Suez Canal

• In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the former French consul to Cairo, secured an agreement with the Ottoman governor of Egypt to build a canal 100 miles across the Isthmus of Suez.
• The Suez Canal Company was formed and granted the right to operate for 99 years after completion of the work


  1856
• Construction began


  April 1859
• Construction of the Suez Canal


  1. At first, digging by hand with picks and shovels wielded by forced labourers

  2. Later, European workers with dredgers and steam shovels arrived

  3. Labour disputes and a cholera epidemic slowed construction
• The Suez Canal was completed, 4 years behind schedule


  1869
• The Suez Canal was opened to navigation


  November 17, 1969
• When it opened, the Suez Canal was only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at surface. Consequently, fewer than 500 ships navigated it in its first full years of operation. Major improvements began in 1876, however, and the canal soon grew into one of the world's most heavily travelled shipping routes. In 1875, Great Britian became the largest shareholder in the Suez Company when it bought up the stock of the new Ottoman governor of Egypt. 7 years later, in 1882, Britian invaded Egypt, beginning a long occupation of the country.
• Its construction cut 1500 - 2000 miles off the sea passage from western Europe to India.
• The Suez Canal revolutionised the communication of all sorts from sea. It combined the Mediterranean Sea with the Red sea. Thus, it shortened by half the route to Asia from South Africa and back.

  The Canal lied from Port Said down to the Suez and corporates in it a number of lakes that were there. It goes through the delta of river Nile from one side and the Sinaj desert on the other side.
• The Canal instantly started being used from dozens of ships everyday, even more when the change to coal from the sails started permitting bigger vessels. In fact, this transmition also revolutionised, coincided with the opening of the Canal.
• The Suez Canal produced a trade boom in Malta. The British extended the dockyard Services and this generated many jobs. People migrated from the villages to the harbour area and immigrants from North Africa returned.

  Malta's share started to be effected not only from the geographic position, or the change in technology in the means of energy and in the navigation craft. It started being effected also from the fact that it was the main axle in the sea routes related to the diverse interest inter-related of the empire, that from it Malta formed an integral part.
• • The 1st dry dock outside of England was in Malta.
  • Ships were not built for long distances and so merchants divided distances into intermediate stations. Malta was used as one of these basis. It also became a coal heaving station as well as warehouse was used. All this brought a lot of employment.
• In 1892, the Hamiltom Dock was completed and in 1899, a start was made on 2 more dry docks. Development went on until the naval dockyard consisted on one dock at Galley Creek and 4 at French Creek.

  The dockyard saw rapid increase in its working force, employment in Malta became more related to the service economy - with opening of the Suez Canal.
• From 1859 on wards, at the innermost part of the Grand Harbour, new facilities for commercial vessels were constructed. After the opening of the canal the number of the vessels increased.

  After the opening of the Suez Canal, the number of vesseld at the Island increased (transit centre -Golden Age). By 1880, the Grand Harbour was firmly established as the chief coaling station for vessled travelling between Britian, India and the East.