284. Suez Crisis: The British Imperialist vs The Arab Nationalist (Part 1)

Empire

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How did Britain and France almost start World War 3 in 1956? Who was Anthony Eden and why did he hate Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser? Why was the Suez Canal so vital to European oil supplies in the 1950s? Anita and William are joined by the brilliant Alex Von Tunzelmann, author of Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, & The Crisis That Shook The World, to discuss the origins of the infamous Suez Crisis. Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: [email protected] Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you want access to bonus episodes reading lists for every series of Empire, a chat community.
0:06.7	Discounts for all the books mentioned in the week's podcast, add free listening and a weekly newsletter,
0:12.5	sign up to Empire Club at www.empowerpoduk.com.
0:33.0	Hello and welcome to Empire with me, Anita Arnhem.
0:34.9	And me, William, Durable.
0:38.3	Now, we're very excited about this because we've done the Panama Canal.
0:39.8	We're going to do the Suez Canal.
0:40.6	All the Canals.
0:41.4	No, not all the canals.
0:42.3	Just the Suez Canal.
0:44.6	A mini-series on the Suez Canal. And we're predominantly going to concentrate on the 1950s,
0:49.8	where you find the Suez Canal is at the crossroads of international geopolitical fury. So that's what
0:57.4	we're going to be talking about. Britain's imperial prestige is declining. The US and the USSR are
1:02.8	cementing themselves into the position of global superpowers. And they are also becoming sworn
1:08.6	enemies. So this is a story of revolutions, of colonialism, of secrecy. I mean, it's all got it all packed in.
1:14.8	In a sense, this is always just like, if you like, Plassy is said to be the moment when the sort of British Empire really kicks off in India.
1:23.4	Suez is the moment that British imperial power is seen to be eclipsed. Never again after this is
1:29.6	Britain described as a superpower, which it is before this. And it's a crucial moment. It's the
1:35.0	moment also that marks the ascendancy of the US over British foreign policy, because by the end of
1:41.6	this, America has just blown a whistle, cut Britain's
1:45.2	credit, and Britain has had to fall immediately in line, and the government falls. And it's the first
1:51.5	time that America has had that power over Britain, where nothing can happen without an American
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Goalhanger, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Goalhanger and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.