Ferdinand de Lesseps
By Illa Vij

FERDINAND performed the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century. He designed the Suez Canal, which divides two continents. With his courage, foresight and determination the canal was cut. Unfortunately, his attempt to cut the Panama Canal proved to be a disaster and it brought him disgrace and ruin.

Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps was born on November 19, 1805, at Versailles. He grew up to be a diplomat, like his father. At the age of 27, he was appointed French Vice-Consul at Alexandria, Egypt. During the voyage to Alexandria, he read books sent to him from the French consulate. He came across a report of a survey made 35 years earlier by a French engineer named Lepere. The purpose of the survey was to explore the possibility of constructing a canal to link the Mediterranean and the Red Sea across the isthmus of Suez. Lepere had concluded that it was an impossible task as the level of the Red Sea was much higher than that of the Mediterranean. Yet, the idea fascinated Lesseps. Henceforth, his ambition was to construct the Suez Canal. During his stay in Egypt, Lesseps made friends with Mohammed Said, the son of the ruler of Egypt.

In 1848, Lesseps was sent on a secret mission to Rome. Due to certain political changes, in Paris, Lesseps underwent some embarrassing moments and suffered accusations, which compelled him to resign from the diplomatic service, at the age of 44. He felt the blow but finally it proved to be a blessing, as he set himself to work for the project that had been haunting him.

Lesseps read and thought a lot about the possibility of the canal. Five years later, Mohammed Said became the ruler of Egypt. Ferdinand went to Cairo to visit him and proposed the project. Mohammed realised the value of the project and accepted the scheme. But the British Government was hostile and did not give its consent.

It is believed that the British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, said that he would move heaven and earth to stop the construction of the canal.

However, Lesseps continued to fight and finally won. On April 25, 1859, the work began at Port Said. Thousands of Egyptian workmen began the work. Work was tough because there were no wheelbarrows or machines to work with. The Egyptians worked with picks, shovels and baskets. Britain, much against this project, objected to the hard work taken by labourers.

When Said died in 1863, his successor, Ismail, withdrew the men. Now Lesseps was compelled to use machines. Better and bigger excavating machines were made and work continued at a good speed. It took 10 years to complete the project. On November 16, 1869, Ismail Pasha officially opened the canal. Headed by the ‘Aigle’, which had the empress, ships of 60 nations sailed slowly through the canal. Lesseps gained tremendous fame. He did not make a fortune from the project, but led a comfortable retired life in France.

In 1879, the Geographical Society of Paris decided to construct the Panama Canal. Lesseps was designated head of the enterprise. He took the responsibility with confidence. He was too old to handle such a major project and he directed operations from Paris. He could not grasp what was happening. Disease and death took toll of those employed. Work had begun in 1881 and went on for eight years. A large number of people holding positions of authority and power in this project turned out to be dishonest and careless. Extravagance and corruption added to the failure. In 1888, it was realised that the company went bankrupt.Out of £ 80,000,000, one third was used on the canal, one third was wasted and one third was stolen. At the age of 87, Lesseps stood in the dock and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and was also fined. The sentence was suspended on appeal, but the hero of the Suez Canal died a ruined man, at the age of 90 on December 7, 1894.