The History of the Canal

The French picked up the idea of building a canal in the 1830s and 1840s. The Suez Canal Company had to work very hard indeed to get people to invest, but the idea eventually caught on particularly in France. One of the most significant obstacles that the Suez Canal company had to overcome was British opposition to the project. Unpaid, unfree labor was built into the plans of the of the canal's construction.