1956–1957: (The Suez Crisis — Nasser Nationalizing the Canal Company After Western Cancellation of Dam Funding, the Anglo-French-Israeli Invasion Condemned W…

1956–1957: (The Suez Crisis — Nasser Nationalizing the Canal Company After Western Cancellation of Dam Funding, the Anglo-French-Israeli Invasion Condemned Worldwide Especially by the United States, the Humiliating Retreat Marking the End of High Imperialism, Not Since Adwa in 1896 Had a European Power Been So Roundly Humiliated on African Soil, and Britain and France in Full Retreat from the Continent Within a Few Years): Nasser’s government was determined to eradicate all Western influences compromising Egyptian sovereignty, and the inevitable clash centered on the Suez Canal — an affront to Egyptian nationalists since its inception in 1869. In late 1954 the British had agreed to evacuate their forces, but two years later the Canal was at the center of an international standoff. The Anglo-French invasion, aided by Israel, was motivated by Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal Company — itself prompted by the cancellation of funds for the Aswan Dam by Britain, the Americans, and the World Bank. The invasion was an unmitigated disaster, condemned worldwide and most conspicuously by the United States — stunned governments in London and Paris were cowed into abandoning the operation. British prime minister Eden resigned soon after. Nasser’s triumph was a victory for pan-Arabism, but Africans could celebrate too, for it symbolized the ascendancy of the postcolonial state over the old imperial powers. Not since Adwa in 1896 had a European power been so roundly humiliated on African soil, and within a few years Britain and France were in full retreat from the continent. The Suez debacle was the death rattle of an imperial order that had never been as confident as it pretended — and in its aftermath, the question was no longer whether Africa would be free, but when.