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On 19 January 1957 the Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, resigned. He was said to be in poor health but it may have been his handling of a crisis the year before which led to his departure.
In 1869, thanks to the work of a French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, a canal opened linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It was called the Suez Canal. The canal was built through the land of Egypt who had a 44% share of the canal. It cut the journey time between Asia and Europe by days and in the first year ¾ of the ships using it were British. By the mid 1870s Egypt had a financial crisis and the British PM, Benjamin Disraeli, remember him, bought the Egyptian shares for £4 million.
Over the following 80 or so years, through two world wars, Britain sought to protect the canal, even making Egypt a part of our Empire for a while. In 1936 the two countries signed a treaty declaring Egypt to be independent but that British troops could be stationed in the Suez Canal zone to protect our interests. The treaty would last for 20 years when things would be looked at again.
Add 20 to 1936 and you get 1956. In the few years before this Egypt began to try to become more independent. It was agreed that British troops would leave in June 1956 but could come back if another foreign power threatened the canal. Meanwhile, the new leader of Egypt, General Nasser, wanted to build a dam across the River Nile at Aswan to water the land below. Britain and the United States offered to help fund this and then withdrew the offer. On 26 July 1956, President Nasser nationalised the Anglo-French Suez Canal Company, declaring that he would take the revenue from the canal to finance his dam. He then blocked the canal with wrecked ships.
Israel was already worried about its relationship with Egypt, there had been several minor wars and battles, and it is believed that Israel, Britain and France, came up with a plan to solve the worry of Israel and the worry about access to the canal. Israel would attack Egypt, and Britain and France would then come to their help and seize back the Suez Canal.
On 29 October 1956 Israel attacked Egypt. The next day Britain and France ordered each side to stop fighting or else. They didn't so, on 5 November, British and French troops began their assault on the Suez Canal. All was going OK until the United Nations, backed by America and with the threat of Russia coming to Egypt's aid, ordered the fighting to stop and Britain, France and Israel were forced to withdraw their troops. A United Nations peacekeeping force cleared the canal and it was then re-opened. The British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, always denied that there was any agreement between Israel, France and Britain. He told the House of Commons on 20 December 1956 “I want to say this on the question of foreknowledge, and to say it quite bluntly to the House, that there was not foreknowledge that Israel would attack Egypt. There was not.” The Suez crisis badly dented Britain's standing in the world.
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