Suez Crisis Peacekeepers to police the Egyptian–Israeli border, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned, Canadian Minister of External Affairs Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the USSR may have been emboldened to invade Hungary. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of work financed by the French and Egyptian governments. The canal was operated by the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal, an Egyptian-chartered company; the area surrounding the canal remained sovereign Egyptian territory and the only land-bridge between Africa and Asia. The canal instantly became strategically important, as it provided the shortest ocean link between
Prime Minister of the Punjab measures to relieve farmers and peasants of crippling debt. Similar steps were taken by the Prime Minister of Bengal. The Unionists opposed the Quit India movement and supported the Allies during World War II. The Unionists were constitutionalists who favored cooperation with the British to achieve independence from the Raj. The Unionists signed the Lucknow Pact with the All India Muslim League (AIML) in 1937. The Punjab premier supported the drafting of the Lahore Resolution in 1940. In 1941, the premiers of Punjab and Bengal joined the Viceroy's defence council against the wishes of the AIML. The second Punjab premier