Gamal Abdel Nasser, dictator of Egypt, seized control of the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by British and French business. The Suez Canal is a major world shipping route. This action took place in 1957 and shook the world Before the crisis, there were tensions between the British and the Egyptians. The Egyptians had grown hostile towards British occupation of the nation and had even began driving British forces out. Nasser had made it very clear that one of his goals was to destroy Israel. He began to purchase Soviet munitions to make his dream a reality. In response to the arms buildup, the Western world withdrew support for a dam that Nasser had wanted to build to irrigate Egypt. This led Nasser to seize the Canal. In the wake of the second world war, the allies were not going to allow appeasement to be the law of the land. Britain, France, and Israel then launched an attack on Nasser's Egypt, in order to retake the canal and curtail his aggression towards Israel. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, threatened to align himself with Egypt if the allies didn't withdraw; effectively starting a Third World War.
Pearson, speaking to the United Nations, proposed that the Allies should withdraw and a newly founded Peacekeeping force would be deployed to bring peace to the region. Pearson, who was Louis St. Laurent's Minister of External Affairs, proposed a peacekeeping force be deployed by the United Nations to occupy the canal, to soothe international tensions.
After WWII, there was great fear that Canada would be fully absorbed into the U.S.A's sphere of influence. Instead of merely 'towing the line' for the United States in an armed conflict, Pearson sought for Canada to carve its own path in international affairs. Also, many thought of the government as being treasonous for not following Britain into the conflict. As a result of Pearson's bold actions, history will always remember him. Firstly, his actions in creating a Peacekeeping force have had an immense impact on our world. For example, the United Nations Peacekeeping force seeks to prevent conflict and provide humanitarian support to those in need globally. There have been 71 peacekeeping missions in its history. Also, Canada achieved a near unrivaled humanitarian legacy and image, both at home and abroad. All in all, Pearson's actions in creating a peacekeeping force helped shape an independent foreign policy and mould our identity.
Short synopsis of the Suez Crisis:
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