LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Suez Canal: Suez Canal Company
built 633 days ago
The original 1854 concession, set up by de Lesseps, the ownership of the Suez Canal was to transferred from the Suez Canal Company to the Egyptian Government in 1968, 99 years after its opening. In 1952 Gamal Abdul Nasser overthrew King Farouk (who was a descendant of Mohammed Said) and established the Egyptian Republic. By 1956, the British (who had occupied Egypt since 1882) rule had come to an end and the country was handed back to the Egyptian Government. In the same year Egypt took over and nationalised the Suez Canal, some twelve years before it was due to be handed over to them.
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There was some controversy over who would be in control of the Suez and whom the canal really belonged to. However there was a deal made with Egypt, stating that the international company would run the canal and de Lessseps was the CEO of the company. Then after ninety- nine years the Egyptians would take control of the Suez. The ruling and possession of the canal did not run as smooth as planned, the ruler of Egypt got severely into financial problems. All of this resulted in having to sell a big part of the stock in the Suez to the British (Farah 607). Around late 1870 the French and British gained control of the Suez ( Fara 607).
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In 1859, the Suez Canal was built again, by the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company, and took 10 years to build. The first ship to pass through the canal did so on 17 February 1867; Giuseppe Verdi wrote the famous opera Aida for this ceremony.
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A French company led by Ferdinand deLesseps made a deal with Egypt to build the Suez Canal. After ten years of work, the canal opened in 1869. The Egyptian ruler, Ismail, celebrated by building a huge palace in Cairo. Ismail treated royalty from around the world to a celebration in honor of the new canal. The heavy spending for the celebration came at a time when the price of Egyptian cotton plunged. Egypt had gone into debt to pay for the Suez Canal.
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A French company led by Ferdinand deLesseps contracted with Egypt to build the Suez Canal. After ten years of work, the canal opened in 1869. The canal was jointly owned by the Egyptian government and France. The first ship to pass through the canal did so on February 17, 1867. It is estimated that 1.5 million Egyptians worked on the canal and 125,000 died, many due to cholera. The Egyptian ruler, Ismail, celebrated by building a huge palace in Cairo.
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The nationalization of the canal took the world by surprise, especially the British and French stockholders who owned the Suez Canal Company. Although Nasser promised that the company would be compensated for its loss, Britain, France, and Israel began plotting to take back the canal and overthrow Nasser as well. Britain, France and Israel united in secret in what was to become known as the tripartite collusion, something that they denied publicly for many years. Israel opted to participate in the plans against Egypt to gain favor in the sight of western nations because the small developing nation was in constant fear of being overrun by Arab nations.
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