Cold Open

It’s April 25th, 1859 on a rocky beach on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.

A sea breeze ruffles through the hair of Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps as he stands in front of the small, smartly dressed crowd that he’s invited here today. Unlike 53-year-old Ferdinand, most of the guests have never been to this barren stretch of coastline before. There’s been no reason for them to do so—there’s nothing here but a few simple huts. But Ferdinand has a grand vision for this undeveloped section of the Egyptian coast.

Five years ago, Ferdinand drew upon his years of experience as a diplomat and businessman to secure permission to construct a canal linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Excavating 120 miles across the narrow strip of Egypt known as the Suez Isthmus would be a colossal task. But Ferdinand was convinced it would be worth it, because, once finished, this canal would be a new route for ships traveling between Europe and Asia. No longer would captains have to sail around the southern tip of Africa. Instead, they could take the canal and shave thousands of miles from their journey. Ferdinand believes shipping companies will pay a premium for this shortcut. But before Ferdinand can collect any tolls, he first needs to build the canal.

So, he takes a pickax from the hand of an Egyptian worker and pauses, savoring the moment… before swinging it high above his head and striking the rocky ground.

The pickax doesn’t make much of a dent, but that doesn’t matter. Ferdinand won’t be the one doing the actual digging. Instead, he hands the pickax back to the worker…. and swaps it for a glass of champagne. He takes a satisfied sip, pleased to have finally begun one of the biggest engineering projects the world has ever seen.

Ferdinand de Lesseps’s idea of creating a waterway linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas will help shrink the globe. But this canal won’t just bring the nations of the world closer together—it will also bring them into conflict. The Suez Canal will become a battleground, and the struggle to control it will shape world history long after construction on the canal began on April 25th, 1859.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is April 25th, 1859: Construction Begins on the Suez Canal.

Act One

It’s the early hours of November 17th, 1869 at Port Said, Egypt; ten years after the work started on the Suez Canal.

On board the Royal Navy ship HMS Newport, Captain George Nares winces at the unexpected clatter of metal on wood. Turning his head, 38-year-old Captain Nares locks eyes with a sailor who’s just dropped a wrench onto the deck of the ship. Captain Nares hisses at the man to be quiet, then repeats the order to the rest of the crew. It’s a windless night, and Captain Nares doesn’t want any sound to echo through Port Said harbor and reveal their position—otherwise, the clever scheme he has planned for the Suez Canal’s opening will come to naught.

In the decade after Ferdinand de Lesseps swung a pickax to begin construction on the canal, the town of Port Said arose right where the ground-breaking ceremony took place. Port Said was to mark one end of the waterway, and the canal was to gradually extend to the other side of the Suez Isthmus. But constructing a 120-mile trench through the Egyptian desert was difficult. It took hundreds of thousands of laborers using pickaxes and shovels to dig the canal by hand. Thousands died in accidents, or from the cholera which ravaged the workers’ camps.

Ferdinand wasn’t concerned with the conditions facing his Egyptian laborers. But he was worried that he’d run out of cash before the canal was completed. Thanks to unexpected engineering difficulties, the cost of building the canal more than doubled, and Ferdinand struggled to find extra funding. Britain was especially opposed to building a shortcut to the East since it feared this new canal would threaten the supremacy of the Royal Navy on the high seas. So, Ferdinand was forced to rely on French bankers to keep his project going.

But now, the canal is finished, and Britain has no choice but to come to terms with the new waterway. The opening ceremony is due to begin later today, and Captain Nares has taken it upon himself to pull off a propaganda coup for the Royal Navy and send a signal that Britain still rules the waves.

As the first rays of dawn illuminate Port Said, they reveal why Captain Nares wanted to keep his ship's location a secret. HMS Newport has dropped anchor right at the entrance of the new canal, leapfrogging the line of waiting vessels. Given France’s central role in building and funding the waterway, the first ship to enter the canal was supposed to be a French imperial yacht with the French empress on board. But Captain Nares has muscled his Newport into pole position. And now the honor of going first through the canal will go to a British ship.

As soon as it’s light enough, the opening ceremony begins. And despite Captain Nares’ scheme, it doesn’t dim the celebrations. A diplomatic flotilla sails into the canal with crowds of cheering Egyptians lining the banks. But the festive atmosphere doesn’t last too long. That evening, just forty-one miles along the canal, a French ship runs aground and completely blocks the waterway, and the rest of the flotilla is forced to drop anchor, bringing everything to an anticlimactic halt.

The next morning, the grounded ship is pulled clear and Captain Nares puts his crew to work again—only this time, he is not trying to jump the line. The Newport is a survey ship, and the soundings taken by Captain Nares reveal that the canal is not as deep in places as it’s supposed to be. It’s a mistake that will have serious consequences for the canal’s profitability.

During its first two years of operation, the Suez Canal doesn’t take as much traffic as predicted. But pilots slowly learn how to avoid the shallower areas of the canal, and the number of ships using the waterway begins to increase. Merchants realize the economic benefits of cutting down their journey times. And the British especially begin to use the canal as a shortcut to their colonies in India and beyond, making the nation which most opposed the construction of the Suez Canal becoming its biggest supporter.

In 1875, the British government buys Egypt’s shares in the canal, making Britain an equal partner in the venture with France.

But Britain’s investment in the canal soon goes beyond money. In 1882, the British invade Egypt. Ostensibly, the British troops are there to prevent Egypt from slipping into civil war after a military coup. But in reality, the British are more concerned with safeguarding their economic interests and ensuring that the Suez Canal remains open.

The British military occupation of Egypt continues for forty years, but even when Egyptian self-government resumes in 1922, Britain will refuse to give up the Suez Canal. It will take another thirty years for Egypt to seize control—and when it does, Egypt will turn the Suez Canal into a weapon of war.

Act Two

It’s July 26th, 1956 in Alexandria, Egypt, 87 years after the Suez Canal opened to traffic.

Gamal Abdel Nasser leans close to a microphone. His speech tonight is being broadcast by radio to the nation, and he wants to ensure that his audience hears every single word because he’s reaching a crucial moment in his carefully prepared text. He’s about to utter a secret signal to begin a bold military operation.

Thirty-four years ago, the British government agreed to withdraw from Egypt and allow Egyptians to rule themselves as a constitutional monarchy—but only on the condition that Britain and France remained in control of the Suez Canal. Four years ago, though, that monarchy was overthrown in a military coup that brought President Nasser to power.

Since then, the relationship between Egypt and the Western world has been tense. One week ago, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower became so concerned about Egypt’s loyalties that he withdrew American funding for the vast Aswan Dam—a project that Nasser sees as crucial for the industrialization of Egypt. Now, Nasser plans to retaliate by seizing control of the Suez and using the profits from the canal to fund the Aswan Dam.

So, in his radio speech to the nation, Nasser criticizes foreign powers for their unfair treatment of Egypt. He compares the building of the Aswan Dam with the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps. President Nasser then repeats the name twice more in the next few seconds to make sure his listeners don’t miss it—because “Ferdinand de Lesseps ” is the codeword his listening soldiers have been waiting for.

And just at that moment, 150 miles away at Port Said, the Egyptian army immediately enters the offices of the Suez Canal Company. As the soldiers point their weapons at startled British and French officials, an Egyptian army officer announces that the Suez Canal is now a possession of the Egyptian government.

Nasser’s seizure of the Suez prompts an international crisis. Three months later, Israel invades Egypt, and British and French troops soon follow them across the border. Although Britain and France claim they’re acting as peacekeepers, they actually aim to take back control of the Canal. But the British and French misjudge the mood of the wider world. Many people see through the ploy and recognize their peacekeeping effort for what it really is.

As a result of international condemnation of their aggression, Egypt’s invaders agree to a ceasefire within nine days of the war breaking out. In the aftermath of what becomes known as the Suez Crisis, Britain and France are left humiliated - and President Nasser retains control of the canal. And one day, he will make sure it's a central part of his foreign policy for a second time.

***

It’s June 5th, 1967, at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, eleven years after the end of the Suez Crisis.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser is woken by an aide with the news that Israel has launched a massive attack. Israeli soldiers are streaming into a vast swathe of eastern Egypt known as the Sinai. As fighting nears the Suez Canal, Nasser responds by closing the waterway to all shipping. But there’s little he can do to stem the Israeli advance. This brief Six-Day War ends with a humiliating Egyptian defeat. Israel seizes control of the entire Sinai, and the Suez Canal becomes the border separating the two countries.

To keep Egypt’s frontier secure, Nasser orders that the Suez Canal remains closed. Its waters are mined and ships are scuttled to block the canal at its narrowest points.

And over the next few years, Nasser tries to use the Suez Canal as a bargaining chip in diplomatic negotiations. He knows that the rest of the world wants the canal to be reopened as it’s vital for global trade. And he hopes that Israel will be pressured into giving up its newly won territory. But the Israelis dig in and Nasser dies in office with the Suez Canal still closed.

Then in 1973, new Egyptian president Anwar Sadat launches a surprise attack of his own. Egyptian troops build bridges over the Suez and cross into the Sinai, pushing Israeli troops back and giving Egypt a foothold on the eastern bank of the canal.

Now with the Suez fully back in Egyptian hands, President Sadat orders that it can be reopened. It takes months for the waters to be cleared of mines and sunken ships, but finally, eight years after the canal was closed, it begins allowing maritime traffic once again in 1975. And despite the risk of conflict in the region breaking out again, international shipping will quickly resume through the Suez. For the next four decades, ships will flow freely back and forth along the Canal until a new closure cuts off the shortcut between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. This time, though, it won’t be a war that will close the canal. It’ll be the wind.

Act Three

It’s the morning of March 23rd, 2021 in the Suez Canal, 46 years after it reopened following the war with Israel.

An Egyptian maritime pilot squints as he looks through the bridge windows of the container ship Ever Given. It’s the pilot’s job to take over from the ship’s regular crew and navigate through the Suez Canal. But right now, a strong wind is whipping across the desert, filling the air with sand and blocking the pilot’s view.

The pilot asks the crew whether they can track their position by GPS—but before he can get an answer, the ship lurches with a metallic groan. The Ever Given soon settles again, but a crewman informs the pilot that they’ve lost power.

All they can do is wait out the sandstorm. And when it passes and they can see out of the windows again, the Egyptian pilot is horrified. The Ever Given has swung in the wind and it’s now facing across the canal. The pilot asks the crew to fire up the engines and get the vessel pointing the right way again, but it’s no use. The vast container ship is already grounded on the canal bed. It’s completely blocking the waterway - and can’t move.

After the Ever Given sends out a distress call, the Suez Canal is closed to traffic. For the next six days, the world watches as all efforts to refloat the container ship fail. In the end, it takes fourteen powerful tugboats to pull the Ever Given off the canal bed. By that time, more than 400 other ships carrying almost $10 billion worth of cargo are waiting outside the canal. And even though the canal is reopened within a week, the late delivery of food, fuel, and manufactured goods causes factories around the world to shut down, and prices to rise.

The blockage proves again how vital the canal has become in the modern world and why it has been fought over in the past. Around 30 percent of global container shipping and 300 million tons of cargo travel through this maritime corridor every year, a testament to the vision of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who first broke ground to begin the construction of the Suez Canal on April 25th, 1859.

Outro

Next on History Daily. April 26th, 1937. During the Spanish Civil War, the town of Guernica is bombed by Fascist forces, heralding a dark new era of warfare in which civilians are targeted in air raids.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves.

Edited by Joel Callen.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.