Suez Canal - Graces Guide Grace's Guide British Industrial History Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 121,917 pages of information and 183,284 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them. Suez Canal 1869. Entrance to the Canal at Port Said. 1869. Plan of entrance. 1869. Lighthouse in the Bitter Lakes. 1869. Lighthouses on the Lakes Amers. In 1854 and 1856 Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from Sa'id Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, to create a company to construct a canal open to ships of all nations. The company was to operate the canal for 99 years from its opening. De Lesseps had used his friendly relationship with Sa'id, which he had developed while he was a French diplomat in the 1830s.

As stipulated in the concessions, de Lesseps convened the International Commission for the piercing of the isthmus of Suez consisting of 13 experts from seven countries, among them John Robinson McClean , to examine the plans developed by Linant de Bellefonds, and to advise on the feasibility of and the best route for the canal. After surveys and analyses in Egypt and discussions in Paris on various aspects of the canal, the commission produced a unanimous report in December 1856 containing a detailed description of the canal complete with plans and profiles. The Suez Canal Company came into being on 15 December 1858 and work started on the shore of the future Port Said on 25 April 1859. The excavation took some 10 years using forced labor of Egyptian workers. Some sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on the canal at any given period, that more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed, and that thousands of laborers died. The canal opened under French control on 17 November 1869. Although numerous technical, political, and financial problems had been overcome, the final cost was more than double the original estimate.

After the opening the Suez Canal Company was in financial difficulties. The remaining works were completed only in 1871, and traffic was below expectations in the first two years. See Also Who built the Suez Canal? – Mondoweiss 10 Comments       My old history books gave the credit for constructing the Suez Canal to Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French developer. But he had help . The excavation took some 10 years using forced labour (Corvée) of Egyptian workers during a certain period. Some sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on the canal at any given period, that altogether more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed, and that thousands of laborers died on the project. Part of my family’s history is that my great-grandfather was unable to settle down right away after fighting with the Union Army in the American Civil War at the ferocious battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. He travelled around the world, arriving in 1869 in Egypt just as the canal was opening.

In Cairo, he attended one of the first performances of Verdi’s opera Aida, written for the occasion. Those hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who actually built the Suez Canal also have descendants — who also have family memories. As they continue to bravely occupy Tahrir Square, they might be excused if they have not lost their suspicions about Western sincerity. Update: This post was published in 2011. If you’re reading it now, in 2013, do you mind letting us know what brought it to your attention? It’s gotten a lot of traffic, and we’d like to know why. Thanks. Write to [email protected] The Suez Canal | TheYachtMarket The Suez Canal Post by: TheYachtMarket News 07 November 2013 Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been hit by a wave of violence ever since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power. This inevitably puts in danger one of the world’s most significant waterways, the Suez Canal, which supports about 8% of the world’s shipping traffic and whose narrow width could easily be blocked, disrupting the flow of trade.

It is a 163 km long, 300 metre wide canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez, a northern branch of the Red Sea. It can accommodate ships with a draft of 19 metres or 210,000 deadweight tons, but most of it is not wide enough for two ships to pass side by side, so there is one shipping lane and several passing bays (completed in 1980). The negligible height difference along the waterway means it has no locks; neither does it have any sea surge gates, so both entrances and exit ports are subject to the sudden impact of tsunamis from the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. It can handle more ship traffic and larger ships than the Panama Canal, but some super tankers are too large to do the traverse and offload their cargo onto a canal-owned vessel, reloading at the other end. The transit of the canal takes between 11 and 16 hours with typically 3 convoys, 2 southbound and 1 northbound, travelling each day at a speed of around 8 knots.

This works out at around 70 ships in 24 hours and their slow speed helps to prevent erosion of the canal’s banks. The canal was opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, which involved excavation using forced labour of Egyptian workers. It is estimated that over 30,000 people worked on the canal at any one time and that altogether more than 1.5 million workers from various countries were employed. Thousands of labourers are thought to have died whilst working on the project. The British government, disapproving of the use of “forced labour”, were opposed to the project from the outset. International opinion was sceptical about the benefits of the canal and the company’s shares did not sell well overseas. The final cost of the canal was more than twice the original estimate, although numerous technical, political and financial problems had been overcome. The French Imperial yacht “Aigle” was invited to be the first vessel to transit the canal, with the British P&P liner “Delta” following.

However on the night before the canal was due to open, the HMS “Newport”, captained by George Nares, navigated his vessel, it total darkness and without lights, through the throng of waiting ships, until it was in front of the “Aigle”, making it impossible for them to pass. Nares was actually the first to make the transit and although he received a reprimand from the authorities, he also got an unofficial vote of thanks from the Admiralty for promoting British interests and demonstrating such superb seamanship. The canal’s significance is that it allows vessels to trade between Europe and Asia without having to navigate around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the Southern terminus is Port Tawfiq at the city of Suez. It is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority of Egypt and under international treaty it may be used both in war and peacetime by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag. It also has a railroad running its entire length, parallel to its west bank. The canal had an instant and dramatic effect on world trade.

The American transcontinental railroad had been completed six months before and the combined forces of canal and railroad allowed the whole world to be circled in record time. It also played a significant role in the European colonisation of Africa. The Canal’s Chequered History 1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Egypt and commissioned a feasibility analysis which reported a 10 metre difference in sea levels, so the project was shelved. 1840 – A new survey found the first one to be flawed. It reported that a canal link was possible and not as expensive as first estimated. 1854 – Ferdinand Lesseps (former French consul in Cairo) obtained the first license for construction and operation of the canal. 1859 – Construction of the Suez Canal officially started. 1869 – The canal opened – owned and operated by the Suez Canal Company. 1873 – The International Commission of Constantinople established the Suez Canal Net Ton and the Special Tonnage Certificate (as known today). 1875 - Britain acquired 44% of the Suez Canal Company, becoming a minority share holder in the Suez Company, the rest being controlled by French business syndicates.

1882 – Britain, assisted by France, invaded Egypt and began its occupation, taking control of the canal. 1888 – The Convention of Constantinople ensured the right of passage of all vessels through the canal during war and peace. 1936 – Britain pulled out of Egypt but established the “Suez Canal Zone”, under its control. 1956 – The Suez Canal Zone was restored to Egyptian sovereignty following years of negotiations. Egypt nationalised the Company, transferring it to the Suez Canal Authority and closed the canal to Israeli shipping. 1957 – The Canal was blocked to shipping following the Suez Crisis. This war lead to the occupation of the Suez Canal Zone by Israel, France and Britain. It was restored to Egyptian control following French and British withdrawal and the landing of UNEF troops (United Nations Emergency Force). The force’s mandate was to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities and serve as a buffer between Egyptian and Israeli forces. 1967 – The canal was blocked by Egypt, under President Nasser, following the Arab-Israeli war (the Six Day War) and closed until 1975.

As a result, 14 cargo ships, known as “the Yellow Fleet” were trapped in the canal for over 8 years. 1973 – The canal was the site of a major crossing by the Egyptian army into Israeli-occupied Sinai in the Yom Kippur War. Debris still remains along the canal edges from this conflict. 1974 – The US and UK started clearing the canal of mines. 1975 – The canal was reopened and the first convoy made its transit northbound to Port Said. 1979 – The UNEF mandate expired and a new observer force in Sinai was set up – the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). 2008 – The Suez Canal Authority brought new rules of navigation into force. Transits By Private Vessels Private vessels transiting the Suez Canal must go through a multitude of procedures and formalities which can take up to three days to complete. They include visiting the canal’s Small Craft Department, the Port Immigration office, the Insurance Company, the Customs and Quarantine offices, the Red Sea Port Authority and finally the Inspection office, where you will ultimately be issued with your transit permit.

It is probably worth investing in an agent to complete these tasks. No visas are required if you are only intending to stay in Port Said to make transit arrangements, but those wanting to stay longer must complete the full Egypt entry procedure. On the day of transit you must collect a pilot who guides the vessel as far as the overnight stay. (No night passages are allowed for yachts and you cannot travel without a pilot.) You continue your transit the next morning and it is highly recommended that you contact an agent to meet you and obtain permission to proceed to your destination port. The Future The Suez Canal is increasingly plagued by pirates and political instability in Egypt and Syria. World leaders are constantly thinking of new routes which will make their trading faster and safer. Vladimir Putin is planning to turn Russia into a major transit route for trade between eastern Asia and Europe by reuniting the railway systems of North and South Korea and linking them with the Trans-Siberian Railway. This would give him links to European train networks 8,000 kilometres away and the route would be three times faster than using the Suez Canal. The Northern Sea Route has become more feasible for commercial cargo vessels in recent years due to the shrinking of Arctic sea ice.

The route between Europe and Asia, which could be used for 6 – 8 weeks in the summer months, could reduce the voyage by thousands of miles. Israel (with financial help from China), are hoping to construct a railroad through the Negev desert, which they expect will compete with the Suez Canal. So, will this great canal remain a safe and reliable route for world trade? The increasing trouble in that part of the world and the resulting closures would imply that, if other feasible options could be found, this prominent waterway may become redundant. Only time will tell. You Might Like Suez Canal, Egypt Cruise Port Suez Canal, Egypt Cruise Port Egypt History: In 1854 and 1856 Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from Sa'id Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, to create a company to construct a canal open to ships of all nations. The company was to operate the canal for 99 years from its opening. De Lesseps had used his friendly relationship with Sa'id, which he had developed while he was a French diplomat during the 1830s.

As stipulated in the concessions, Lesseps convened the International Commission for the piercing of the isthmus of Suez (Commission Internationale pour le percement de l'isthme des Suez) consisting of thirteen experts from seven countries, among them McClean, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London, and again Negrelli, to examine the plans of Linant de Bellefonds and to advise on the feasibility of and on the best route for the canal. After surveys and analyses in Egypt and discussions in Paris on various aspects of the canal, where many of Negrelli's ideas prevailed, the commission produced a final unanimous report in December 1856 containing a detailed description of the canal complete with plans and profiles. The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez) came into being on 15 December 1858 and work started on the shore of the future Port Said on April 25, 1859. The excavation took some 10 years using forced labour (Corvée) of Egyptian workers during a certain period.

Some sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on the canal at any given period, that altogether more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed, and that thousands of laborers died on the project. The British government had opposed the project of the canal from the outset to its completion. As one of the diplomatic moves against the canal, it disapproved the use the slave labor of forced workers on the canal. The British Empire was the major global naval force and officially condemned the forced work and sent armed bedouins to start a revolt among workers. Involuntary labour on the project ceased, and the viceroy condemned the Corvée, halting the project. Angered by the British opportunism, de Lesseps sent a letter to the British government remarking on the British lack of remorse a few years earlier when forced workers died in similar conditions building the British railway in Egypt. The canal opened to shipping on 17 November 1869. Although numerous technical, political, and financial problems had been overcome, the final cost was more than double the original estimate.

The opening was performed by Khedive Ismail of Egypt and Sudan, and at Ismail's invitation French Empress Eugenie in the Imperial yacht Aigle, piloted by Napolean Coste who was bestowed by the Khedive the Order of the Medjidie (Blue Flame of Service c1955). The first ship to follow the yacht Aigle through the canal was the British P&O liner Delta. The canal had an immediate and dramatic effect on world trade. Combined with the American transcontinental railroad completed six months earlier, it allowed the entire world to be circled in record time. It played an important role in increasing European colonisation of Africa. Smithsonian Institution Libraries: Make the Dirt Fly! ï¿½The voyage (to California) by way of Cape Horn will occupy on an average, five or six months, while by the Isthmus route, the trip is accomplished in as many weeks!ï¿½ -- Gregoryï¿½s Guide for California Travelers via the Isthmus of Panama, 1850 What Is an Isthmus? An isthmus is a narrow neck of land surrounded by water that joins two larger land masses.

Although the Isthmus of Panama and the Isthmus of Suez are the most famous, isthmuses are found throughout the world. In the 19th century, these land forms were viewed more as impediments separating nations than as links between continents. This attitude reflected an era when long-distance travel was primarily by sea, and tantalizingly narrow isthmuses stood as time-consuming barriers. Nineteenth-century developments in machinery, transportation, and communications put the Western world in motion. Ports were bustling with people and brimming with raw materials and finished products destined for distant markets. Finding ways to ship goods faster and cheaper was essential to continued commercial expansion. Water transport offered many advantages over rail, including inter-oceanic access. In addition to their commercial importance, canals had nationalistic and military significance. The French saw an isthmian canal as a magnificent private enterprise reflecting the glory of France. Americans like Theodore Roosevelt viewed an American-controlled canal as critical to U.S. domination of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In 1869, after 10 years of work by the French, the Suez Canal joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

About 100 miles (161 km) long, the sea-level canal shaved off thousands of miles and months of travel between Europe and Asia. Initially, Egyptian laborers drafted as forced labor did the digging and hauling away with picks and baskets. Later, European workers took over, using dredges and steam shovels. Except for a few rocky areas, most of the excavation was through sand. Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-94), the mastermind behind the Suez Canal, was a career diplomat, not an engineer. His success in marshaling the political, financial, and technical forces needed to build the Suez Canal made him an international hero. Less than a decade later, the charismatic Lesseps was able to mobilize support for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. In 1878, he became president of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, which was formed to finance a French-built canal. In the 1840s, engineer Napoleon Garella surveyed possible canal routes on the Isthmus of Panama for the French government.

Remarkably farsighted in the engineering he proposed, Garella was terribly wrong on some non-engineering points. He believed that yellow fever did not exist on the isthmus and so failed to predict the health hazards that would claim thousands of workersï¿½ lives during construction of the canal. German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt explored regions of South and Central America for the Spanish crown in the early 19th century. His report on the trip identified five possible routes for a canal joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He favored a path through Nicaragua rather than Panama, although he had not traveled to either location. Before the completion of the Panama Railroad in 1855, travelers had to cross the isthmusï¿½s swamps, rivers, jungles, and narrow mountain passes by foot, canoe, and pack animal. In 1851, a herd of camels was imported to the isthmus to serve as beasts of burden, but the animals were no more effective than the mules and horses already in use. With the 1849 discovery of gold in California, the isthmus teemed with fortune seekers looking for the fastest route to the gold fields.

Passage was made easier when the New York-based Panama Railroad Co. completed a rail line across the isthmus in 1855. Between 1855 and 1869, the railroad transported tens of thousands of ï¿½forty-niners.ï¿½ The importance of the line lessened after 1869 when the U.S. transcontinental railroad was completed. By requesting that this letter be sent via Panama instead of around Cape Horn, the writer acknowledged the time-saving isthmian route. Written in the beginning of December, the letter was in transit across the isthmus by the end of the month. Developing the Suez Canal Panama Canal Developing the Suez Canal The dredging of the canal took almost 10 years using Egyptian labor, and it was opened for navigation for the first time in 17 November 1869. The total excavation up to the time of opening the canal to traffic amounted to 80,000,000 cubic yards, mostly sand.

At first the canal was merely a ditch, being 25-26 feet [8 meters] deep and 72-75 feet [22 meters] in width at the bottom; at the ground level the width ranged from 200 to 300 feet [60 to 90 meters], and the deepest cut was 80 feet. Its water area was 304 m2 and the largest ship load that can pass through was 5000 tons, which was typical for ships sizes in these days. The Suez Canal was 88 geographical, or about 100 statute miles long. At intervals of five or six miles, the canal was widened, for a short space, to 50 yards, forming thus sidings [gares) where only vessels can pass each other. At these, therefore, a ship had often to wait until a file of perhaps twenty steamers, coming the other way, had passed. Occasionally a ship got across, or "touched," and then the canal was blocked for hours.

When the Canal was first constructed, it was supposed that the tonnage likely to pass through it annually would hardly reach, far less exceed, 6,000,000 tons gross tonnage, and to the accommodation of that amount of tonnage, its capabilities were considered fully equal. From 1870 to 1881, that quantity was not exceeded. But in 1882 it rose to 7,122,000 tons, and then it was found that the Canal was not equal to its mission, and had proved incompetent to deal fittingly with so vast a traffic. From the insufficiency both of its width and of its depth, vessels were constantly getting aground, and the obstruction, like a block of carriages in a crowded thoroughfare, for a time completely impeded the circulation.

So much inconvenience had been found from the restricted dimensions of the work, that the International Commission on the Suez Canal was appointed, in 1884, to determine what new measures, in respect of works and navigation, should be undertaken to enable the ship-canal to meet fully the exigencies of a traffic exceeding 10,000,000 tons per annum. Its Report was presented in February 1885, of which document the Author furnishes a summary. The Commission considered three methods of increasing the carrying capacity of the canal, namely: (1) widening the existing canal; (2) construction of a second canal; (3) doubling the capacity of the canal by a combination of the first two methods. When the canal was first designed, in 1856, it was supposed that two vessels, being towed, could easily pass where the bottom width was 144 feet, or double the normal width adopted.

By 1884, however, when vessels of 50 feet in width propel themselves through the canal, a bottom width of 230 feet has been proposed for the 81 miles from Port Said to the southern end of the Bitter Lakes, where the tidal currents do not exceed 1 knot an hour, and 262 feet for the rest of the distance to Suez, where the currents often exceed 2 knots, in order that the vessels may pass each other freely. The cost of this widening was estimated at ï¿½8,240,000, supposing the depth of the canal remained as at present, 26ï¿½ feet below low-water of ordinary spring tides, but would be increased by ï¿½975,200 if the depth was augmented to 29ï¿½ feet, unless the proposed width could be reduced 18 feet.

The construction of a second canal, within the limits of the company's lands, having, like the existing canal, a bottom width of 72 feet, widened out to 131 feet through the small Bitter Lakes, was estimated at from ï¿½8,200,000 to ï¿½8,920,000, with an additional cost of ï¿½698,800 if made 29.^ feet deop. The third plan took into consideration the different velocities of the tidal currents north and south of the Bitter Lakes. Assuming that the greater velocity might lead to collisions between vessels passing on a single enlarged canal, it would be advisable to restrict the enlargement to the northern portion, and to form a second canal between the Bitter Lakes and Suez. The Commission decided unanimously in 1885 in favor of the enlargement of the existing canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, for the following reasons.

An enlarged section would enable vessels to increase their speed from to 8 knots an hour, and thus to traverse the canal in about twelve hours, which could never be accomplished with two separate canals; and, moreover, there would be only two banks to maintain, instead of four. This increase of speed would greatly facilitate the steering, which, together with the greater width of canal, will enable vessels to avoid stranding on the banks, an important gain which would not be obtained with two canals. The danger of collisions between passing vessels on a single canal will be obviated by the great increase in width proposed for the canal, and by reducing the speed of the vessels in the act of passing. Moreover, the plan of enlargement will include the easing of the curves on the canal, and will thus remove the impediments which these sharp and narrow bends present to vessels of 360 feet in length, which is quite an ordinary length now, though rare twenty years ago. Lastly, this system will possess the inestimable advantage of enabling each successive portion of enlargement to be at once utilized as an addition to the passing places for vessels.

The Commission exhibited some difference of opinion on the question whether, in order to keep within the lower estimate, the depth should be increased at the expense of the width; but it was eventually agreed that the depth should be increased to 28 feet, with a corresponding decrease in the proposed width of the northern portion to 213 feet, and of the southern portion to 246 feet, measured at a depth of 26 feet. And for years work went on to increase both the depth and width. In 1895, the canal was so enlarged as to give a depth of thirty-one feet, a width at the bottom of 108 feet, and at the surface of 420 feet. In 1915 the channel was 36 feet deep, and the bottom width 134 feet. The deepest vessel to date, to pass through had a draft of 28 feet. The plan gave passage to vessels with a draft of 31 to 32 feet. Vessels have increased in size in keeping with the yearly increase in the size of the canal.

In 1870 the average net tonnage was 898 tons per ship; this had increased by 1911 to 3,688 tons per ship. As the ships developed and increased its sizes, the canal needed to be developed, which happened when it was still a foreign joint venture before being publicized to take ships with depth of 35 feet and its water area to be 1200 m2 by the end of 1956 and when the canal was publicized by the Egyptian government on the 26th of July 1956. The Egyptian administration was keen to develop the Navigation canal even more on different stages. In May 1962, the water area of the canal was to reach 1800 m 2 and the allowed depth to 38 feet. In June 1966, a development was to be executed on 2 stages as it was announced the depth would reach 48 and 58 feet consecutively. This program was started, but was soon halted due to the war that erupted on the 5th of June, 1967.

It was reopened for international; navigation in June 1975 after purifying it from the ships that sank in its bottom during in the 1967 and 1973 wars,The canal still with the same water area and depth as before it was closed. The development projects then started by the Egyptian administration and received to ships of a 210,000 tons load, specially after increasing the water area to 4800 m 2 and a ship draft of 62 feet , with a length of 191.80 km, in addition to the redesign of the canal's turns so that each one has a radius of at least 5000 m and also dredging a new bypass starting from the 17th km south of port said heading directly to the Mediterranean east of port Fouad to allow the loaded ships going north to go to the sea without passing through port said port. The ship draft reached 66 feet by 2010, this stage taking all container vessels; about 17,000 container vessels; as well as taking all bulk vessels world wide.

The Canal will be able to take in about 99 % of all methods used in world maritime transport after reaching a depth of 72 feet (Target stage,Under Study), as well as taking about 99% of the dead weight tons for the bulk vessels 82% of the petroleum tanks and a 100% of all the remaining types of ships used in maritime transport; specially container vessels with all its future generations; in addition to empty vessels reaching up to 560 thousand tons. Navigational Channel Suez Canal - RitchieWiki Suez Canal Canal de Suez (Español) Boats and barges at work in the Suez Canal The Suez Canal is the longest artificially constructed waterway in the world without locks; it links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the Gulf of Suez. The approximate length of the canal is 100 miles (163 km) and at its narrowest, the canal measures 197 feet (300 m) across in width.

[1] The canal is not one continuous stretch of water from sea to sea but consists of two different parts that flow into Bitter Lake as well as the waters of Lake Manzilah and Lake Timsah. At a cost of $100 million dollars, the canal took 10 years to build. [2] It has also been referred to as the “crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia” [3] because it is an important trade route that transports goods to all three continents. The canal enables ships to bypass circumnavigation around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, cutting out an additional 6,000 miles (9,656 km). [4] According to statistics, the canal averages eight percent of the world’s shipping traffic. In 2003, Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) reported 17,224 ships passed through the canal. A trip through the canal can range anywhere from 11 to 16 hours at a speed of about eight knots. [5] Traveling at a slow speed prevents the canal banks from eroding from ship’s wakes.

It is only wide enough however to facilitate the passage of one-way traffic but several bays have been constructed that accommodate the passing of northbound and southbound ships. Contents [ edit ] Construction History In 1300 B.C., the Egyptians built a very rudimentary navigational canal that linked the Red Sea to the Nile River and thereby, indirectly linking with the Mediterranean Sea. Aside from Egyptian pharaohs building smaller canals, Persian kings and Roman emperors also attempted to build smaller canals that would strive to join the Nile to Bitter Lake and then from the lake, to the Gulf of Suez. These smaller canals were used for about 2,000 years before falling into disrepair in the 8th century A.D. In the 1500s, Europeans revived the concept of an Egyptian canal that would eliminate the trip around Africa, but plans to construct a canal were never executed until surveys were conducted in the early part of the 19th century. [6] [ edit ] Napoleon Bonaparte It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s engineers who resurrected the concept of establishing a shorter maritime trade route to India via the Suez Canal.

For his part, Bonaparte wanted to build the canal to devastate British trading. [7] A group of surveyors estimated that the Red Sea was 98 feet (30 m) higher than the Mediterranean Sea. Constructing a canal would likely lead to flooding of the Nile Delta and cause considerable damage to the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, plans to build a canal were suspended. [8] [ edit ] The French Intellects In 1883 a group of French intellects called the Saint-Simoniens became very interested in the Suez Canal project despite the estimated difference in sea level between the two seas. The group ran into health and political troubles and returned back to France. A few managed to stay behind. One such engineer was Ferdinand de Lesseps, a vice consul in Alexandria at the time. The Saint-Simoniens created an association to study the possibility of a Suez Canal. By 1847 a technical report confirmed that there was no real difference in the sea level between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

[9] [ edit ] Ferdinand de Lesseps In 1854 Ferdinand de Lesseps received approval from Said Pasha, the Ottoman governor, and secured an agreement that permitted him to move ahead with a plan to build a canal cut across the Isthmus of Suez. With the assistance of an international team of engineers, a construction plan was drafted and a private company set up called the Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal or Compaigne Universelee du Canal Maritime du Suez as it was known in French to oversee construction in 1858. [10] The company signed a concession to operate the canal for 99 years after which it would be passed over to the Egyptian government to control. The company ran into financial problems at the onset. To keep it operating, Said Pasha purchased 44 percent of the company’s stock. Excavation and construction finally commenced on April 25th 1859. [11] When completed the canal would have 60 miles (97 km) of passage through specially prepared lakes and another 40 miles (64 km) cut out of the land.

[12] [ edit ] Canal Contracts Construction of the canal was broken down initially into four separate contracts. The first contract involved supplying 326,988 cubic yards (250,000 m3) of concrete blocks to build jetties at Port Said that would mark the entryway of the canal. The second contract focused on the removal of 29 million cubic yards (22 million m3) of sand and mud from the first 37 miles (60 km) of the channel from Port Said. The third entailed cutting through the high ground at El Gisr. The fourth and the largest contract involved excavating the portion of the canal between Lake Tisma and the Red Sea. Paul Borel and Alexandre Levalley, two contractors, managed both the second and last stage of the canal’s construction starting in 1865. [13] One of the ports along the Suez Canal [ edit ] Forced Labor vs.

Mechanization of Labor The building of the canal started with a heavy reliance on "forced human labor" in the tradition of what John Pudney in his book, Suez De Lessep’s Canal calls “pyramid building” but “ended as a highly mechanized job in keeping with the progressive techniques of the century.” [14] Forced labor was viewed as a more limited or temporary form of enslavement. Though workers were forced to work under less than ideal conditions, they were fed and compensated for their work. The British, who positioned themselves as "liberal thinkers" alleged the use of forced labor in the construction of the canal was nothing short of slavery itself. [15] However, British contention on the subject had more to do with politics than human rights as they opposed France's control of the waterway. The majority of canal laborers were Egyptians forced to work in grueling conditions likened to building the Great Wall of China. [16] Of the 1.5 million Egyptians who worked on the canal, it is estimated 125,000 died from cholera. [17] After 1863, Egypt began a gradual withdrawal of forced labor due to external political pressure from Britain.

Lesseps objected the decision and for loss of labor was awarded an indemnity for the amount of 840,000,000 francs paid by the Egyptian government to the company over a period of 15 years. [18] This move paved the way for the mechanization of work that ultimately would prove to be more “economical and efficient” in the end. [19] [ edit ] Excavation of the Canal The first excavation of dirt from the canal was done by hand with picks called a “fass” [20] and shovels yielded from forced labor. [21] In total, workers moved more than 2.6 billion cubic feet (73.6 million m3) of earth. Of that total, 600 million (17 million m3) were removed on land and another two billion (56.6 million m3) dredged up from under the water. [22] For instance, to widen the canal in hard terrain, most excess material would have had to be removed by hand and then loaded into crates and transported by camels to a dumping site. [23] Sometimes, man worked in combination with machine.

In some parts of the canal such as Lake Menzala, native laborers would make a shallow channel by scooping out the soil by hand and throwing it on the sides of the canal to form banks. After the banks were built, dredgers were floated in and finished off the excavation to the necessary depth. The soil would be spewed through a long spout onto the bank’s side. [24] Sometimes, machinery would be modified or altered to adjust to geological complications. In the third phase, the cutting through the high ground of El Gisr, Alphonse Courvreus, a French contractor, employed an excavator of his own design. Since the soil of the region was composed of loose sand that rose 60 feet (18.3 m) above the sea, his machine operated much like a bucket dredger for dry materials. The contraption incorporated a long arm projecting downwards at an angle from an engine located on the bank. The long arm carried a number of buckets mounted upon a continuous chain that scooped up material at the bottom and disposed of it at the top, into wagons. [25] Elevator dredgers were largely used for most of the canal’s construction.

The dredgers had an iron bucket or scoop fastened to an endless chain revolving over two drums and driven by a steam engine . One drum was fixed to a long moveable arm and regulated by the depth in which mud was scooped up. The second, rested on an iron framework mounted on top of the hull of the dredging vessel. The boxes on the dredger had a capacity of four cubic yards (3.1 m3). Dredgers varied in size and power with the smallest being 15 horsepower and the largest 75 horsepower. [26] Excavated mud was sometimes dumped on the sides of lakes or on the banks of the canal or removed and transported to deeper water by mud barges. More sophisticated dredgers called by the French long couloir had reaches of up to 75 yards (69 m) with a slightly inclined channel and were used in connection with dredging vessels. The machine encompassed a long duct of a curved form five feet (1.5 m) wide and two feet (0.61 m) deep that was supported by an iron framework fixed to a barge deck.

A steam pump allowed for the continual flow of water through the channel by which dredged matter, when dropped into its upper end, was carried off and cast onto the canal’s bank. Sometimes this process was assisted with the use of a balayeur . This contraption was an endless chain passing along the center of the channel and bearing a number of iron scrapers to remove mud. The long couloir, with its ample reach, gave the dredger the capability to work from the very middle of the canal as if floating and dispose of material horizontally and at a moderate elevation well beyond the line of the shore. [27] Workers kept the waste flowing using a sort of a rake. [28] The company eventually employed a fleet of 60 dredgers simultaneously. With this number of dredgers in full operation, up to two million cubic yards (1.5 million m3) was the maximum amount of material excavated in a given month. [29] Final completion of the canal fell on November 17, 1869 when it was officially inaugurated. [30] The opening of the canal was marked by a huge celebration that brought heads of state to Port Said for the festivities of fireworks and a ball.

Over 6,000 people attended. [31] In the first year, only 500 ships navigated there way through the canal. It was not very long before the canal became one of world’s most traveled shipping lanes. [32] [ edit ] Canal Ownership As a significant trading route between Europe, Africa, and Asia, ownership of the Suez Canal soon became a hot political issue after completion. Britain, who had originally opposed France’s involvement in the construction of the canal, soon realized its apparent strategic and economic benefit. Controversy quickly ensued over the canal’s ownership. Though Ferdinand de Lesseps had been granted a concession of control for 99 years post construction, the ruling and possession of the canal did not go as planned. For one, Egypt, who had purchased shares in Ferdinand de Lesseps’ company, ran into financial problems resulting in selling off a large part of the company’s stock to the British for about $400,000 pounds sterling in 1875. [33] This gave both France and Britain control of the canal and both countries benefited largely from its use.

[ edit ] British Occupation and Nationalization In 1882 the British had invaded Egypt, beginning what was to become a long occupation of the country. The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty signed in 1936 gave Egypt independence from the British but permitted the British to retain rights to protect the canal by stationing a military presence in the canal zone. However, Egypt, having been instrumental in the construction of the canal, was not ready to give up total control of it. They sought to nationalize the canal and under the terms of a Convention of Constantinople, the canal was officially opened up with out discrimination, to all vessels of all nations in 1888. By 1951 Egypt wanted Britain to start withdrawing its troops from the canal-zone. Both countries signed an agreement in 1954 that outlined Britain’s removal of all troops within seven years. All British troops were evacuated by 1956. [34] [ edit ] The Suez Crisis In 1956 another crisis was brewing bringing the Suez Canal to the political forefront yet again.

Then Egyptian president, Gambel Abdel Nasser, announced the nationalization of the canal based on the refusal of the British, French, and American to loan monies for the building of the Aswan Dam Project. Nasser felt that assuming control of the canal would finance the building of the dam . His reasoning was that the country had a legitimate stake in the canal’s ownership and use since many Egyptians had lost their lives in the canal’s construction. The British and French quickly retaliated and attacked Egypt within two months of the announcement, claiming that the canal should remain open to vessels of all nations. On the orders of Nasser, Egypt sank 40 vessels that were positioned in the canal at the time. Egypt also sought to close off the canal to all Israeli shipping. This led to Israel assuming a ground assault on Egypt while the English and French partnered together for an invasive air attack and also in providing ground support to Israel. [35] The United Nations, seeking to avoid an all-out catastrophe in the region and halt the inevitable spread of war, dispatched the very first peacekeeping mission to the region and removed the 40 sunken ships from the canal. The British and French, finally succumbing to U.N.

pressure, withdrew troops from the area in December 1956, followed by Israeli troops in March of 1957. Egypt resumed control of the canal and reopened it again to commercial shipping. [36] [ edit ] The Six-day War In 1967 the canal was once again closed off when Israel and Egypt went to war. Egypt forced U.N. peacekeeping out of the region and then proceeded to station its army along the Israeli border in an attempt to close off the canal to Israeli shipping. In response to these actions, Israel launched a pre-emptive all-out attack against Egypt in the middle of 1967, capturing the Sinai Peninsula. As a result, the canal became the buffer zone between forces and was closed to protect it from invasion and possible destruction. [37] Though the war only lasted for a total of six days, Egypt blockaded the canal off to any traffic for eight years following the war until 1975 when it finally reopened again to international traffic. In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement that gave Israel, once again, unrestricted use of the canal.

[38] [ edit ] Suez Canal Today Today, 50 ships a day navigate through the waters of the Suez Canal carrying about 300 million tons of goods. [39] Taxes paid by vessels traveling through the canal also provide a viable source of revenue for the Egyptian government. [ edit ] Refurbishment/Recent Projects/Renovations When first constructed, the canal was only 26 feet (8 m) deep and had a minimum bottom depth of 72 feet (22 m) wide with a surface level ranging 200 to 330 feet (61 to 101 m). [40] The first improvements made to the canal started in 1876 when it became apparent that the canal’s dimensions needed to be enlarged. A more comprehensive plan was instituted in 1885 that expanded parts of the canal’s depth and width. [41] Upgrades greatly enhanced the ability of ships traveling in opposing directions to pass each other. Since that time, numerous modifications and upgrades have been continually made.

Today, plans to widen the canal by another 10 feet (3 m) by 2010 will allow the passage of supertankers through the canal. [42] As it stands now, supertankers have to offload part of their cargo onto a canal-owned boat and then reload at the other end of the canal. [43] [ edit ] Unique Facts Three times the amount originally spent in the actual construction of the Suez Canal has since been spent on upgrades and repairs. [44] De Lesseps , taking what he had learned in overseeing construction of the Suez Canal, would later attempt construction of the Panama Canal but without success. Suez Canal (Egypt) - Credo Reference Topic Page: Suez Canal (Egypt) Definition: Suez Canal from Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History Opened 1869, 192 km long, originally 8 m deep and later enlarged, it created a passage between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Smaller canals were dug by the ancient Egyptians. The canal had an immediate and dramatic effect on world trade, promoting further British colonization in Africa.

There is a net movement of water from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through the canal which has caused colonization of the latter by plants and animals from the former with serious impacts on the ecology of the E Mediterranean. Summary Article: Suez Canal from Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa Image from: The Empress Eugenie travelling to the Inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869, from a souvenir album, 1869 in The Bridgeman Art Library Archive In this period, the Suez Canal was regarded as the navigational and trade route that connects two continents, Asia and Europe. It is an artificial (human-made) waterway system that cuts through the territories of Egypt and serves as the link between two seas—the Mediterranean Sea, from Port Said beside the Al Qabuti territory of Egypt adjacent to Port Fouad in Sinai (another Egyptian territory that was occupied by Israel from 1956 to 1982), and the Red Sea, from its city of Suez on the Gulf of Suez—as the starting point for delivering big shipments from international steam and commercial ships and mid-sized shipments from local ships.

Construction began in April 1859, and the Suez Canal opened in November 1869; it took 10 years to complete it. According to the statistics provided by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the canal was 164 kilometers (102 miles) long and 8 meters (26 feet) deep in 1869. After multiple projects to enlarge it, the canal is 193.30 kilometers (120.11 miles) long, 24 meters (79 feet) deep, and 205 meters (673 feet) wide as of 2010. It now consists of the northern access channel of 22 kilometers (14 miles), the canal itself of 162.25 kilometers (100.82 miles), and the southern access channel of 9 kilometers (5.6 miles). Development Team The Suez Canal project was initiated and engineered by French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps. He was able to get the concession with the help of his friend M. S. W.

Ruyssenaers, the consul-general of Holland in Egypt, who persuaded Sa'id Pasha, the Wali (an Arabic term for “governor”) of Egypt and Sudan, who enjoyed virtual independence from the sultan (an Arabic term for “emperor”) of the Ottoman Empire, to sign it. The agreed and signed concession paved the way for the establishment of a financial company called Universal Suez Ship Canal Company, or simply the Suez Canal Company. After a decade of difficulty building the canal with the use of forced labor of domestic workers, mostly Egyptians and Sudanese, and opposition from the British Empire, the canal was completed and was successfully inaugurated in 1869, providing a positive economic boost and monetary incentives for the half publicly (Sa'id government) and half privately (de Lesseps investment) owned Suez Canal Company. This groundbreaking project also made possible a shortcut for travel and a practicable and easier trade route from Asia to Europe without using the British-monopolized “Cape route,” a route from India south to the tip of South Africa and then north toward Europe.

At the inauguration of the Suez Canal in November 1869, the Austrian Empress Eugenie appears at Port Said, Egypt, on a camel (left). Religious ceremonies precede the inauguration (right). The project had dramatic effects on both the ecosystem and economy of the region. The Building of the Suez Canal There were signs of attempts to create a human-made canal from the time of ancient Egypt (through the Isthmus of Suez), Arab invasions, and the Persian Empire to the Napoleonic Era (Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition to locate the remnants of an ancient waterway passage that connected the Gulf of Suez to the Nile River) but they failed, and some projects did not materialize. However, de Lesseps had the will power and aggressiveness to persist in creating the canal—a triumph that gave him fame and glory. De Lesseps did not hesitate to ignore his detractors and criticism from the British Empire or the insurmountable political challenges in British-French-Egyptian affairs. With the generous concessions given by Sa'id, de Lesseps gained full authority to build the canal and, based on D. A.

Farnie's research, this concession excluded Egyptian ships from any special privileges and exacted no payment from de Lesseps in return for the grant of the right to benefit Europe at the expense of Egypt. This also led Sa'id to believe that with the completion of the Suez Canal he would gain full independence from the sultan of the Ottoman Empire; thus, he initially funded the project along with the Suez Canal Company as the immediate and primary financier. Corruption and misgovernment in Egypt resulted in the 1875 financial crisis, forcing Isma'il Pasha, the Wali and Khedive (equivalent to “viceroy” of the Ottoman Empire), to sell his share to Great Britain, making the Suez Canal Company an Anglo-French property. In 1882, Britain invaded Egypt and subsequently controlled the entire company and the Suez trading route until 1956, diminishing the Cape route. The Impact of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal had tremendous impacts on the geological environment, the result of altering the geography of the Suez, and on human and marine lives inhabiting its surroundings. First, it shortened the distance and time for trade between Asia and Europe.

It helped the cotton trade of Bombay in 1870, served as the entrepot trade of the Mediterranean in 1870-74, enabled the shipping of frozen meat from Australia to Europe in 1877-96, developed the export trade of India during 1882-96, and accommodated the Persian oil trade during the booming years of the oil industry. In short, it opened new trades and helped the economies of Asian and European countries. However, it entirely benefited France and the British Empire in extracting trading port taxes and strategically maneuvered the geopolitics of the region. Second, it destroyed the Mediterranean ecological system, aided by invading species from the Red Sea that endangered many local and endemic Mediterranean species. This is called Erythrean invasion or Lessepsian migration (named after Ferdinand de Lesseps), used to describe any animal migration over human-made structures. Despite its challenges—political, social, and ecological—the opening of the Suez Canal is one of the most far-reaching historical achievements of humans in 19th century. See Also: MLA Adiong, N. M., & Adiong. (2012). Suez Canal. In A. L.

Stanton, E. Ramsamy, P. J. Seybolt, & et. al. (Eds.), Cultural sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from Adiong, Nassef M., and Adiong. "Suez Canal." In Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, edited by Andrea L. Stanton, Edward Ramsamy, Peter J. Seybolt, and et. al.. Sage Publications, 2012. Adiong, N.M. and Adiong. (2012). Suez Canal. In A.L. Stanton, E. Ramsamy, P.J. Seybolt & et. al. (Eds.), Cultural sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. [Online]. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Available from: [Accessed 19 January 2017]. Adiong, Nassef M., and Adiong. "Suez Canal." Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, edited by Andrea L. Stanton, et al., Sage Publications, 2012.

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Question: What canal opened in 1869 after 10 years of excavation using forced labor?
Answer: Suez Canal