Suez Canal Opens: World's Trade Routes Reshaped Forever
The Suez Canal opened on November 17, 1869, after ten years of construction that employed roughly 1.5 million Egyptian laborers, of whom an estimated 120,000 died from cholera, exhaustion, and other causes. Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat who championed the project, organized an extravagant opening ceremony attended by European royalty, including Empress Eugenie of France. The 101-mile canal eliminated the need to sail around Africa, cutting the journey from London to Bombay by 4,300 miles. Britain initially opposed the canal but purchased Egypt's 44% share in 1875 when Khedive Ismail needed cash. The canal became the jugular vein of the British Empire, and control of it shaped Middle Eastern politics for a century. Egypt nationalized the canal in 1956, triggering the Suez Crisis. It remains one of the world's busiest waterways.
November 17, 1869
157 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on November 17
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