The Suez Crisis, 1956
Quote: "I have been a conspirator for so long that I mistrust all around me." - Gamal Nasser
The canal was originally built by the British and the French.
In 1955 Egypt and Russia align with each other. Mostly because Israel was aligned with the United States.
Egypt then begins to receive arms from Czechoslovakia in 1956.
Gamal Nasser, the president of Egypt from 1956-1970, starts threatening Israel.
In a reaction to this the United States pulls out of the Aswan Dam project in Egypt.
Nasser then nationalizes the Suez Canal. The canal would be ran by Egypt. They therefore could prevent Israel from using the canal.
The Israelis then attack the Egyptians. This is due to their policy to always attack first. They also knew that they would have support from France and Britain, through a secret deal, as soon as this were to happen.
The Americans were angry and threatened to cut off the oil if the British and French did not back out.
The crisis is finally resolved by the UN peacekeeping force and Lester B. Pearson's idea.
With the new secure conditions Israel's economy flourishes.
The event causes a change in power influence in the area. It goes from British and French to Russian and American.
Summary: The Suez Canal is an extremely important structure that can easily influence the economy of many countries. So when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal this was a huge deal for Israel because it meant that they could no longer use it and yet they did have a dependance on the canal for industry. Israeli was not the only country to get involved in this event however, Britain,France,Russia, and United Staes all had a form of involvement. It was the United Nations who eventually solved the issue. The main outcome of this crisis was that there became a larger Russian and American influence on the area.
Website Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
http://www.suezcrisis.ca/summary.html
Video:
The canal was originally built by the British and the French.
In 1955 Egypt and Russia align with each other. Mostly because Israel was aligned with the United States.
Egypt then begins to receive arms from Czechoslovakia in 1956.
Gamal Nasser, the president of Egypt from 1956-1970, starts threatening Israel.
In a reaction to this the United States pulls out of the Aswan Dam project in Egypt.
Nasser then nationalizes the Suez Canal. The canal would be ran by Egypt. They therefore could prevent Israel from using the canal.
The Israelis then attack the Egyptians. This is due to their policy to always attack first. They also knew that they would have support from France and Britain, through a secret deal, as soon as this were to happen.
The Americans were angry and threatened to cut off the oil if the British and French did not back out.
The crisis is finally resolved by the UN peacekeeping force and Lester B. Pearson's idea.
With the new secure conditions Israel's economy flourishes.
The event causes a change in power influence in the area. It goes from British and French to Russian and American.
Summary: The Suez Canal is an extremely important structure that can easily influence the economy of many countries. So when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal this was a huge deal for Israel because it meant that they could no longer use it and yet they did have a dependance on the canal for industry. Israeli was not the only country to get involved in this event however, Britain,France,Russia, and United Staes all had a form of involvement. It was the United Nations who eventually solved the issue. The main outcome of this crisis was that there became a larger Russian and American influence on the area.
Website Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
http://www.suezcrisis.ca/summary.html
Video:
Question: Had the influence of the area around the Suez Canal remained British and French how would the conflicts in the area been different throughout the 20th century?