Suez War - Impact on British and French

Suez War - Impact on British and French

Introduction

Suez Crises refers to an international conflict, which took place from October 1956 to March 1957, associated with the definition of the status of the Administration of the Suez Canal. The situation worsened with the outbreak of hostilities, Britain, France and Israel against Egypt. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869. The canal was originally built as a Franco-Egyptian project. However, in 1870, under Prime Minister Disraeli, Britain bought the Egyptian part of the shares (44%) of the Egyptian government, which took issue with the payment of debts. The channel originally commissioned for Britain great strategic value as dramatically simplifies communication between Britain and distant parts of the British Empire. In the XX century the channel received an additional value because it simplifies the way from Europe to the oil fields of the Persian Gulf (Richardson, 1996).

After the start of World War I, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate of his (at this point, he was considered a de jure part of the Ottoman Empire). In February 1915 the Turkish troops came to the channel, but were repulsed by the British, who took the offensive and captured the Sinai and Palestine. In 1918, the Ottoman Empire was dissolved and its possessions were divided between Britain and France. In 1922, Britain granted Egypt nominal independence. In 1936 between Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Egypt became a fully independent state, but British troops remained in the Canal Zone for another 20 years until 1956 (the year the contract was to be reviewed and may be extended). During the Second World War, the channel has become the target of attack of the German-Italian forces from Libya. After fighting in 1940-1943, they were defeated by the British Empire forces and the U.S. (coming from Morocco).

Scope of the Paper

The paper will discuss the Suez Crises and discuss its impact on the British and French. The paper will evaluate and present detailed findings relating to the crises and provide rational understanding of the issues.

Discussion

With a vigorous sea trade to Asia dominated by British sailing routes around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, the strategic value of a canal, providing a shortcut to valuable markets, was a strong enticement to undertake the project. In 1854, the viceroy of Egypt, Said Pasha, granted a concession to the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps to build the canal; in 1856, the Suez Canal Company was formed (headquartered in Paris) and given the control of the canal for 99 years after the completion of the building project. Construction finally began in 1859 and continued for 10 years, culminating in an opening ceremony in November 1869. British interest in the canal began in 1875, when Benjamin Disraeli, the British prime minister, authorized the purchase of the Egyptian pasha's shares in the Suez Canal Company (Nichols, 2011). British participation made the canal highly profitable, and numerous British civil servants and others soon settled ...