Document #1 – The Construction of the Suez Canal
Document #2
The Suez Canal: ABC-CLIO
Previous efforts at canal building in the region, both for purposes of irrigation as well as transportation,
led to connecting the Red Sea with the Nile Delta via the Great Bitter Lake, a route that was simpler to
implement but more onerous for navigation. Those waterways were undertaken under the pharaohs,
reconstructed under the Roman emperor Trajan, and reconstructed again under the Arab ruler Amr ibn
al-Aas in the seventh century, but all were eventually abandoned.
The notion of a canal across the isthmus was broached by the Venetians in the 15th century and later by
the French, but the project failed to move beyond the talk stage. One obstacle was an analysis by French
engineers during the reign of Napoleon I, which concluded, incorrectly, that the levels of the two seas
differed by about 30 feet, which meant locks would be needed. Eventually it was realized that the two
seas had about the same level.
The canal project finally got underway thanks to the determination of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who
pressed forward undeterred through a welter of political, financial, and technical roadblocks. Rather than
digging the open-cut canal straight across the isthmus, which is only about 75 miles wide, the builders
adopted a more roundabout route that made use of several existing lakes. Construction began in 1859.
The project was begun with hundreds of thousands of manual workers under forced labor—overall,
more than 1.5 million people worked on the job—and it was completed with the help of dozens of
specially designed, then state-of-the-art (steam-powered) dredgers, excavators, and other machines.
The Suez Canal has been a boon to shipping for nearly one and a half centuries. The shortcut provided
by this engineered waterway, which connected markets in Europe with those in India, was an obvious
selling point. Even though the canal cannot yet accommodate the largest supertankers of the early 21st
century, it remains a crucial transportation link. In May 2002, for example, it accommodated 1,135
vessels with a total tonnage of 37.6 million.
Document #3 – The Suez Canal v. The Cape of Good Hope
Document #4
Building of the Suez Canal
December 8, 1869
In 1858, the construction of the Suez Canal began. This canal was supposed to connect the
Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. This would allow ships to get back to Europe much quicker
than going all the way around Africa. The idea was first formed in the late 1700’s when
Napoleon Bonaparte suggested that they build the French controlled canal. This would force the
British to either pay the French to get through, or go around the whole of Africa. However, this
idea was soon destroyed when they thought that the water levels in the Mediterranean and the
Red Sea were too different. However, construction began again in 1858 when the French
engineer and diplomat, Ferdinand de Lesseps, persuaded the Egyptian viceroy, Said Pasha, to let
him build it. And so, he set out kidnapping the male Egyptians from villages and forcing them to
dig out this canal, with no pay. Lesseps forced hundreds of thousands of Egyptians over a ten
year period of the construction of the Suez Canal. Nearly 1.5 million Egyptians were forced into
slavery to build the canal, and approximately 120,000 slaves died in the project.
Document #5
The Suez Canal Company: ABC-C LIO
The Suez Canal Company was established in 1854 by the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps to
dig a canal that would link the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. The project was
completed in 1869, and the Suez Canal was operational. A small part of the company's shares
was held by the ruler of Egypt, the khedive, and the rest by the French.
The British government opposed the very idea of the canal until its inauguration. It then changed
its mind and under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, sought to gain influence over the canal and
the company. The opportunity came in 1875, when the khedive ran into financial problems.
Disraeli seized the opportunity and bought the khedive's shares in the Suez Canal Company.
Disraeli seized upon another moment of crisis in 1882 to send his troops to occupy the canal and
thus secured British control over it.
The management of the Suez Canal Company was in the hands of British and French directors,
however. By 1888, the Constantinople Convention decided that the canal would be open to all
nationalities at all times, during war and peace. This decision was ignored during World War I,
when British military forces were deployed along the canal to prevent the passage of ships
bearing flags of countries at war with Britain. The same tactic was used during World War II,
while the British used Egyptian territory for their largest military base outside the British isles.
By 1954, the Egyptian struggle to terminate the British military presence on Egyptian soil was
successful.
Document #6
Suez Canal Opens
On November 17, 1869 the Suez Canal opened to traffic. The canal linked the Mediterranean and
the Red Sea. It was 103 miles long and it brought Oriental ports 5,000 miles closer to Europe.
Work had begun on the canal in 1859. It was financed primarily by French investors. The canal
increased the strategic importance of Egypt to European powers.
Document #7
Adio and his Son
Adio was a father, a farmer, a husband, a trader, and an Egyptian resident, who lived relatively close to the Suez
Canal. Every day he would cultivate his small farm to provide an income so his family could eat. Some days he
would take his crops into town and sell them. His wife helped him with the farm and would take care of his
three children, a ten year old daughter, a baby boy, and a teenage son. He made just enough money to send his
teenage boy to school and feed the family. However, this all changed when the construction of the Suez Canal
started. One of Lesseps troops kidnapped Adio and his son one evening. Adio says he was planting seeds for
crops and his son was inside doing his schoolwork. The soldiers grabbed his son and he heard screams coming
from the house. Adio ran into the house and tried to take his son back, but the soldiers grabbed him too. They
were forced to walk at gunpoint to the construction site, and they lived there for many years.
Adio, his son, and thousands of other residents-became-slaves, work from dawn til dusk everyday, in digging
out the trench. They lived in compact spaces on the side of the canal, where disease spread quickly and easily.
They were fed little, and barely got enough to drink. Everyday, they would get up early, start shoveling the dirt
into wagons and putting it off to the side. At lunch time, they would get fed a bit of dry bread. Then, they would
continue shoveling until night. They would go to sleep late and do it all over again in the morning. Adio’s son
started having symptoms 4 months ago. At first it was just coughing fits, then it turned into puking, and it got
progressively worse over time. His son got weaker and weaker every day, and one night, Adio’s son passed
away. Adio didn’t realize until the morning, when his son didn’t get up. When Adio and all the other workers
were released, Adio went back to his village. However, when he got there, he couldn’t find his wife or daughter
anywhere. Adio is now a merchant and a trader. Although this canal is making France alot of money, the means
of how they got this money was completely wrong. They should have paid the workers, and at least had a draft
of Egyptian citizens. They shouldn’t have kidnapped the workers out of their lives, and they shouldn’t have
enforced this slave labor. Instead, they should’ve had a draft of some kind and make it so that you had to work
for a year or so, and you would’ve gotten paid. They also should’ve given the workers healthy living
environments, in order to avoid deaths.To conclude, here is what you should do about this disaster. You should
avoid buying from companies that transport their goods through the Suez Canal. You should spread awareness
about how the French persuaded the Egyptians to force thousands of workers to dig this canal. You should tell
your friends how they caused 120,000 people to die. You should also send letters to the governments of France
and Egypt and tell them to apologize and pay reparations to the people of Egypt.
The Suez Canal
Document #1
1. Describe what is happening in the image (other than that a canal is being built). Pay
attention to some of the small details of the image and specify what you see.
2. The construction of a canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea had been
attempted many times over the last few thousand years. How might this image be
different from an image hundreds of years earlier?
Document #2
3. Despite the many attempts by emperors, pharaohs, and various rulers over the last few
thousand years, why was the construction of the Suez Canal finally possible in the mid
1800’s? Be specific.
Document #3
4.
By boat, how many miles is it from London, England to Mumbai, India?
a. Via the Suez Canal:
b. Via the Cape of Good Hope:
5. If a vessel in the mid-1800’s travelled approximately 150 miles per day, how many days
would it take to get to Mumbai, India?
a. Via the Suez Canal:
b. Via the Cape of Good Hope:
c. How many days would the trip through the Suez Canal save?
6. Critical Thinking Question: How might the Suez Canal benefit citizens in England?
Document #4
7. How did Ferdinand de Lesseps and Said Pasha find the workers to dig out 100 miles of
earth in only 10 years?
8. What % of the slaves ended up losing their lives to the construction of the Suez Canal?
a. # Slaves who died:
b. # Total Slaves:
c. A / B = ________________ %
Document #5
9. Shares are portions of a company that are owned by individuals who invested in the
company. At the completion of the Suez Canal in ____________, who held the shares of
the Suez Canal?
a. ___________________ held the majority
b. ___________________ held the minority
10. What event or events paved the way for the British to gain shares, or financial control, of
the Suez Canal?
11. Why were they so concerned with controlling shares of the canal?
12. It was decided in the late 1800’s that the canal would be open to all nations, at all times
(for a fee of course). Describe the two examples where this was ignored between the
years of 1900-1950.
Document #6
13. How might the creation of the Suez Canal have created greater problems for Egypt?
Document #7
14. How did the construction of the Suez Canal change the lives of Adio and his son?
15. Explain what life was like for Adio and his son once the construction of the Suez Canal
began.
16. In what ways does the writer suggest people should “get back” at the owners of the Suez
Canal? List your responses.