Suez Canal in History

Wishes to weaken England by threatening India overland or by completing the Suez Canal

As stipulated in the concessions, de Lesseps convenes the International Commission for the piercing of the isthmus of Suez (Commission Internationale pour le percement de l'isthme des Suez) consisting of 13 experts from seven countries, among them John Robinson McClean, later President of the Institution

Ferdinand de Lesseps obtains a concession from Said Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, to create a company to construct a canal open to ships of all nations.

of Civil Engineers in London, and again Negrelli, to examine the plans developed by Linant de Bellefonds, and to advise on the feasibility of and the best route for the canal

The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) comes into being

The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) comes into being

Work starts on the shore of the future Port Said. The excavation takes some 10 years using forced labor (corvee) of Egyptian workers, 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

Relies increasingly on mechanical excavation as forced labour is curtailed during the later construction phase.

Celebrates the opening of the canal after a decade of construction across the Suez Isthmus.

The Suez Canal opens