A Brief History of the Suez Canal

Few maritime passages have revolutionised the world quite like the Suez Canal. Nestled in the heart of Egypt, and straddling the natural divide between Asia and Africa, this artificial sea‐level waterway acts as the bridge between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. 

Today, with nearly 90 per cent of the world’s trade carried by sea, the Suez Canal is rightfully considered one of the busiest and most consequential shipping routes on the planet.

This article covers the expansive, fascinating history of the Suez Canal, from the ancient aspirations of early Egyptian rulers, through the modern era of engineering triumphs and geopolitical tussles, to show the mark this engineering marvel has left on the world. 

Ancient ambitions

As far back as the Age of the Pharaohs, the idea of linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean was at the forefront of leader’s minds. 

Over 4,000 years ago, during a period when Egypt was at the zenith of its cultural and architectural prowess, Pharaoh Senausret III had a vision of harnessing nature for commerce and control. 

During his reign, the first rudimentary canal was constructed, connecting the Nile’s fertile banks with the waters near the Suez region. Remnants of these early efforts can still be found near the modern-day Suez, acting as a long-standing reminder of the desire to unite two great bodies of water.

Over the following centuries, various rulers attempted to revive and fortify this connection, although the canal’s functionality remained limited.

The concept was not lost to history. Persian King Darius, circa 522 BC, also turned his attention to this strategic asset, re-engineering the waterway by reconnecting the Bitter Lakes with the Nile, albeit with seasonal, modest channels extending towards the Red Sea. 

Later, in the era of Emperor Trajan around 117 AD, the Romans recognised the potential for boosting trade. Trajan’s grand re-digging of the canal extended from the vicinity of Cairo to El‑Abbasa.

During the early Islamic period, circa 640 AD, the canal enjoyed a new lease of life under Amro Ibn Elass, who reopened it for navigation and renamed it the “Amir El-Mo’menin Canal”. 

During this brief period, the waterway flourished as a conduit for trade and military logistics. However, changes in power brought a wave of uncertainly, and by the time the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar El-Mansur ascended to power around 760 AD, the canal was deliberately backfilled with sand to forestall potential invasions. 

This intentional abandonment was a death knell for the project, and ushered in an era of over eleven centuries with little to no traffic between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

The dawn of the modern era

It was not until the 19th century that echoes of this ancient ambition would resurface. The promise of a direct maritime link between Europe and Asia rekindled the interest of investors and visionaries alike. 

Amid this time of innovation and industrial expansion, French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps became the principal architect behind what would soon become the modern Suez Canal. 

De Lesseps believed that a canal cutting through the Isthmus of Suez would not only revolutionise global trade but also bolster France’s influence in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.

The first formal step came on 30th November 1854, when the Egyptian viceroy, Said Pasha, granted de Lesseps the First Concession. 

This landmark document granted the right to the exhausting task of digging a channel that would connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

The terms of the concession were remarkably detailed. The new company was to be established under strict conditions, including a mandatory presidential appointment by Egypt. 

It included a guarantee that the concession would last for 99 years, and a commitment that ensured to return 15 per cent of the net profits to the Egyptian treasury. 

Transit fees were to be mutually agreed upon and applied equally to all interested nations, a stipulation aimed at preserving the canal’s neutrality.

Two years later, on 5th January 1856, the Second Concession was issued. This document, comprising 23 meticulously crafted articles, clarified and reinforced the commitments contained in the first.

Notably, Article 14 enshrined the principle of neutrality. The canal would be open, indiscriminately, to every merchant vessel irrespective of nationality or flag, immortalising the waterway as a global asset rather than a tool for national advantage.

On 5th December 1858, De Lesseps formed the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company, La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez, with a capital of 200 million francs. 

As plans advanced, however, opposition began to coalesce. 

Britain, the dominant maritime power with a vested interest in maintaining its supremacy on the high seas, believed the canal was a potential lever to undermine their established shipping routes, particularly in light of their preference for a railway connection linking the east and west. 

Behind the scenes, an International Commission was assembled between 1855 and 1856 to scrutinise the feasibility of piercing the Suez isthmus, weighing the technical challenges against the anticipated economic and strategic benefits. 

Their deliberations ultimately lent further legitimacy to the ambitious project. And thus set the stage for the next phase, a period of construction marked by relentless labour, innovation and political manoeuvring, one that would transform de Lesseps’ dream into an engineering marvel whose legacy endures to this day.

A decade of labour and innovation

On 25th April 1859, construction commenced near what is now Port Said. The scale of the enterprise was nothing short of staggering, with an estimated 2,613 million cubic feet of earth shifted in pursuit of a waterway that would unite two great seas.

At the outset, the project relied heavily on forced labour. Tens of thousands of men were conscripted under notoriously harsh conditions that tragically resulted in high mortality rates. Their sweat and blood became the bedrock upon which this monumental piece of engineering was founded.

By 1863, international criticism, and the disquiet of influential figures, forced the Egyptian authorities to intervene. The cessation of forced labour was mandated, a decision that paradoxically spurred the canal’s progress rather than stalling it. 

Now compelled to embrace modern engineering innovations, the Suez Canal Company introduced custom-made steam and coal-powered shovels and dredgers, marking one of the earliest examples of industrial mechanisation in large-scale civil works. These new machines were pivotal in shifting earth at a pace that human hands could not have matched.

Alongside these mechanised advances, towns such as Port Said and Ismailia sprang up practically overnight, designed to accommodate the burgeoning workforce, and creating a microcosm of industrial life along the canal's route.

The financial demands of the project remained astronomical. Initially estimated at 200 million francs, the cost of excavating a channel of this magnitude pushed the boundaries of contemporary engineering budgets. 

The weight of the investment, coupled with domestic grievances, eventually led to financial instability. 

By 1875, Egypt was forced to sell a 44 per cent stake in the canal to Britain, a move that would have far-reaching political ramifications in the years to come.

The culmination of this decade of strenuous work was celebrated on 18th August 1869, when for the first time the Mediterranean and the Red Sea met in a singular, continuous body of water.

The inauguration

On 17th November 1869, the Suez Canal was inaugurated in an enormous ceremonious event. Thousands of dignitaries, including luminaries such as Empress Eugenie of France, gathered along the banks of the newly opened waterway. 

The ceremonial procession of ships was led by the French imperial yacht L’Aigle, as countless vessels embarked on their maiden voyages through the historic passage.

The canal was officially measured at 164 kilometres in length, with an established width of 52 metres at water level and a depth reaching 75 metres. 

Yet, the early days were not without challenges. Navigation tests revealed that ships with drafts over 22.5 feet were denied access for safety reasons, and for nearly two decades, navigation was permitted only during daylight.

These technical restrictions paled in comparison to the canal’s immediate impact on international shipping. Routes that once required circumnavigation of Africa - often fraught with unpredictable weather and extended voyage times - now offered a direct, rapid passage between Europe and Asia.

These benefits ignited a surge in maritime traffic. European colonial ambitions were further bolstered by the canal’s opening, as the new route facilitated a more vigorous incursion into Africa and Asia. Mediterranean ports, too, began to expand in response to the increased traffic, marking the Suez Canal as a catalyst for urban and economic growth in the region.

This grand inauguration marked only the beginning of a legacy that would transform the economic and strategic paradigms of seaborne trade for generations to come. 

The Canal was not merely a passage between two seas. It was a symbol of progress, and the audacity of humanity to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The Convention of Constantinople

While the Suez Canal was cementing its presence on the world, the geopolitical landscape was undergoing dramatic change.

The British started to eye the canal as a strategic asset capable of reshaping regional power balances. Their interest in the Canal grew over the decades, ending with the British invasion and subsequent occupation of Egypt in 1882, during a period of civil unrest.

The Urabi Revolt gave Britain the opportunity to secure its interests along the waterway, and seize the Canal Company’s facilities. In the wake of these events, Lord Grandfield issued a statement in 1883 that suggested that under suitable conditions, British forces might withdraw if new arrangements were made among the major powers to safeguard the canal’s future.

Discussions eventually led to the signing of the Convention of Constantinople in 1888. This agreement declared the Suez Canal a neutral zone, ensuring that, regardless of conflict, the passage would remain open to every merchant vessel regardless of nation or flag - albeit, under the tacit protection of Britain.

The neutrality enshrined within Article 14 of the original concession’s successor agreements solidified the canal as a shared asset of the global population, rather than the exclusive property of any single nation.

Regardless of these diplomatic treaties, British influence over the Suez Canal continued. Though Egypt remained part of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom had assumed something of a managerial role. 

The British acquisition of a substantial stake in the Canal Company further increased their influence, serving as both a stabiliser and a point of contention of balancing national interests against the imperative of global trade.

These shifting dynamics not only influenced the course of Egyptian sovereignty, but also foreshadowed the more turbulent decades to come: an era in which the fate of the Canal would be inextricably linked to the fortunes of nations.

Zones of conflict

As the 20th century dawned, and the Suez Canal continued to evolve into a linchpin of global strategic importance, the spectre of modern warfare loomed over the landscape.

During World War I, Britain’s safeguarding commitments effectively left Egypt declared a protectorate, and the canal was fiercely defended against Ottoman attempts to reclaim lost territories.

Further attempts to reconcile Egypt’s quest for sovereignty clashed with British strategic interests, until the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 brought balance - albeit delicate. While it recognised Egypt as an independent and sovereign state, it also specified that the canal would remain under British control.

World War II only heightened the canal’s importance, becoming a critical bastion against the threats of Italo-German aggression. Yet the stakes raised even further in the post-war world.

In 1956, Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser made the decision to nationalise the Suez Canal Company - a bold assertion of Egyptian sovereignty and a direct challenge to the vestiges of colonial control. The subsequent dismantling of the established management, and the contentious process of compensating shareholders, sent shockwaves across the globe.

This decision inevitably led to retaliation. In July 1956, Britain, France, and Israel launched an invasion to regain control over the waterway. Known as the Suez Crisis, foreign pilots and technicians were withdrawn, the Straits of Tiran were closed to Israeli shipping, and, for a brief period, the canal’s waters ran silent as conflict raged around it.

Though invading forced were eventually withdrawn, the episode was far from the last of the canal’s problems.

In June 1967, following hostilities spurred by regional aggression, the canal closed once again. This period of near‑decades-long disruption saw the infamous “Yellow Fleet” becoming trapped in its waters. 

Even during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Suez Canal’s banks once again became a scene of high‑stakes military manoeuvres as Egyptian forces crossed into Israeli‑occupied Sinai.

The turning point came in June 1975 when President Anwar El‑Sadat inaugurated the canal’s reopening, and ushered in a cautious return to normality. Yet the canal would continue to influence international policies well into the late 20th century and beyond.

Adapting to demand

The reopening of the Suez Canal in 1975 marked not only a symbolic renaissance, but also the beginning of constant modernisation.

Buoyed by the promise of economic resurgence, the Egyptian government embarked on an ambitious serious of projects to adapt the canal to meet the growing needs of global commerce.

In what became known as the “Nasser project”, these extensive efforts focused on deepening and widening the existing waterway, thus accommodating the passage of the larger vessels that had become the norm in the age of containerisation.

Bypasses such as the “Al-Timsah” channel and the Port Said bypass were also constructed, designed to facilitate two-way traffic along significant portions of the canal.

The expansion was not simply about physical alterations to the canal bed. Comprehensive plans were laid out for further widening and deepening of the southern section, so that the waterway would remain competitive amidst rising global trade demands. 

Alongside these measures, significant upgrades to the canal’s crossings - including state‑of‑the‑art bridges and modern tunnels - were executed to improve connectivity and operational resilience.

The most significant recent undertaking was completed in 2015 - the New Suez Canal project, which involved the construction of a new 35‑kilometre parallel shipping lane alongside the original channel. 

The passage of mega‑vessels like the OOCL Hong Kong in 2017 brought evident proof of the canal’s upgraded capacity. These ships, once considered too large for the traditional passage, were now able to navigate the modernised corridor with ease.

Enduring importance and contemporary challenges

After millennia of wonder, and centuries of evolution, the Suez Canal remains one of the world’s most significant landmarks.

Its ability to slash thousands of kilometres from the original route around the Cape of Good Hope solidifies it as an economic marvel, responsible for nearly 8% of global seaborne trade annually.

Yet the canal is not without its contemporary challenges. From logistic bottlenecks to geopolitical tensions, modern shipping is fraught with risk that threatens to disrupt passage through the Suez Canal.

The grounding of the Ever Given in 2021 serves as a stark reminder of the system’s vulnerability. In the aftermath, discussions swiftly turned to further widening initiatives and the need for enhanced contingency planning.

Alternative routes - whether it be the longer circumnavigation of Africa or the emerging promise of a Northern Sea Route - are continuously evaluated by shipping conglomerates. But when measured against the dramatic reduction in travel distance, the Suez Canal remains unmatched.

Adding to its allure is the burgeoning concept of the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Envisioned as a hub where industry, logistics, and innovation converge, this zone would further bolster Egypt’s role in the global economy.

Episodes of political unrest serve as a reminder that no matter how modernised or well‐maintained, a pathway as strategically vital as the Suez Canal will always be at the confluence of commerce, technology and diplomatic contention.

A timeless artery in a changing world

The Suez Canal’s journey, from ancient ambitions to a modern marvel, is a chronicle of human determination, engineering prowess and the ceaseless drive to connect distant worlds. Its history is punctuated by revolutionary ideas, relentless innovation and, at times, turbulent struggles for control.

Today, the Suez Canal stands strong as a timeless artery amid the dynamic ebb and flow of global economics and geopolitics. It continues to serve not only as a conduit for trade but also as a barometer of the intertwining fortunes of nations. 

Its legacy as an essential enabler of connectivity and prosperity remains unchallenged, even as new challenges emerge and alternative trade routes are explored. The Canal continues to adapt and expand with global demands, promising to be as instrumental in tomorrow’s interconnected world as it has been for centuries past.

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