# Canonical recap data for Opening of the Suez Canal (1869)
# Source: https://recap.at/1869/suez-canal-opening
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: suez-canal-opening
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1869/suez-canal-opening"
title: Opening of the Suez Canal
aliases:
- Suez Canal inauguration
- Opening of the Suez Canal
- Inauguration of Suez
- Canal de Suez
subtitle: The man-made waterway connecting Europe to Asia transformed global trade routes and made Egypt a geopolitical crossroads for imperial powers.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1869-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1869
decade: 1860
country:
name: Egypt
slug: egypt
summaryShort: The opening sentence or opening line stands at the beginning of a written work. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term incipit is in use for the very first words of the opening sentence.
summaryLong: The opening sentence or opening line stands at the beginning of a written work. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term incipit is in use for the very first words of the opening sentence.
lede: On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal opened to traffic, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through 193 kilometers of Egyptian territory. The canal eliminated the need for ships to sail around Africa, cutting the journey from Europe to Asia by roughly 40%. It became one of the world's most strategically important waterways and fundamentally reshaped global trade patterns.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Opening_of_the_Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railway.jpg/1280px-Opening_of_the_Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railway.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway"
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Length
  value: 193 kilometers
- label: Construction duration
  value: 10 years (1859–1869)
- label: Opening date
  value: November 17, 1869
- label: Initial toll revenue first year
  value: £2.26 million (approximate)
- label: Estimated journey reduction
  value: 40% shorter route from Europe to Asia
- label: Chief engineer
  value: Ferdinand de Lesseps
- label: Inaugural vessel
  value: French imperial yacht L'Aigle
- label: Construction workforce
  value: Approximately 1.5 million Egyptian laborers over project life
timeline:
- date: 1854-01-01
  title: de Lesseps granted concession
  description: French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps obtains a concession from Egyptian ruler Said Pasha to construct a canal connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
- date: 1859-04-25
  title: Construction begins
  description: Work commences on the Suez Canal under de Lesseps' direction. The project requires extensive dredging and earth removal across the Isthmus of Suez.
- date: 1864-01-01
  title: Freshwater canal completed
  description: A subsidiary freshwater canal from the Nile is finished to supply drinking water to construction workers and future canal operations.
- date: 1869-08-15
  title: Canal filled with seawater
  description: The canal is flooded and filled with seawater from the Mediterranean, allowing the first transit by small vessels.
- date: 1869-11-17
  title: Official inauguration
  description: The Suez Canal officially opens to traffic. French Empress Eugénie leads the inaugural convoy aboard the yacht L'Aigle, accompanied by major international dignitaries.
- date: 1875-11-25
  title: Britain acquires majority stake
  description: Facing financial crisis, Egypt sells its canal shares to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli for £4 million. Britain becomes the largest shareholder.
- date: 1882-07-01
  title: British military occupation
  description: Following the Urabi Revolt, Britain militarily occupies Egypt, securing control of the canal and Egypt's governance for the next 74 years.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_sentence"
  title: Opening sentence
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The canal's opening accelerated industrialization and global commerce by making Asian and African markets dramatically more accessible to European powers. It also entrenched Egypt's geopolitical importance while enriching the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps and French shareholders—though Egypt itself remained economically subordinate throughout the colonial era. The waterway would become a flashpoint for military conflict and sovereignty disputes for over a century.
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: Suez Canal opens in 1869, transforming global shipping and cementing Egypt's strategic importance.
wikidataQid: Q7096525
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: The Opening of the Suez Canal - A Triumph of Modern Engineering
  publishedAt: 1869-11-17
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/times-suez-1869
  excerpt: The long-anticipated inauguration of the Suez Canal took place yesterday amid scenes of great splendor, with vessels from all maritime nations assembling to witness this momentous achievement that connects Europe to Asia without passage around the Cape of Good Hope.
  significance: 92
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Le Figaro
  publisherSlug: le-figaro
  headline: Le Canal de Suez est ouvert - L'Orient enfin accessible
  publishedAt: 1869-11-18
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - gallica.bnf.fr/figaro-suez
  excerpt: "FR: 'Le Canal de Suez est ouvert - L'Orient enfin accessible' / EN: 'The Suez Canal is open - The Orient finally accessible.' French pride swelled as the waterway, engineered under the direction of Ferdinand de Lesseps, officially commenced operations, shortening journey times to India by nearly half."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: The Suez Canal Opens - Commercial Gateway Transformed
  publishedAt: 1869-11-19
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - nytimes.com/1869/suez-archive
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The grand opening ceremony at Port Said witnessed the passage of the French Imperial yacht Aigle, with thousands gathered to celebrate what American observers hailed as the greatest engineering feat of the nineteenth century, promising unprecedented commercial prosperity.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Allgemeine Zeitung
  publisherSlug: allgemeine-zeitung
  headline: Suez-Kanal eroeffnet - Neue Handelsroute nach Asien
  publishedAt: 1869-11-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de
  excerpt: "DE: 'Suez-Kanal eroeffnet - Neue Handelsroute nach Asien' / EN: 'Suez Canal opened - New trade route to Asia.' German commercial interests watched closely as the waterway commenced operations, recognizing immediate implications for export markets and shipping costs across the Reich."
  significance: 75
  type: newspaper
  region: German States
taxonomy:
domain: economic
eventTypes:
- trade_war
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
- exchange
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260514112424/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_sentence"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-14
  label: Opening sentence
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_sentence"
