Suez Canal Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Suez Canal Crisis - Research Paper Example This canal is not a natural one; it was constructed in 1869 in order to transport goods from Europe and Asia. Earlier the goods transportation between Europe and Africa was extremely difficult since the transportation ships forced to navigate around Africa to reach Europe from Asia. The construction of Suez Canal made the transportation of good between these two regions easier. Suez Canal crisis occurred in 1956 when a war broke out between France, Britain, and Israel against Egypt. The invasion of Egypt by Israel caused problems in the good transportation between Asia and Europe which forced Britain and France to issue a joint ultimatum to the concerning parties; Egypt and Israel. They started to bomb Egypt shortly after the ultimatum given which is believed to be a preplanned attack with the knowledge of Israel. This paper analyses the various dimensions of the Suez Canal crisis developed in 1956 with the help of topic such as the relationships between Israel and Egypt, relationshi ps between Eden and Nasser, the effects of cold war, history of Suez canal etc. Historically, the relationship between Egypt and Israel remains a strained one. Bible has many references for the strained relationships between Israel and Egypt. It is difficult for these two countries to establish strong relationships in future also because of their immense differences in culture and religious beliefs. Jews perceive Arabs as their enemies and their enmity started long time back. Most of the years of the twentieth century, Egypt was ruled by Britain. Egyptians were second class citizens in their home land during the colonial rule of Britain which developed dissatisfaction against the British among the Egyptian public. Violence against the British started to grow in Egypt as a result of their protest against colonial rule. British Prime Minister Antony Eden tried to deal this violence by increasing the number of British troops in Egypt. Nasser responded to Eden’s efforts by formin g a Revolutionary Command Council in Egypt. It was difficult for Britain to bear the huge cost of military operations in Egypt because of the financial problems developed in Britain during this period. The relationship between President Nasser and Prime Minister Antony Eden was not so good during the Suez Canal crisis period. They met each other in 1955 in Cairo in order to rectify the problems between them; however neither of them trusted each other and the strained relationship continued even after the meeting. Eden tried to force Nasser from establishing a strong relationship with the communist Soviet Union. He also urged Nasser to stop anti-British radio broadcasts. However, Eden failed to get a positive response from Nasser on both the issues. â€Å"Even the dinner put on for Nasser at the British Embassy was a failure as Nasser arrived in military uniform to be greeted by Eden in full evening dress†2. Nasser treated Eden’s efforts as a deliberate attempt to humil iate him and whatever the positives derived out of this meeting was destroyed because of this incident. Britain forced to end their colonial rule in Egypt and Egypt became an independent state in 1953 even though British presence continued till 1956. Nasser became the president of Egypt in 1954. The nationalization of Suez Canal was the immediate action taken by Nasser after assuming the president’s post which resulted in the Suez Canal crisis of 1956. History of Suez Canal As mentioned earlier, Suez Canal was