26. When Britain Tried to Steal the Nile
During the seven decades from 1882 to 1952, Egypt was a de facto British client state and protectorate, and Britain had the right to base troops in Egypt to protect her interests. The most important of those interests was safeguarding the Suez Canal, of which the British government was a majority shareholder.
Then in 1952, a military coup by nationalist Egyptian officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew Egypt’s pro-British king. The new government demanded that British troops leave Egypt, and in 1956, nationalized the Suez Canal. Nasser and his nationalist government infuriated British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, who was determined to cut the Egyptian upstart down to size and put him in his place. So Eden decided to steal the Nile, Egypt’s lifeblood and life source.