Khedive of Egypt and Sudan

On this day, work started on the shore of the future Port Said for the construction of the Suez Canal, open to ships of all nations. The French diplomat, Ferdinand de Lesseps, had obtained a concession from the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan to create a company that would build and operate the canal for 99 years from its opening. The Suez Canal Company thus came into being on 15th December 1858. The British government strongly opposed the project, fearful that the canal would disrupt their commercial and maritime supremacy, but the project was able nonetheless to find sufficient backers to go ahead. The excavation took ten years and the canal was finally inaugurated under French control on the 17th November 1869. Although numerous technical, political, and financial problems had been overcome, the final cost was more than double the original estimate.

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