The Suez Canal was a construction of a canal to make routes shorter. More importantly the canal was a construction of many dreams, profits, and the unification of the West and the East. Lesseps and his companions began to embark on a journey with a great dream in mind. In his book Parting the Desert, Karabell not only shows the history of the construction of the Suez Canal and the unification of East and West, however also shows the destruction of many countries' hopes and dreams
Lesseps main mission was to change the political landscapes of three continents through the building of the Suez Canal. He had a vision of progression and knew with this vision that he would achieve greatness and his name would be immortalized. He thought that the Suez Canal would unite the East and the West, and that the unification would cause the world to flourish. Although the West was progressing, people believed its growth would be stunted until it was united with the East. To prevent this from happening they had to remove the physical obstacle which separated them. To accomplish his vision he was going to turn an almost abandoned dessert, which had no source of fresh water, into a canal that connected the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The building of the Suez Canal however, was not to be an easy task to obtain, there were many obstacles along the way. Certain states of Europe aggressively competed for it, the Ottoman Empire tried to prevent its construction, and the Middle East proved to be another impediment when they destroyed the cities along its banks. However in the mid nineteenth century there was a joint venture between the ruler of Egypt and Lesseps.
Lesseps knew he could not do this alone. Muhammad Ali was an Alb...
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...at their expense. Egypt's past situation when Egypt was exploited for European trade, and when another country took over, is parallel to today's situation. When the US is taking over politically and affecting them economically for oil. Both times the Middle East was imposed upon without their consent.
In conclusion, for the future, foreign policy makers could have learned from the Suez Canal. Current policy makers would have looked to see the past and would have known things aren't as easy as they appear, and to not impose on a country without justification. They would have seen that in the past, western countries have exploited the Middle East, and perhaps they would have thought more of the already pent up resentment already present and not opened up a big can of worms. History repeats itself as another Western country exploits the Middle East again.
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
In the novel War and Peace In the Middle East, author Avi Shlaim argues that Arab nations have been unable to escape the post-Ottoman syndrome. In particular he describes how the various powers inside and outside the region have failed to produce peace. While some of Shlaim's arguments hinder the message, I agree with his overall thesis that the Middle East problems were caused and prolonged by the failure of both powers and superpowers to take into account the regional interests of the local states.
Meyer, Bruce, Dr. "Suez Canal Crisis." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. .
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any nation in the world. Written history of Egypt dates back to about 5,000 years, the commencement of civilization. While there is divergence in relation to Early Egyptian times, it is said that Egypt came to be around 3200 B.C., during the reign of a king by the name of Menes and unified the northern and southern cities of Egypt into one government. In 1675 B.C., Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, people from the east, bringing along the very first of chariots and horses ever to come across Egyptian soil. Approximately 175 years later in 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had gotten rid of the Hyksos and driven them out. In 1375 B.C., Amenhotep IV had become the king of Egypt. During his reign he eliminated the worship of Egyptian gods and initiated the idea of only worshipping one god. But after his death, his ideas were retired and old ways were reestablished. Egyptian supremacy then started to decline around 1000 B.C. Between 1000 B.C. and 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled by many such as the Libyans, Assyrians, Ethiopians, and Persians. In 640, Muslims conquered Egypt and founded the city of Cairo in 969 and deemed it as the capital of Egypt. For many centuries Egypt was ruled by Muslim caliphs. A prominent ruler of this period was Saladin, who battled the Christian Crusaders at the conclusion of the twelfth century. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt but was then forced to withdraw in 1801 Turkish and British armed forces. In 1805 Mohamed Ali began ruling Egypt till 1848 and great changed the country in terms of modernization and its military. During Mohamed’s conquest, he borrowed a lot of money from the French and British, which later resulted in Egypt’s coloniza...
In conclusion, there were constantly problems arising during the construction of the Erie Canal. Even though the Erie Canal definitely helped boost economic activity and industrialization in Upstate New York, it also caused more and more people becoming reliable on the government. It also helped bring morality and ethics into their everyday decisions. The major hope of the Erie Canal was to make the United States a better country, but there were obviously paradoxes that came along with that goal.
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs 363 miles from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks which allows a boat to go from one level of a water to another level lower by raising the water level in one section which lets the boat move from one lock to the next. By doing this, the Erie Canal makes a once non-accessible waterway a common mean of transportation for both goods and people.
The French originally set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859. However, Britain soon became jealous because of the potential impact the shortcut between the Mediterranean and Red Seas could have on trade with its Indian colony. In 1875, the British wrested financial control of the Suez Canal away from the French, and eventually made all of Egypt a protectorate in 1882.
The country I decided to research is Egypt. Egypt is located in northern Africa along the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The majority of the country however is located in northeastern Africa, but its Sinai Peninsula extends out into Southwest Asia, connecting the two continents. European nations wanted to colonize Egypt because it was considered to be a treasure, due to its fertile land and production of crops, such as: wheat, fruits, vegetables, corn, and cotton. Also because of its strategic location at the head of the Red Sea, that appeared valuable to countries such as Britain and France. Another reason was because they wanted to control Egypt in order to secure the main route to India, Malaya, Australia, New Zealand and to Hong Kong.This route was known as the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was viewed as the “Lifeline of the Empire” because it allowed quicker access to its colonies in Asia and Africa. It also connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, built mainly with French money from private interest groups using Egyptian labor. Egypt was also targeted due to its weak economy and government, making it an easy target to imperialize. Egypt was colonized three times each by different civilizations. It was colonized by the Ottomans in 1517, by the French in 1799, and by the British in 1882. A key person involved in Egypts colonization was Muhammad Ali. After taking power in 1805, he strengthened the army and focused on cultivating the land. He also increased trade with Europe and sent officials to Britain to be educated.
Ancient Egypt is very well-known as a barren desert in the geography of Africa, yet it is also acclaimed as the “breadbasket of the world.” This grandiose name is often associated with the river Nile, which is strongly believed as one of the most prominent factors for the vivacity of ancient Egypt. Moreover, many historians confidently conclude that the river Nile perhaps is responsible for not only breathing life into this once uninhabitable piece of land, but also for manipulating the behaviour and culture of its people. Therefore, it can be surmised that the river Nile remains one of the most significant and influential factors in the agriculture, trade, and culture of ancient Egypt.
America’s role in the establishing of Israel marked the beginning of resentment among many Arabs and Muslims communities (Evara, Stratmann & Natta 2007). With this political stand, the US was forced to adopt policies that conflicted with major political movements in the region, namely secular pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism. Egypt was on the forefront pushing for the first movement; it described its position on the Middle East and the rest of the world. Both the movements called for unity among the Muslim and Arabic community. Consequently they alienated the western countries, to an extent of advocating for violence. In 1991 the relationship was complicated further when the US led the gulf war against Iraq. However the more recent September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America soil hig...
The Nile’s geography impacted Ancient Egypt and its civilization. There were the deserts surrounding the Nile, the Sea, and the Nile River itself. To the east and west of the Nile there were deserts that could help protect the Ancient Egyptians and prevent
The author’s states that ancient Egypt had political pioneers and social pioneers, they were the first empire with great housing system, that they were materialistic people, and the first to provide a serious preparation of food. The most important reason that contributed to a great political system was the geography of its land which was located in the Valley of the Nile, even though it hardly ever rained.
Weber, Smith, Allan, Collins, Morgan and Entshami.2002. Foreign Policy in a transformed world. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.
Egypt is known as the gift of the Nile, but why well that is what this paper is all about. For starters Egypt would not be the place it is today without the Nile it would be reduced to a dry uninhabitable desert. The Nile provides water to the entire land and as we all know water is a necessity for all life to exist. Another thing that the Nile supplies is silt, this silt is full of nutrients that makes farming not only possible but actually a lot easier than it is here in the states . The Nile also makes trade with nearby cities and towns possible so supplies are never short.
The Nile, is the longest river in the world, and is located in northeastern Africa. Its principal source is Lake Victoria, in east central Africa. The Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, with a total distance of 5584 km. From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6671 km long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km. Not only is the Nile considered a wonder by Herodotus, but by people all over the world, due to its impotance to the growth of a civilization.The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 BC.