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
Suez Canal Company his predecessor Said. The problem was referred during 1864 to the arbitration of Napoleon III, who awarded £3,800,000 (equivalent to £ in ) to the company as compensation for the losses they would incur by the changes to the original grant which Ismail demanded. During 1875, a financial crisis forced Isma'il to sell his shares to the government of the United Kingdom for only £3,976,582 (equivalent to £ in ). The company operated the canal until its nationalization by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1956, which led to the Suez Crisis. In 1962, Egypt made its final payments for