How did they construct the Suez Canal
Canal of the Pharaohs: The Egyptian Pharaoh Senusret III may have started work on an ancient canal connecting the Red Sea and the Nile around 1850 BCE.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821): In the late 18th century, Napoleon Bonaparte demonstrated an interest in finding the remnants of this long-forgotten waterway.
Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805–1894): Fifty years later, the French renewed their interest in the idea of building a desert waterway.
Feasibility study: Plans had earlier been drawn up in 1847 by French engineer Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds.
Blueprints: Linant de Bellefonds' pilot study was examined in detail by Austrian railroad pioneer Alois Negrelli.
Construction commences: Despite objections from the British government, who saw a canal in the region as a threat to their commercial.
Forced labor: The Egyptian government initially supplied most of the labor. Thousands of Egyptian fellahs.
Slow progress: Progress was painfully slow. As well as the considerable logistical challenges posed by the project.
Banned: Construction was further delayed after Egyptian ruler Ismail Pasha abruptly banned the use of forced peasant labor in 1863.
Technical innovation: The Suez Canal project was always going to be a catalyst for technical innovation.