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Opening of Suez Canal Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Opening of Suez Canal? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

Before the Suez Canal, ships traveling from London to Mumbai had to go around the entire African continent.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

The canal cut the voyage by about 4,500 miles, avoiding the treacherous Cape of Good Hope route around South Africa.

2.

The Suez Canal opened in 1869 with a grand ceremony attended by European royalty.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

The canal opened on November 17, 1869, with Empress Eugénie of France and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria among the guests.

3.

At the opening, a fleet of 68 ships sailed through the canal in a single day.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

A procession of 68 vessels, led by the Aigle, traversed the canal on opening day, a logistical feat for the era.

4.

The canal was built entirely by French engineers and funded by the French government alone.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Ferdinand de Lesseps led the French company, but funding came from both French and Egyptian shareholders; Egypt initially owned 44% of shares.

5.

The canal was initially dug by hand using only slave labor from Egypt.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Over 1.5 million Egyptian laborers were forced to work (often paid poorly), but slavery was officially banned; it was corvée labor, not chattel slavery.

6.

The canal was originally planned to be a sea-level route, but locks were added later to control water flow.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The Suez Canal was built as a sea-level canal with no locks, using natural topography and dredging—a key engineering choice.

7.

A statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps stood at the canal's entrance until the 1950s.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

A bronze statue of de Lesseps was erected at Port Said in 1899, but it was removed after the 1956 Suez Crisis.

8.

The canal's opening was marred by a massive sandstorm that delayed the first ship's passage.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The opening day was clear and festive; the first ship, the French yacht Aigle, passed through without weather issues.

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