The Suez Crisis of 1956 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor
144,112
Published 2015-11-23
In 1956, Egypts President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company. In response, Britain, together with France and Israel, attacked Egypt. The Suez War was the only major military engagement in the 20th century which was opposed by the official opposition. It was opposed also by the United States and the United Nations. Britain and France were compelled to withdraw from Egypt. Suez damaged the reputation of the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden. He had been the last Prime Minister to act as if Britain was still a world power; and the first Prime Minister to have to face the reality that she was not.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-suez-cri…
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All Comments (21)
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As always, entertaining, erudite, and informative to a fault. The good professor does not disappoint.
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Great lecture (again). If only this kind of incisive analysis of rivals' varying motives were part of the public discourse of current international crises like Syria & the Ukraine.
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Coming to these very late, but they're relatively concise for how large a topic they cover.
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At c. 1:13:00 and after, the speaker several times says "Europe" when he means the E.E.C., which is not the same thing at all. The E.E.C. at the time of de Gaulle's veto was only 6 countries, only a small proportion of the whole continent.
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8:18 When the Americans tell the British that they, the Americans, took the view that they, the British, should leave, because otherwise they, the British again, would give the impression that the West is still colonialist, is when the Americans finally mastered the art of British understatement.
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Brilliant Analysis and very interesting concluding comments.
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An extremely interesting and very informative analysis of Britain's role in the Suez crisis.
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I really enjoy these lectures. I've learned quite a bit.
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Superb lecture, thank you. I look forward to the others in this series.
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The best lecturer in the series. - Supermac! - I think the UN is useful as a place where contacts can be made between hostile powers who do not have formal relations. "World opinion" is an overrated concept, "world government" a bad one.
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Food for thought. Very interesting.
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He’s unrivalled. We are fortunate for his gifts.
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Sir Bogdanor has specialized in being The Ultimate English Upperclass Dignitary
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1:16:37 True, those wars would not have happened. Your earlier point about Nasser-led guerrilla war against the Anglo-French occupiers is what would have happened.
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42:10 “Ike will lie doggo” quote for the ages there
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a reminder the perilous journey during low tech timelines
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Some Americans still wonder why Britain did not support them in Viet Nam.
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The first lesson in History studies - it's interpretive. This professor has presented a view that excludes at least a couple of important facts. That Egypt was essentially going to virtually starve without funding from the West for the Aswan Dam and therefore sought aid from wherever else it could, and the important point that Communism is anathema to a religious society. Listening to this professor reminded me of the revisionism that has plagued History departments since I studied it in the 90's. The language he uses, the false connections he implies (US and British convergence), the blindness to verifiable historical facts (Nasser found Communism quite antithetical)- this all suggests a historian on the fringe. I had a high opinion of Professor Bogdanor - and Gresham - but this reminds me of the square peg/round hole forced narrative I've heard elsewhere by historians.
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It took him 1' 18min to realise that the British empire was finished and they had to leave.... and leave from everywere. People didn't fight fascism to be ruled by another foreign power !!
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The speaker has given the facts from UK perspectives. Actually British people were heated by Egyptians on the other hand the Egyptian were seeing British as invader to thier country. British's interest was to drain Egyptian resources. For that the Egyptians struggled for thier freedom but Britian coukd not understand other's eight. The end result was making an end to the British Empire.
