related to the Egyptian sovereignty over the entire national territory after the July 23rd Revolution.
Egypt had refuted all the sources that questioning the nationalization decree. This was in the famous speech that Dr. He said that "Every independent state has the right to nationalize anybody subject to its sovereignty the General Assembly confirmed in its resolution no on December 23, that each state has the right to use its resources for the welfare of its people by virtue of its the sovereignty and the principles of the UN charter.
So, Egypt's action of nationalization of the Suez Canal Company is just an enforcement of this resolution. He added that the Canal authority is an Egyptian authority that was given its privileges of construction by the Egyptian government for 99 years.
Article no. The British government acknowledges this fact and defended it before the mixed court on April 12, He also declared that Egypt adhered to its right of sovereignty over its land and its respect for the agreement and its readiness for negotiation in order to reach a solution for the canal dilemma in a peaceful means [9]. After the resolution of nationalization of the Canal, Egypt was exposed to a colonial force attack and started to stifle the Egyptian economy by the withdrawal of the foreign pilots and technicians working at the canal in order to hinder the work so as to embarrass the Egyptian government as the Egyptians would not be able to manage the canal [10].
The Egyptian pilots with the aid of pilots from some of the friendly countries managed to conduct navigation after two days from the withdrawal of the foreign pilots. On September 16, 36 ships transited the canal, on September 17, 35 ships transited, on September 18, 32 ships transited and on September 19, 34 ships transited [11]. On September 18, , the SIS arranged a visit for 50 foreign correspondents to Ismailia to visit the Canal Zone to see by themselves the accuracy of navigation.
On September 19, , the main headlines of Al-Ahram newspaper referred to the foreign correspondents who were impressed by the navigation in the canal, while the convoys of ships crossed peacefully [12].
It seemed that Nasser fulfilled what he was always proud of, as ships crossed the canal peacefully and secure, of which ships crossed after the collective withdrawal of the foreign pilots [13].
Meanwhile, the financial problems linked with the construction of the canal allowed the British government to buy the stakes owned by Egyptian interests in to become the major shareholder in the Suez Canal Company. The canal was vital to the British economy as it provided a shorter sea route to its colonies and the oilfields of the Persian Gulf.
Britain strengthened its control over Egypt in when the latter went bankrupt, allowing the banks in Europe to take control of the country financially. As the French and British continued their control over the country, it started resentment among the Egyptians. This caused Brittan to invade Egypt in Though Egypt remained virtually independent due to the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of , Britain took complete control of the Suez Canal. During the First World War, Britain announced Egypt a protectorate and sent forces to protect the canal, and this lasted till when Britain provided nominal independence to Egypt.
Though the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty declared Egypt as a sovereign state in , Britain only agreed to withdraw its troops from Egypt in It was only after the intervention of the United Nations, the three forces withdrew from Egypt, allowing the country to reopen the canal for commercial shipping.
The political unrest, however, continued for a long time to come and the canal was shut down by the Egyptian authorities in during the Six-day War between Israel and Egypt. The closing of the canal also led to the stranding of 15 shipping vessels in the middle of the canal, at the Great Bitter Lake.
These vessels, known as Yellow Fleet, remained trapped there till after Egypt reopened the Suez Canal after peace talks with Israel. Since then, the canal remains a significant transport link between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, allowing the international ships to avoid the difficult voyage around the southern tip of Africa. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Marine Insight do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same.
The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight.
Tags: gulf of aden suez canal. Mohit Kaushik is a marine engineer sailing with Maersk Shipping. He handles website development and technical support at Marine Insight.
Apart from handling web development projects, he also manages a logistics company and have a keen interest in modern logistic technologies. It has been alleged that Frederic Bartholdi, the French sculptor of the Statue of Liberty may have originally been inspired by the opening of the Suez Canal in A Brief History of the Suez Canal. Marine Insight. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The Suez Crisis began on October 29, , when Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal after Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal, a valuable waterway that controlled two-thirds of the oil used by Europe. The Israelis were Its origins date back to ancient Egypt. The modern Suez Canal is only the most recent of several manmade waterways that once snaked their way across Egypt.
Following the failure of a French construction team in the s, the United States commenced building a canal across a mile stretch of the Panama isthmus in The project was helped by the elimination of disease-carrying mosquitoes, while chief engineer John Stevens The channel, which traverses New York state from Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie, was considered an engineering marvel when it first opened in The leader of Zimbabwe since its independence in , Robert Mugabe was one of the longest-serving and, in the latter years of his reign, most infamous African rulers.
In , General Idi Amin overthrew the elected government of Milton Obote and declared himself president of Uganda, launching a ruthless eight-year regime in which an estimated , civilians were massacred. His expulsion of all Indian and Pakistani citizens in —along The idea for a canal across Panama dates back to the 16th century. In , Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to discover that the Isthmus of Panama was just a slim land bridge separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
In a quest to fulfill a centuries-old dream to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the builders of the Panama Canal quickly learned that the construction of a waterway across a narrow ribbon of land looked easier on a map than in reality. The Panamanian isthmus proved to be Live TV. This Day In History.
History Vault. Where Is the Suez Canal? Construction of the Suez Canal Interest in a marine route connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea dates back to ancient times. Linant de Bellefonds The idea of a large canal providing a direct route between the two bodies of water was first discussed in the s, thanks to the work of French explorer and engineer Linant de Bellefonds, who specialized in Egypt.
Construction of the Suez Canal Construction began, at the northernmost Port Said end of the canal, in early The S. Dido , was the first vessel to pass through the Suez Canal from South to North.
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