Today in the Past

Today, April 25, 1859, work begins on the Suez Canal. The project is designed and supervised by Ferdinand de Lesseps.

The Suez Canal was one of the outstanding factors that gave birth to Philippine Nationalism.

When the Philippines was opened by Spain to world trade, the liberal ideas of Europe and America streamed into the country, borne by ships and men from foreign ports.

These liberal ideas, contained in books and newspapers included the thoughts of Voltair, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, Jefferson and other political philosophers.

The opening of the Suez Canal to world shipping on November 17, 1869 stimulated Philippine progress.

This canal is 103 miles long and connect the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Suez and hence with the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

Surprisingly, its builder hardly had any qualification, according to the footnote of this source where Andre Siegfried said: "One can hardly pay too great a tribute to Ferdinand de Lesseps, for it was he and he alone who made the canal... He ranks with Magellan and with Vasco de Gama. And yet this man who achieved so much was not a specialist, not an engineer, nor a financier, not even an administrator."

In shortening the sea route between Manila and Spain, the Philippines was brought close to Europe.

In previous years, the route around the Cape and Good Hope needed three months; via the Suez Canal it was reduced to only 32 days.