Lucia Carminati: How the Suez Canal changed the world

How the Suez Canal changed the world

Today, nearly 30% of all global ship traffic passes through the Suez Canal, totaling over 20,000 ships in 2021. The site of the canal had been of interest to rulers as far back as the second millennium BCE, but plans to construct a passageway were obstructed by cost, political strife, and the ever-shifting sands— until the 19th century. Lucia Carminati details the creation of the Suez Canal. [Directed by Michael Kalopaidis, Zedem Media, narrated by Christina Greer].

The Suez Canal transformed world commerce by linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas, bypassing arduous desert trade routes. Its creation required enormous human effort, including the forced labor of tens of thousands of Egyptians under harsh conditions. When the canal opened in 1869, it fueled economic growth and later became a flashpoint for imperial control and national pride. The 2021 Ever Given blockage exposed how dependent the modern world remains on this manmade artery.