Sparks Commentary: A review of “Modern Marvels: The Suez Canal” (History Channel)

Long before the Panama Canal was built, the Suez Canal was opened in 1869. This is the same year that America’s Transcontinental Railroad had been completed. But the Suez Canal was even more important for world history. It allowed ships to pass from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, without having to go around Africa. For a trip from Britain to India, a ship could thus save 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) by going on this route. This may make the Suez Canal the most important canal in the world – arguably even more important than the Panama Canal, which is saying something.

Opening of the Suez Canal, 1869

Ancient Egypt tries to build the canal

But schemes to build a Suez Canal have roots deep in Ancient Egypt. This period is known for its ancient pyramids and pharaohs. During the time of the pharaohs, there were already attempts to build a canal in this area. It was designed for local Egyptian trade, rather than world trade. They succeeded in getting a part of this canal built, but never succeeded in opening a trade route between the seas. Nonetheless, this early attempt to build a canal was significant. It showed that the geography made this appealing, and it did facilitate trade within this particular part of Egypt. But even this rather incomplete canal was later filled in by natural processes, as the winds blew desert sands into the trench that they had built. Thus, the earliest Suez Canal did not last for long, even on the limited scale that it had been built. This documentary notes this, and tells the story in much more detail than I have done here.

Canal of the Pharaohs, that followed Wadi Tumilat

Other attempts, too, including one by Napoleon Bonaparte

Others also attempted to build a canal prior to the nineteenth century. I will not attempt to cover all of them here, but suffice it to say that they included Necho, Darius, and Ptolemy. The Ottoman Empire later considered a scheme to do this, and so did Napoleon Bonaparte. But Napoleon’s engineers erroneously believed that the Red Sea was 28 feet (or 8.5 meters) higher than the Mediterranean Sea. This caused Napoleon to believe that a technology called “locks” was needed. What are “locks,” you might be wondering? In short, locks would have allowed ships to go from a lower sea level to a higher sea level. These locks really were needed when the Panama Canal was later built, but they were not needed for the Suez Canal. The difference in sea levels was actually negligible there. When the Frenchmen later discovered this, it made the project feasible. Thus, the time had actually come to build the canal.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who designed the canal

Sa'id Pasha, the Egyptian ruler who authorized the project

The successful effort to build a canal by the French

The mastermind of the project was a former French diplomat named Ferdinand de Lesseps. As a diplomat, he had served in Egypt, and formed a friendship with Sa'id Pasha – the man who was now Egypt’s ruler. Lesseps got Sa'id’s permission to go ahead with the project, and brought in the new “Suez Canal Company.” The Egyptians would provide corvée labor, which meant that the locals would be conscripted into the construction work. This is analogous to how they might have been conscripted for military service. Nonetheless, it amounts to a kind of slave labor, which taints the construction of the canal somewhat. The British opposed its construction, mainly because it would be controlled by France. The British controlled the Cape route around the southern tip of Africa, and the Overland route that went through Egypt by land. The advantages of such control would be compromised by the construction of the Suez Canal by the French. But Britain did not succeed in blocking its construction. The French went ahead with it, and so the canal was built. The documentary certainly covers this, but they don’t go into much depth with the construction of the canal. Much of their focus is on what happened after the canal was built, when nations competed with one another to control this hot new piece of real estate.

Suez Canal, 1869

Britain takes over the canal after it’s built

Specifically, the British made a bid to control the canal. The Egyptian government was in financial trouble. The only thing that would get them out of it was selling their share of the canal’s profits. The British Parliament thus made a well-timed offer to buy this share in 1875. In desperation, the Egyptians thus accepted the offer. Soon, it was worth six times what the British had paid for it. They now controlled 44% of the profits from the canal. Nonetheless, they still wanted all of it. Thus, in 1882, Britain actually invaded Egypt. Afterwards, they would control all of the profits, and not just a portion of them as before. They could now reach their colonies in India without having to go around Africa. Again, they could save 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) by using this route, and started to do so immediately. But the Egyptians badly wanted to control the canal for themselves, and would eventually try to retake it from the British.

1881 drawing of the Suez Canal

Battles over the completed canal during the Cold War

I will not go into all of the wrangling over this, but suffice it to say that it led to the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Egyptians tried to seize control of the canal at this time. Britain, France, and Israel responded by sending troops there. But it ended in disaster for them, when pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union forced them to pull the plug. Thus, it was now under Egyptian control, and would never again belong to anyone else. This marked a decline in Britain’s prestige throughout the world. The Suez Canal was later the scene of another confrontation during the Six-Day War of 1967. During that time, Egypt and Israel went to war, and continued to fight during another conflict called the “War of Attrition.” Among other things, this involved some fighting at the Suez Canal.

Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial Anglo-French assault on Port Said, 5 November 1956

This is a great documentary …

The documentary covers all of this, which was a surprise to me when I first watched this. I would have expected more coverage of how the canal was built. But this other history is also quite interesting, even if some of it has been better covered elsewhere. I greatly admire the History Channel for dramatizing this story for television. In one hour, they give a brief overview of the attempts to build a canal, and the struggle over controlling it after it had been built. This is an Egyptian story, but it is also an international story, involving many players from many nations. I admire how the History Channel was able to bring this all together, and even interview some of the descendants of the major players. These include Egyptians, Frenchmen, and Englishmen. They try to include several different perspectives, and dramatize the various controversies.

Israeli tank crossing the Suez Canal, 1973

… even if it’s too short

My main criticism of this documentary is that it’s too short. At one hour, it doesn’t have the time to go into much depth about any of these things. But I am unaware of any longer documentaries about the Suez Canal, so viewers may have to take what they can get in this matter. If a better documentary about this is later made, I would be happy to watch it. (If you know of one, feel free to leave a comment below, telling us something about it.) But in the meantime, this may be the best documentary that has ever been made about the Suez Canal. If you’re interested in the subject, this is a good television overview.