History of the Suez Canal

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The Suez Canal was built between 1859 and 1869 by the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez , founded and led by Ferdinand de Lesseps , and operated by them until nationalization in 1956. Since then it has been under the Suez Canal Authority .

From the idea to the start of construction

The story of the Egyptian canal construction extends to the in ancient Egypt built Canal of the Pharaohs back. The idea of ​​building canals was taken up again by Napoléon Bonaparte , discussed in many ways in the first half of the 19th century and implemented by Lesseps on the basis of plans in which Linant de Bellefonds and Alois Negrelli played a major role.

The Isthmus of Suez

Suez Canal with profile

The canal was, so to speak, mapped out by nature. The Suez Isthmus is a low-altitude depression that continues the Suez Gulf with a number of lakes. Viewed from the north, the isthmus consisted of the alluvial land of the Nile Delta with the former, marshy Menzalehsee, which in the south almost adjoined the Ballahsee, which was already in the flat desert. The threshold of El Gisr (also called El Guirs) consisting of sandy soil has the highest point of the isthmus with a height of around 16 m. This is followed by the Timsah Sea , formerly a salty swamp, the Serapeum elevation, the salt pans of the bitter lakes , which were formerly below sea level, and the route in front of the Gulf of Suez known as Chalouf.

Idea and measurement

The idea of ​​building canals did not disappear in the Middle Ages or in the early modern period. For example, in a diplomatic letter to the Ottomans in 1504, the Venetians suggested digging a canal on the Isthmus of Suez in order to be able to ship warships from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean (the background was against the Portuguese expansion into India).

Even Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz resorted to the sewer idea. In 1671 he wrote to Louis XIV in this regard.

Napoléon Bonaparte , who wanted to use Egypt as a bridgehead for the attack on British India, visited Suez in 1798 on the occasion of his Egyptian expedition , found remains of the pharaonic canal there and had a group of engineers under the direction of Jacques-Marie Le Père carry out measurements. The surveying work was carried out under the protection of French army units on three expeditions in 1799 with different participants and different instruments.

Le Père came to the conclusion that the level of the Red Sea is 9.908 m higher than that of the Mediterranean. A direct canal is also not possible because of the flooding of the Nile mud in the Bay of Pelusium. However, a canal regulated with locks could be built along the pharaonic canal from Suez over the Timsah Sea through the Wadi Tumilat and through the Nile Delta to Alexandria. Most sensibly, such a canal would be built by a private company that would receive state support, for example, by leasing land in Wadi Tumilat and in the Nile Delta. The construction costs are estimated at 30 million francs; the canal could be built by 10,000 men in 4 years.

The notion of the difference in elevation between the two seas became generally accepted over the next three decades. In addition, Napoléon had to withdraw from Egypt in 1801. The opinion that a canal could quickly flatten out again through the Nile mud was discussed again and again.

Nevertheless, the idea of ​​a connection between the two seas remained alive, be it through a canal with locks through the isthmus or through the Nile Delta or through a railway, even if the world was probably not yet ready for the canal.

The shipping was still operated exclusively with sailing ships, for which the narrow Red Sea with the seasonal almost only northern and southern winds and numerous coral reefs was not very attractive. Even after the advent of steamers, the British Post Office, for example, was of the firm opinion for a long time that letters could not be transported by steamers.

The conflict of interests between France and Great Britain continued. Great Britain feared a disruption of its Indian trade by a French presence in Egypt, but looked for its part for a shorter connection for this trade. It preferred a railway connection between Alexandria and Suez, in which it later invested, and for a long time dealt with a railway connection from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. Since the takeover of power by Muhammad Ali Pascha in 1805, Egypt was largely independent, but still part of the Ottoman Empire , which burdened the discussion about the construction of the canals with completely different interests.

In 1830, on behalf of the British government , FR Chesney had determined that there was no height difference between the two seas and proposed a canal through the isthmus. The proposal was even discussed in a commission of the House of Commons , but received no further consideration. The British Navy Lieutenant Thomas Waghorn had established a shorter connection with his Overland Route . The French engineer Linant de Bellefonds had undertaken studies on a possible canal on private trips and had joined the Egyptian state building authority in 1831, of which he became general director in 1862. The French Saint-Simonists had been studying the canal idea more intensively since 1820. In 1833 Prosper Enfantin tried unsuccessfully to interest the Egyptian Khedive ( viceroy ) Muhammad Ali Pascha in a canal; but the railway connection proposed by Thomas Gallway from Alexandria via Cairo to Suez was not approved either. The Austrian railway pioneer Alois Negrelli began working on plans for a canal through the isthmus in 1836.

Barometric measurements by English officers in 1841 again showed that the difference in level between the seas was insignificant. However, the British government opposed the canal project for purely political reasons and supported the rail link as a counterweight.

In 1843 the Austrian Chancellor Metternich tried in vain to interest Muhammad Ali Pascha in the canal project because he expected an intensification of trade via Austria from it.

In 1846 the Société d'Études du Canal de Suez was founded, a study society made up of French, British, Germans and Austrians, which included Prosper Enfantin, Paulin Talabot , Robert Stephenson and Alois Negrelli , among others . The re-measurement by Paul-Adrien Bourdaloue finally confirmed that there is practically no difference in level. As a result, Negrelli advocated a lockless canal, the French a canal with locks, while Stephenson, for economic reasons, called a railroad the only profitable connection.

In 1849 Muhammad Ali Pasha died. His successor Abbas I trusted the British rather than the French and between 1851 and 1853 had Robert Stephenson build the Alexandria - Cairo railway (which was continued to Suez in 1858). Nevertheless, at the request of the French consul general, he arranged for Linant to re-examine the heights . Abbas I died, however, the following year; on July 14, 1854, Muhammad Said took over the government.

Ferdinand de Lesseps

Ferdinand de Lesseps

Ferdinand Vicomte de Lesseps , born in 1805, came from a French diplomatic family. His father Mathieu de Lesseps was already working as a diplomat in Egypt at the time of Napoléon Bonaparte, where he helped Muhammad Ali Pasha to come to power. His son Muhammad Said made friends with the young Ferdinand. After studying law, Ferdinand de Lesseps also went into the diplomatic service, which, after stints in Lisbon and Tunis, took him to Alexandria as Vice-Consul in 1832 and as Consul to Cairo the following year. In Alexandria he was made aware of the reports of Napoléon's Egyptian expedition about a possible canal connection in the Description de l'Égypte . He also noted with interest the ideas of Chesney and Prosper Enfantin. From 1837 he was posted to various other countries until he left the diplomatic service in 1849 and retired into private life.

First concession on November 30, 1854

In 1854 Lesseps learned of Abbas I's death and congratulated his friend Muhammad Said on being appointed Viceroy of Egypt, who immediately invited him to Egypt. Some time later, Lesseps submitted his ideas about the construction of the canal to the viceroy on November 15, 1854.

At this point in time, there were still no precise ideas about where the canal should run, let alone exact plans or a cost calculation. Lesseps was also not an engineer who had a structural idea. Rather, Lesseps was fascinated by the vision of connecting two seas by a canal, which suddenly became possible because of his friendship with Said Pascha. For Lesseps, there was no question that such a large project would only be feasible with the participation of as many financially, politically and technically interested groups as possible, which was expressed in various parts of the concession and the later documents.

After Said Pascha initially consented orally, Ferdinand de Lesseps received the first concession ( Firman ) to build the canal on November 30, 1854 .

This first concession granted Lesseps the exclusive right to found the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez for the construction and operation of the Suez Canal and possibly a canal to the Nile for a period of 99 years from the opening of the canal. The term Universal Suez Canal Society , which has already been defined, should express that it should not be an Egyptian or French, but an international society. Profits of 15% were to be distributed to Egypt, 75% to the company's shareholders (Egypt reserved the right to subscribe for shares) and 10% to the founding shareholders (losses were not foreseen in the documents). The channel fees to be coordinated by the company with Egypt always had to be the same for all users. For a freshwater canal that might be necessary, the company would receive the non-cultivated state land free of charge and irrigate and cultivate it if it was not directly required for the canal construction. These areas were to be recorded in a plan that was to be drawn up by Linant- Bey , who was still referred to as the viceroy's commissioner at the company . Society should have the right to use quarries and sand pits free of charge and to import all necessary equipment and materials tax-free and duty-free. In the case of the founders of the company still to be selected, particular consideration should be given to people who have already worked for this major project. The concession dated May 19, 1855 was linked to the information that it required the approval of the Sultan and that the excavation of the canal could only begin after approval by the Hohe Pforte .

Next Steps

Muhammad Said Pasha

Immediately after the concession became known, Great Britain increased its pressure on the Ottoman Empire to prevent the project. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe told the Sultan in Constantinople that Egypt would separate from the Ottoman Empire and push itself as the French protectorate between the Asian and African parts of the empire. The Foreign Minister, Lord Clarendon, wrote to the French Ambassador that the construction of the canal was impossible, at least not at affordable cost; that the project will delay or even prevent the construction of the railway from Cairo to Suez and that the construction is viewed as hostile policy. The Crimean War that was taking place at this time made diplomatic relations difficult.

In Cairo Lesseps wrote a memorandum dated January 15, 1855 to Linant and Eugène Mougel , a French hydraulic engineer involved in the construction of the Delta Barrages , with a description of the investigations and explorations to be carried out.

At the end of February 1855, Lesseps visited the Sultan in Constantinople, but only got the answer that the project was being discussed in the Council of Ministers.

In the meantime, Linant and Mougel drew up a detailed memorandum, dated March 20, 1855, with which all old and new doubts should be dispelled. The memorandum outlined a canal that would open at Pelusium (east of what is now Port Said) and be provided with locks at both ends. The width at the water surface was set at 100 m, the depth at 6.50 m and the slope of the slope at 2: 1. A rough estimate resulted in construction costs of 162.5 million francs plus the interest of 25.5 million francs to be paid to the shareholders during the construction period, a total of 188.0 million francs, compared to a share capital of 200 million francs .

Lesseps presented this memorandum with his report of April 30, 1855 to the viceroy, who declared the report with a decision ( Firman ) of May 19, 1855 as the content of his order regarding the further procedure for the construction of the Suez Canal. This decision stipulated that Linant and Mougel should determine, level and map the course of the canal in the field, carry out soundings and take soil samples, determine the essential wage and material costs and make an initial estimate of the number of workers required. The resulting plans should be published and discussed by an international commission; then the final route should be decided.

In view of the negative attitude of the British government, Lesseps tried during a three-month stay in London to win over public opinion for the idea of ​​building canals. For this purpose he even had a book printed with the most important documents.

Subsequently, Lesseps called in Paris the International Commission on the piercing of the Isthmus of Suez , which was planned in the Firman of May 19, 1855 , in which 13 outstanding experts from England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Prussia were represented, including Alois Negrelli , the General Inspector of the Austrian State Railways, who had already participated in the Société d'Études. After corresponding investigations in Egypt, the commission confirmed in its preliminary report of January 2, 1856 the feasibility of Linant and Mougel's ideas and that the costs should not exceed the stated CHF 200 million. However, the report was only published a year later.

Second concession from January 5, 1856

The Viceroy then confirmed in the concession of January 5, 1856 in more detail the stipulations already made in the first concession. The Suez Canal Society was supposed to build all works for the shipping canal as well as the freshwater canal from the Nile to the Timsah Sea with branches to the north and south to Suez in a period of 6 years. 4/5 of the workers should be Egyptians. A port was to be built on the Timsah Sea. The free import and removal of material from quarries was repeated, as was the duration of the concession of 99 years from the opening of the canal. The fee for passage through the canal was set at a maximum of 10 francs per tonne ( tonneau de capacité des navires ) and per head of passengers. Lesseps was to become the first president of the society for a period of 10 years from the opening of the channel. The statutes of the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez were approved. The company should have its seat in Alexandria, but its head office in Paris. The share capital should amount to 200 million francs and be divided into 400,000 shares of 500 francs each. In addition, the firm contained a more detailed description of the work called Cahier des Charges (description of services).

→ See also the main article Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez

This concession was also subject to approval by the High Porte in Constantinople, with the indication that the excavation of the canal could only begin after this approval.

Further development

On July 20, 1856, the Viceroy issued a decree on employment relationships on the Suez Canal. After that, all workers were to be provided by the Egyptian state, taking into account the seasonal needs of agriculture. In addition to wages, the Suez Canal Society had to provide accommodation (in tents or huts), food, medical care and travel expenses. In the event of illness, payment of half the wages was provided.

In December 1856, the international commission delivered its final report, which continued to support the project but suggested removing the locks and relocating the port to the canal entrance. These ideas corresponded to the ideas that Negrelli had already proposed in 1846 within the framework of the Société d'Études and which now finally became the basis of the canal construction in the international commission. This is probably the reason for the repeated claim that the canal was built according to Negrelli's plans . Negrelli died on October 1st, 1858 and was therefore no longer able to see the founding of the Suez Canal Society and the realization of his ideas.

In politics, the government in London made it clear that it was still against the canal project. This went so far that they sent their troops and supplies around the Cape of Good Hope during the Indian Uprising of 1857 , until public opinion forced them to ask the Sublime Porte and the Khedives to be allowed to use the route via Suez, which was approved immediately. Another visit by Lesseps to London could not change the government's mind either, although it had met with approval in business circles. On January 1, 1858, Lord Clarendon even warned the Sublime Porte that approval of the canal project could change the policy of unity of the Ottoman Empire. In Constantinople, other European countries expressed their approval of the project, but were not prepared to take a clear position against Great Britain. France also officially took a neutral stance, since Napoléon III. did not want any confrontations with Great Britain. The Hohe Pforte therefore continued to avoid granting approval, which led Lesseps to the verge of bankruptcy.

Foundation of the Suez Canal Society

Lesseps therefore only saw the possibility of going to Paris, founding the company and pursuing the canal construction project without a permit from Constantinople. In order to avoid the bank charges, which seemed too high to him, he addressed the public directly with an invitation to subscribe for the shares through the press. The shares were divided into shares for the different nationalities in order to maintain the international character of the company. The subscription for the shares ran from November 5 to 30, 1858, but was not a complete success. Shareholders from France subscribed for 207,111 shares or 52% of the capital. From other European countries there was only a participation of around 3%. The viceroy therefore took over around 44.4% of the capital in order to enable the company to be founded at all.

In the financing agreement of August 6, 1860, the viceroy formally regulated the takeover of the remaining 177,647 shares, with 20% of the share amount being paid mainly in bonds and the remaining 80% in the years 1867 to 1875.

On December 15, 1858, the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez was founded.

The president of the company was Lesseps, the Trieste banker Pasquale Revoltella , who also owned a large share of the shares , became vice-president .

Lesseps could no longer act solely from a political point of view, but as President of the shareholders was primarily committed to his shareholders and the success of the project, which was closely followed by the international press. In order to influence public opinion in his favor, he founded the Journal de l'Union des deux Mers , which reported regularly on the progress of construction.

start of building

preparation

Suez Canal, freshwater canal

The newly founded company was not an established construction company with numerous employees, a great deal of routine in handling construction projects and the corresponding equipment pool. The construction project, on the other hand, was probably the largest of its time, which was literally in the desert and far from a port or any transport links. From a purely structural point of view, the project may have consisted of the relatively simple excavation of mostly sandy soil. At that time, however, there was probably no experience of handling such large projects, especially not with the necessary work preparation and logistics. At the planned mouth of the canal into the Mediterranean, there was a flat coast, but no infrastructure, no workers and no drinking water. The construction machines available at the time were still at the beginning of their development. All material, all tools, machines, coal, iron and wood had to be brought from Europe.

At the beginning of 1859, a project management ( Service des travaux ) was established under the leadership of Eugène Mougel, a construction office was opened in Alexandria and construction management was set up for the Port Said section, the freshwater canal and the hydraulic engineering work. In France, dredgers with floating conveyor belts and machines for excavation on land were built, which had previously only existed in England. To solve the drinking water problem, three devices for distilling water were bought in Amsterdam. On February 12, 1859, a large earthworks contract was signed with the contractor Alphonse Hardon.

Start of construction and first phase of construction work

The official opening of construction work took place on April 25, 1859, without Lesseps having received the permission of the Sublime Porte. Under the Egyptian flag, Lesseps, in the presence of shareholders, engineers and 150 workers, completed the first pimple strike on the stretch of beach where Port Said, named in honor of Said Pasha, was later built.

Over the next few months, a landing stage, a wooden lighthouse, storage areas, a field railway and accommodation were set up, wells were dug and the dredgers with the associated equipment were transported and assembled.

Then they began to dig the fairway in the Menzalehsee with dredgers. In the final stage, the channel should be 8 m deep, 22 m wide at the bottom and 58 m wide at the water level.

With regard to the excavation on land, however, it was decided to first build a 24 m wide and 2 m deep trench de service ( auxiliary channel ). This expression avoided any reference to the construction of a canal that had still not been approved by the Sublime Porte.

From the beginning work was done on the freshwater canal from the Nile through Wadi Tumilat to Lake Timsah. An existing section of the pharaonic Bubastis Canal could be used. This freshwater canal served not only to supply the people working on the Suez Canal, but also to irrigate large, previously unmanaged lands on its banks and, last but not least, as a traffic route between Cairo and Ismailia.

The equipment for water distillation soon proved to be inadequate, so 16 to 17,000 liters of drinking water per day had to be brought in by barges and camels. Up to 1,600 camels were only used for water transport.

The excavation in the dry was done by felling by hand with pimples and rush baskets, which were carried by human chains to the embankment ridge. At the end of 1861, more than 3,000 workers were working on the construction site in Port Said and around 17,000 on the threshold of El-Gisr.

If the channel built in this way was deep enough and filled with water, dredgers could carry out the further excavation.

In the contract signed with Hardon at the end of February 1860, Mougel was to receive 5% of the profits. Soon, however, there were disagreements within the company and with the Hardon company, which led to Mougel's resignation in August 1861 and, at the end of 1862, to the cancellation of the contract with Hardon in exchange for a substantial severance payment. Mougel was replaced by his deputy Jean-François Voisin, who was the first to introduce a modern organization of construction operations and accounting according to the rules of the French building ministry.

Political Resistance

The construction work was accompanied by ongoing political resistance from Great Britain. After the start of construction in Egypt, Great Britain immediately presented itself to Constantinople, this time with the support of Austria. On June 1, 1859 Lesseps was asked to stop the work. However, the Viceroy did nothing to withdraw the Egyptian workers from the construction sites, and so the work continued. Compared to the violent accusations of the British diplomats, he declared that he had no control over the Europeans who were working on the canal; if at all, these would have to be recalled by their own governments. Massive British pressure, however, resulted in a note from the Grand Vizier in Constantinople that all work on the canal should be halted as it was not approved by the Sultan. Said Pasha indicated that he would obey this massive request.

Lessep's only remaining chance was to appeal to Emperor Napoléon III in July 1859 . to turn, who granted him the diplomatic support he had asked for and achieved that Austria and Russia also spoke in favor of the canal and consequently Constantinople did nothing more against the canal construction.

Corvée

According to the Firman on the employment relationships of July 20, 1856, the workers were supposed to be provided by Egypt, but Lesseps initially tried to hire workers on a voluntary basis, but could not recruit them in sufficient numbers. In January / February 1862 it was therefore necessary to resort to the Corvée , which had been practiced in Egypt since ancient times , a kind of forced labor in which workers were forced but paid.

Slavery was a major political issue in England at the time. The government in London tried to present the work on the canal as slavery to the public, although a few years earlier the British consul in Cairo had urgently asked the viceroy to facilitate the construction of the railway to Suez through the Corvée. She even tried to get the sultan to depose the viceroy in Constantinople, but this only resulted in the sending of a high-ranking official to Cairo, whose journey was in vain.

The deaths among local workers as a result of illness, accidents or the occasional lack of camels with drinking water have also been exaggerated.

As foreseen in the concessions, the Suez Canal Society had set up a medical service from the start. Statistics published by the company showed annual deaths between 1.4 ‰ and 2.5 ‰. In the year before the canal opened, the company had more than 34,000 workers.

Further construction work

Canal construction south of El Guisr

During these clashes, construction work continued for almost two years. On February 2, 1862, the freshwater canal leading from the Nile to Lake Timsah was completed and on November 18, 1862 the water entry through the 2 m deep channel into Lake Timsah was officially celebrated. At the banquet for 300 guests of honor, the representative of Great Britain attracted attention due to his illness-related absence, but was back on his feet a day later.

The work on the canal and the channel continued on various sections. Around 18,000 men were deployed in the area north of Lake Timsah alone. Work was also carried out on the extension of the freshwater canal to Suez and Port Said. On December 29, 1863, the commissioning of the freshwater canal was celebrated in Suez; on April 9, 1864, the fresh water flowed through a cast iron pipe to Port Said.

After the dissolution of the building contract with Hardon in January 1863, building contracts were concluded with several French companies over the next few months, which were later expanded several times.

Death of the viceroy Said Pasha

Said Pasha died on January 17, 1863 and his nephew Ismail Pasha was appointed as his successor by the Sultan. Ismail had a positive attitude towards canal construction, but he wanted to return a large part of the land that Said Pasha had given to the canal company. The British ambassador tried to take advantage of this by pointing out to the Porte that the concessions granted by Said Pasha were never approved and that the canal company therefore had no right to continue the work. Shortly afterwards, the Sublime Porte asked the viceroy to stop the forced labor and buy back the land that had been left. Should this not be approved, the canal company should be dissolved, the shareholders compensated and the canal should be completed under Egyptian direction. Lesseps, however, let the work go on unchanged, as public opinion in France was on his side.

Arbitration of Napoleon III.

It was finally agreed that Napoléon III. to decide as an arbitrator. On July 6, 1864, Napoléon III announced. his award: The firm of July 20, 1856 on the regulation of employment relationships is repealed and the forced labor is ended. The canal company is entitled to 38 million francs as compensation. The company has to complete the freshwater canal and return the surrounding land for a further compensation of 16 million francs. For the return of the lands around the Suez Canal, the company received 30 million francs, so that they received a total of 84 million francs, which they urgently needed. The award was formally exchanged in December 1864, but the sultan's approval to build the canal was still pending. Lesseps therefore turned again to Napoleon III. Further agreements were made. Among other things, in the agreement of January 30, 1866, the company sold the Domaine de l'Ouady ( Domaine im Wadi ) to Egypt for 10 million francs.

Approval from the Sublime Porte

As a basis for the approval of the canal construction by the Hohe Pforte, all agreements were summarized again on February 22nd.

Finally, on March 19, 1866, the Sultan's Ferman was published with its final approval.

This ended the long argument between Lesseps and the British government. However, the British Admiralty had already started in May 1863 to enlarge the port facilities in Malta and to initiate expansions in Aden and Bombay . The Peninsular and Oriental Company had also started preparations to allow their ships to pass through the Suez Canal.

Progress of construction work

First ships at El Kantara

The lifting of the Corvée had a profound impact on further work, as the number of local workers fell significantly. This was also due to the fact that the price of cotton had risen as a result of the American Civil War and therefore labor in the cotton fields had become more interesting. The canal company and the contractors it commissioned countered this by considerably increasing the development and use of machines and employing a large number of workers from the Mediterranean region. At the end of 1867, for example, the machines used were consuming more than 12,000 tons of coal per month and the Italian spoken in Mediterranean ports became the predominant language on construction sites.

The cholera epidemic in June / July 1865, which was brought in by pilgrims from Mecca, caused the workers to leave the construction site during this time, but had no significant impact on the total construction time.

In the total of around 10 years of construction, an empty stretch of beach had become the port city of Port Said named after Said Pascha with around 7,000 inhabitants. In order to keep the Nile mud washed up by the ocean currents, two 2 km long jetties were built into the sea, for which 57,800 large blocks of stone were produced from a type of concrete, some of which were brought in and installed. A tiny village on Lake Timsah had become a town named after the Khedive Ismail, Ismailia, where the General Directorate of Construction Work was based. Sues, previously a lonely settlement of a few houses, had already grown a little larger due to British land transport, but only became a lively place when the canal was built.

Construction equipment had been further developed into powerful, steam-powered earth-moving machines, which ultimately reduced the number of workers required by three quarters.

A canal 162 km long had been built, plus a 2 km long access canal in front of Port Said and a 1 km long in front of Suez. The canal was 8 m deep and 22 m wide at the bottom. The width at the water level varied between 100 m in the flat areas and 58 m in the passages through the thresholds of El-Guisr, Serapeum and Chalouf.

A total of around 74,000,000 m³ had been excavated for the canal.

The cost of building the canal ranged from 162 million francs (for a shallower canal) in the first estimate by Linant and Mougel to 416 million francs at the time of opening and finally to a total of 426 million francs by the time the remaining work was finally completed on April 15, 1871 . Francs increased.

In order to be able to finance these costs, the company had received considerable additional funds for the sale of the property in Wadi Tumilat to Egypt, the abandonment of customs exemption, various services and a loan.

On March 25, 1869, water began to flow from the canal into the lower bitter lakes, which was the occasion for a great festival at which Lesseps announced that the canal would be ceremonially opened on November 17, 1869. The filling of the bitter lakes lasted until October 24, 1869.

Opening ceremonies

Opening ceremony 1869

For the opening celebrations on November 16 and 17, 1869, 6,000 foreign and 25,000 domestic guests were invited, with 500 cooks and 1,000 waiters taking care of them. The Khedive had already anchored off Port Said on November 13th with his yacht Mahroussa to greet the guests who arrived in the next days and nights, including Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, the Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich , members various ruling families and above all Empress Eugénie on board her yacht Aigle . 50 warships from all over Europe lay in the roadstead, while a large number of locals watched the action on the coast. Platforms for the guests had been set up on land. The celebrations began with services by Muslim and Catholic clergy and the blessing of the canal and continued with secular ceremonies. On the evening of November 16, there was a big fireworks display. On the morning of November 17, the Aigle entered the canal with Empress Eugénie and Lesseps on board at the head of a long convoy and continued to Ismailia, where they anchored for the festivities there.

On November 19, the Aigle continued her voyage to the bitter lakes and Suez. The pure driving time took 16 hours. The return trip to Port Said was completed in one piece in 15 hours.

Remaining work

The canal was not yet completely finished at the opening ceremony. The planned depth of 8 m had not yet been reached everywhere, so that some ships hit the ground and slowed down the following traffic considerably. Some places were too narrow for larger ships to travel smoothly even in cross winds. The necessary remaining work lasted until April 15, 1871. After this date, ongoing excavation work was necessary. With the increasing size of the ships, requests were made for deepening and widening, for flattening the curves, for wider evasions, etc. which were taken into account after the initial financial problems had been overcome.

building-costs

By the time the canal was opened, costs totaled 416 million francs, which increased to 426 million francs by the time the work was actually completed. The construction costs, including the administrative costs included in the amounts and the interest for the shareholders, appear to have been covered by the subscribed share capital, the amounts paid according to the various agreements of Egypt, a loan and other income of the company, even if in part long-term liabilities long-term claims were covered and available liquidity was a persistent problem.

UK policy change

While Great Britain tried from the beginning to prevent the construction of the canal and only gave up its resistance after the approval of the Sublime Porte on March 19, 1866, after the opening of the canal it recognized its importance and duly honored Lesseps. He was named Knight Grand Cross of the Star of India by Queen Victoria , received a gold medal from the Prince of Wales at a ceremony at Crystal Palace and was named freeman of the City of London .

Shipping

year Ships metric tons revenue fee
(in thousands) (TFrancs) Fr./Ton
1870 489 436 5,159 10 *
1871 765 762 8,994 10 *
1872 1,082 1,161 16,408 10 **
1873 1,172 1,586 22,897 10 **
1874 1,264 2,440 24,895 13 ***
1875 1,494 2,941 28,886 13 ***
1876 1,457 3,094 31,175 13 ***
1877 1,663 3,419 32,774 12.50
1878 1,593 3,292 31.0984 12.50
1879 1,477 3,237 29,668 12.00
1880 2,026 4,379 39,820 12.00
1881 2,727 5,794 51,274 11.50
* net tone
** big tone
*** SCNT
year fee year fee year fee
Fr./SCNT Fr./SCNT Fr./SCNT
1882 11.00 1912 6.75 1923 7.75
1883 11.00 1913 6.25 1924 7.50
1884 10.50 1916 6.75 1925 7.25
1885 10.00 1917 7.25 1928 7.00
1886 9.50 1918 8.50 1931 6.00
1903 8.50 1921 8.00 1932 6.00
1906 7.25 1922 8.00

In the first two years shipping traffic through the canal remained well below the expected one million tons: in 1870, on average, only a little more than one ship per day sailed through the canal, in 1871 there were a little more than two ships, in 1873 around three and only Around four ships in 1875. The proportion of British ships rose from an initial 66.4% to a maximum of 82.9% in 1881. The increase in shipping traffic from Australia and New Zealand to Great Britain was particularly large , while in 1910 the proportion of ships to Australia and Great Britain was twice as large New Zealand, the usual route around the Cape of good hope took: it was usually still sailing ships with the favorable Tradewinds ( trade winds ) lead and for the small shortening the distance of around 1,000 nautical miles over the long distance less important and less expensive than the canal passage was.

Initially, the canal was still used by sailing ships (with or without a steam engine ) (it was not until 1889 that the first deep-sea steamer without any sails, the Teutonic of the White Star Line, was used in the North Atlantic traffic). The steam engines required the supply of coal, so Port Said quickly became a major coal port. The first oil tankers passed through the canal around 1891, initially against opposition from shipping companies who feared the risk to their ships, but neither the Suez Canal Company nor the British government reacted. As early as 1908, the first oil-fired steamship passed through the canal. Soon after, in 1912, the first diesel motor ship arrived. In 1930 shipping traffic in the Suez Canal consisted of about 20% diesel motor ships.

After the fees were initially set at 13 francs per ton by the International Commission of Constantinople in 1873, they were repeatedly reduced in the course of time following negotiations with the British government and the seafaring representatives; only in the period from 1917 to 1923 did they rise somewhat, only to drop to 6 francs per ton by 1932 (see table). The fees in the later years are no longer shown, as the currency fluctuations and the introduction of the paper franc make a comparison no longer make sense.

Financial problems - dispute over fees

Serious financial problems became apparent immediately after the channel opened. The rest of the work still had to be completed, but traffic remained far below the expected one million tons per year. In 1870 ships with a tonnage of 436,000 net tons and in 1871 with a tonnage of 761,000 net tons passed through the canal. The difference between expenditure and income was a minus of 9.6 million francs in 1870 and a minus of 2.7 million francs in 1871. The shareholders neither received the interest rate of 5% p. a. another dividend. The directors also received very little remuneration. The price of the share, over nominally 500 francs, fell in 1871 to 208 francs. Lesseps was almost beaten at a shareholders' meeting. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 was no relief. Lesseps was aware of the gravity of the situation and even offered in June 1871 to sell the canal to the naval powers, which, however, did not meet with interest either in Great Britain or at the Sublime Porte.

In this situation the fundamental problems of conception also emerged: Lesseps wanted a universal society with the participation of all nations interested in maritime trade. The Suez Canal Society, however, was dominated by the French, while the British had refused to participate and, as the most important users, were only fee payers. The concessions provided for a duration of 99 years, but did not contain any regulation about adapting to changed conditions, in particular not to the then hardly imaginable increase in steam navigation with ever larger ships.

The first concession of November 30, 1854 stipulated that all ships of all nations could use the canal on equal terms, and in the second concession of January 5, 1856, the fee for the passage was reduced to a maximum of 10 francs per tonneau de capacité des navires et par tête de passager (maximum 10 francs per ton of payload and per passenger) . But at that time there was neither a definition of the term tonneau de capacité , nor uniform rules for ship measurement . Each country had its own rules on tonnage, which often had little to do with the actual payload of the ship. The Moorsom system was only introduced in Great Britain in 1854, but it took decades for it to spread throughout Europe and offered steamships considerable leeway in determining the net registered tons .

For the sake of simplicity, the Suez Canal Company initially calculated the fees on the basis of the net tonnage entered in the ship's papers, but soon noticed the unequal effects on different ships and the insufficient income. An advisory commission said that the Moorsom system was the best, but the deductions for engine rooms and coal bunkers were far too high.

From July 1, 1872, the company therefore decided to charge fees of 10 francs par tonne sur la capacity réelle des navires (per actual tonne) and in practice took the gross tonnage as the basis for this. This increase in fees (of around 30% for British ships) met with fierce opposition from the British government in particular, which saw the net tonnage shown in the ship's documents according to its Moorsom system as a legal fee basis and even promised the Sublime Porte that it would reclaim the amounts overpaid.

The Hohe Pforte did not dare to decide the matter itself, but called an international commission to Constantinople to determine the tonnage on which the fees were based. Against the fierce resistance of France, Great Britain tried to enforce that this could only be the net tonnage according to the Moorsom system.

Fee regulation of the International Commission of Constantinople, 1873

In the final report of the commission of December 18, 1873 it was finally agreed that the Moorsom rules according to the British Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 should be used as a basis with certain exceptions, but an additional fee of 4 francs (surtaxe ) . This additional charge should be only 3 francs for ships measured in accordance with the Commission's rules. As soon as the total tonnage in the Suez Canal has reached 2,100,000 tons per year, the additional fee should be reduced by 0.50 francs. This reduction should continue for every additional 100,000 tons per year so that it would be reduced to zero after 2,600,000 tons.

This created the Suez Canal Net Tonnage and the Suez Canal Special Tonnage Certificate , which, according to various updates, are still valid today.

The settlement was a diplomatic compromise and the agreement on the gradual reduction of the additional fee took into account the interests of the British fee payers rather than the need to provide the canal company with sufficient funds for the maintenance and improvement or expansion of the now over 100 m long ships were required.

Military enforcement of the fee regime

Lesseps, who was not involved in the negotiations in any way, fiercely opposed the regulation and called for the additional fee to be left unchanged for longer and to be reduced at greater intervals, which the Sublime Porte (under British pressure) rejected. Lesseps then threatened with claims for damages and the closure of the canal. The Hohe Pforte finally asked the Khedives to enforce the introduction of the new fees on April 29, 1874, if necessary with military means. Ismail Pasha ordered 10,000 men under his American General Stone and a British frigate to the canal and prepared to take over the canal services. On April 26, 1874, Lesseps accepted the new fees in protest.

Great Britain takes over the shares of the Khedive

Ismail Pasha had carried out extensive modernizations, but had also borrowed £ 7 million a year, bringing Egypt's public debt to £ 98 million. The insolvency of the Ottoman Empire at the end of 1875 put him in a hopeless situation. Ismail Pascha initially wanted to pledge his shares in the Suez Canal Company, but then realized that only a sale would bring him the urgently needed funds. Great Britain made it clear to France that it would not tolerate a sale to the Suez Canal Company or to France. One does not want to be at the mercy of Lesseps. For this reason, the British government under Disraeli decided on November 25, 1875, to buy the shares at a nominal value of around 88 million francs or 4 million pounds sterling with the help of the Rothschild Bank itself. Disraeli was later heavily criticized for having made the purchase without the approval of parliament (which was not given until later). On the continent, the purchase was the big, but mostly positively received, surprise. Lesseps greeted the transaction with diplomatic words. Great Britain had thus become a major shareholder, but still in the minority within society. The number of directors was increased by three seats for Great Britain.

Great Britain occupies Egypt in 1882

In 1876, Britain and France had set up a control commission to regulate Egypt's troubled finances. This massive foreign influence in Egypt was one of the reasons for the emergence of the Urabi movement . When this threatened the Suez Canal with military means, Great Britain put down the uprising in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882 and occupied Egypt. A British admiral took control of the Suez Canal for 48 hours. With the invasion, British rule began in Egypt , which would last until 1922.

Second channel?

Even before the British acquisition of the shares in the Suez Canal Company, there were frequent complaints from British shipowners about the “French” company and the handling of the passage through the canal, which led to discussions about a “separate” second canal. By 1883 the traffic and the size of the ships had increased tremendously. While the passage lasted 16 hours after the opening, the average duration had now increased to 50 hours, which often turned into 3 days. Almost 80% of the traffic was British and most of British Asia traffic was through the canal. Only jute, rice and some cotton were driven around the Cape of Good Hope . British complaints about the French management of the canal, the French staff, the French control, the insufficient competence of the pilots, the bureaucracy in general and the lack of any British in the higher ranks of the administration increased. Therefore the idea of ​​a second canal was discussed again, for example from Alexandria via Cairo to Suez, or from Haifa over the Dead Sea to be flooded to Aqaba , or parallel to the Suez Canal. The British government preferred the parallel canal, which Lesseps countered by referring to his exclusive concession. Finally, on July 10, 1883, a draft contract between the Suez Canal Society and the British Government was signed for the construction of a parallel canal, which the Canal Company was supposed to complete by 1888, if possible. The draft also saw a reduction in canal fees and increased British influence in canal traffic. The idea and the draft were discussed in detail in parliament. Only one MP objected that widening the existing canal was the simpler and cheaper solution. Eventually the idea was dropped.

London programs

In order to deal with the complaints, Lesseps held talks with the Association of Steamship Owners , which resulted in a protocol of November 30, 1883 later called the London Program . Thereafter, seven more directors from British shipping circles were to be sent to the board of directors, a fee payment was to be made possible in London, English-speaking employees were to be recruited and, in the event of a profit of more than 25%, the fees were to be reduced to 5 francs. The British government consented informally, but stressed that it had no part in the talks.

Commission Consultative Internationale des Travaux

In June 1884, an international advisory commission convened by Lesseps made up of 8 French, 8 British and 6 members from other nations and advocated expansion as an alternative to a second channel. At the same time, tests were carried out with electric headlights on the ships and illuminated buoys, but at that time they had no clear results. This commission met again in 1887 as Commission Consultative Internationale des Travaux (roughly: International Consultative Building Commission ) and then (with a few exceptions) advised annually in Paris on all major construction work on the canal.

Convention of Constantinople 1888

The idea of ​​neutralizing the canal was probably first brought up by Metternich in letters to Muhammad Ali Pascha in 1838 and 1841 , and suggested by Lesseps in 1856 and again a few years later. In 1869 the French government and in 1870 a trade conference in Cairo and the British Admiralty dealt with the idea. The International Commission of 1873 also dealt with the subject. In 1877, the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire made the topic practical. When Great Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, troops landed in Suez and Port Said and temporarily interrupted shipping. Formally, however, this was covered by a resolution of the viceroy. In 1883 Great Britain proposed an international agreement on the canal with no further consequences. In 1885, at the instigation of France, a conference was held in Cairo at which a draft was drawn up but not signed. In 1887 the draft was negotiated at a conference in Constantinople. Finally, the Constantinople Convention was signed on October 29, 1888, with the caveat that it would not come into force until after the British occupation of Egypt. The convention had its first practical test in 1904, when Russian warships in the war against Japan were able to sail unhindered through the Channel, even though Japan was allied with Great Britain. In a treaty with France on April 8, 1904, Great Britain declared that it would bring the convention into effect.

Expansion of the canal

Even after the canal was opened and the rest of the work was done, the work continued. The canal had to (and must) be continuously dredged to remove the sand carried in by the wind, the embankments damaged by the waves had to be repaired or secured with stone packings. Shipping required additional or larger passing points, flatter curves and improved port facilities.

Between 1871 and 1876 around 6 million francs were spent on expanding the canal. Between 1877 and 1883 a total of 8.32 million francs was spent, a little more than the previously assumed 1 million francs per year, and 7 million francs were spent on the freshwater canal.

In 1870 the canal was 8 m deep, 22 m wide at the bottom and 54 to 100 m wide at the waterline. In 1905 it was 9 m deep and 37 m wide at the bottom. In 1923 it was 11 m deep, 45-100 m wide at the bottom and 100-160 m wide at the waterline. Electric lighting was installed between 1886 and 1887 to allow night passages.

Port Said, Ismailia and Suez developed into handsome cities. The port facilities, especially in Port Said, have been expanded. A number of repair and service companies settled on the canal.

Application for extension of the license

In 1909, the Suez Canal Society submitted an application to the Egyptian government to extend the concession from 1968 to 2008. Great Britain took the view that this was only a matter for Egypt and the Canal Society and left the decision to the Egyptian Parliament, which debated it at length for several days. Approval seemed to be obtained when Prime Minister Boutros Ghali Pasha was murdered by a young Egyptian on February 20, 1910. After several days of debate and great public interest, the extension of the concession was finally rejected.

World document heritage

In 1997, a collection of letters, drawings and photographs related to the construction of the canal was declared a World Document Heritage Site by UNESCO . The collection is kept in the Egyptian Embassy in Paris.

Expansion of the channel 2014–2015

Map of the Suez Canal with the new fairway

From 2014 to 2015, a second canal was built between Ballah By-Pass and Great Bitter Lake, parallel to the existing canal over a length of 35 kilometers (see Suez Canal # Extension of the canal 2014/15 ).

Literature, especially on the licensing and construction phase

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Le Père written separately, unlike in the usual literature
  2. ↑ Gratien Le Père , the younger brother of Jacques-Marie Le Père, was also a member of the Egyptian Expedition and is referred to in the Description de l'Égypte as “Ingénieur en chef”, but from the reports in the Description de l'Égypte It is clear that the survey work was carried out by JM Le Père and that he wrote the report to Napoléon.
  3. ^ Jacques-Marie Le Père, Mémoire sur la communication de la mer des Indes à la Méditerranée par la mer Rouge et l'Isthme de Sueys , In: Description de l'Égypte. 2nd edition, Volume 11, Paris 1822, pp. 37–369 ( full text in the Google book search)
  4. ^ Jacques-Marie Le Père: Mémoire sur la communication de la mer des Indes à la Méditerranée par la mer Rouge et l'Isthme de Sueys. In: Description de l'Égypte. Volume 11, Paris 1822, pp. 37-369; therein: Extrait du Journal historique et géologique du Nivellement de l'Isthme de Soueys, par le Canal des deux mers. P. 318–351, with: Résultat de la Différence de level des deux Mers: 9.908 mètres Mer Rouge supérieure à la Méditerranée , p. 336 ( full text in the Google book search)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah The Suez Canal . Arnold T. Wilson, London, 1939 (English) archive.org
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h The Great Canal at Suez . Percy Fitzgerald, London, 1876 (English) Text Archive - Internet Archive
  7. ↑ Biographical entry on de Lesseps ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.napoleon.org
  8. ↑ Lesseps: Short biography (English)
  9. ↑ a b c Texts of the documents  - Internet Archive (French)
  10. ^ English translation of the documents  - Internet Archive
  11. ↑ Linant soon realized that his leading position in the Egyptian building administration could not be reconciled with an activity directly for the Suez Canal Society.
  12. ↑ a b c Lesseps: The Isthmus of Suez Question - submitted to the Public Opinion of England, London and Paris , 1855. books.google.de (English)
  13. ↑ Mittheilungen der Kaiserlich-Königliche Geographische Gesellschaft, 1st year 1857, edited by Franz Foetterle , Vienna, 1857 (PDF; 21.7 MB), with the report on the piercing of the isthmus of Suez to the Imperial and Royal Geographic Society by the chosen one Commission (pp. 67/265). There it says on p. 76/284: “This international commission consists of the following gentlemen: FW Conrad , Königigl. Dutch Ingénieur en Chef des Water State in The Hague, also President of the Commission; Harris , captain of the kings. Great Britain. Navy in London; Jaurès , captain of the French Imperial Navy and member of the Admiralty Council; Lentze , royal. prussia. Ingénieur en Chef der Vistula Buildings, in Berlin; Lieussou , engineer hydrograph of the Imperial French Navy in Paris, also secretary of the Commission; JR Mac Clean , engineer in London; Charles Manby , engineer in London, also secretary of the commission; Montesino , royal. Spanish Director of Public Works in Madrid; v. Negrelli , General Inspector of the Railways in the Austrian Imperial State in Vienna; Paleocapa , royal. sard. Minister of Public Works in Turin; Renaud , Inspector General and member of the Conseil général des ponts et chaussées in Paris; JM Rendel , engineer in London and Rigaut de Genouilly , Imperial French. Contre-Admiral in Paris. "
  14. ↑ a b c d e f g h Canal de Suez. Structurae (French)
  15. ^ English translation of the decree  - Internet Archive
  16. ↑ The wages are said to have been higher than the usual in Egypt at that time: The great Canal at Suez , p. 284 Textarchiv - Internet Archive
  17. ↑ Negrelli could therefore not be the director of the construction work, as is occasionally reported.
  18. ↑ See also the Oriental question
  19. ^ Napoléon III et le Canal des Suez
  20. ↑ There are contradicting information on the participation from other countries, but these are not computationally free of contradictions, for example in the representation of the French Foreign Ministry ( Memento of July 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  21. ↑ Financing Agreement  - Internet Archive (French)
  22. ↑ roughly: newspaper of the connection of the two seas
  23. ↑ a b c Report on the construction work in France Diplomatie (in French) ( Memento of July 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on June 26, 2009
  24. ↑ Lesseps was related to Empress Eugénie and had excellent relations at court.
  25. ↑ The repeatedly reported high numbers of workers (1.5 million) and deaths (125,000), especially during cholera, are likely to be simple exaggerations.
  26. ↑ 6 years were planned for the second license.
  27. ↑ Detailed report on the festival in the presence of Prince and Princes of Wales  - Internet Archive (English)
  28. ↑ Detailed report on the opening ceremony  - Internet Archive (English)
  29. ^ Report by the captain of the Aigle . ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.napoleon.org
  30. ^ Salis, The Suez Canal Article in the Allgemeine Bauzeitung, 1883; digitized on ÖNB-ANNO
  31. ↑ Different sources give slightly different figures
  32. ↑ Cover letter and resolution on fees. In: Documents Diplomatiques - Affaire du Canal de Suez . Imprimerie Nationale, Paris, December 1875; Text archive - Internet Archive
  33. ^ Report to the French Foreign Minister. In: Documents Diplomatiques - Affaire du Canal de Suez ; Text archive - Internet Archive
  34. ^ French delegates leave the meeting. In: Documents Diplomatiques - Affaire du Canal de Suez ; Text archive - Internet Archive
  35. ↑ Final report of the Commission  - Internet Archive (French)
  36. ^ Letter from the French Foreign Minister. In: Documents Diplomatiques - Affaire du Canal de Suez ; Text archive - Internet Archive
  37. ^ Report to the French Foreign Minister of November 20, 1875. In: Documents Diplomatiques - Affaire du Canal de Suez ; Text archive - Internet Archive
  38. ↑ Purchase agreement for the shares  - Internet Archive (English)
  39. ↑ Night drives were not yet possible at that time
  40. ↑ Ships still have to carry powerful spotlights today
  41. ^ Convention de Constantinople sur le Canal de Suez . Constantinople Convention ( Wikisource )
  42. ^ Memory of the Suez Canal. In: Memory of the World. UNESCO, 1997, accessed July 13, 2014 .