How the Suez Canal changed the world - Lucia Carminati

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi)

In March 2021, fierce winds blew a container ship off course.

2021 年三月，

猛烈的強風將一艘貨櫃船吹離航道。

In most places, this would have caused a minor incident.

如果是發生在其它地方， 通常不是什麼嚴重的事。

But in the Suez Canal, it was a global crisis.

但在蘇伊士運河，卻成了全球危機。

This vessel wasn’t just blocking other ships—

這艘船不僅只是擋住了其他船隻——

It was obstructing the flow of international trade

還阻斷了世界上

through one of the world’s most important waterways.

最重要的國際貿易水路。

The site of the Suez Canal has been of interest to rulers of this region

這個區域的統治者一直都對 蘇伊士運河的地點很感興趣，

as far back as the second millennium BCE.

最早甚至可追溯到西元前兩千年。

To move goods between Asia and the Mediterranean basin,

商人在亞洲和地中海盆地之間的貨運

traders had to traverse the narrow isthmus separating the Red Sea and the Nile,

都得要穿越紅海和尼羅河 之間的狹窄地峽，

journeying in camel-bound caravans through the unforgiving desert.

以駱駝商隊的形式越過無情的沙漠。

A maritime passage between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea

印度洋和地中海之間的海道

would bypass this trip altogether.

可以避免這整段路程。

And throughout the 16th century,

十六世紀期間，

multiple powers attempted to construct such a canal.

數個強權都嘗試要建造這樣的運河。

But their plans were obstructed by cost, political strife,

但他們的計畫卻受到成本、

政治衝突，及不斷 流動的沙子所阻擾。

and the ever-shifting sands.

In 1798, interest in building a canal was rekindled,

1798 年，

想要建造運河的興趣再起，

this time attracting attention from across Europe.

這次引發了歐洲各地的關注。

Over the following decades, individuals from Austria, Italy, Britain, and France

在接下來數十年間，

有來自奧地利、義大利、

英國，及法國的人

pitched their plans to Egypt’s rulers.

向埃及的統治者提出他們的計畫。

At the time, Egypt was a territory of the Ottoman Empire,

當時，埃及是鄂圖曼帝國的領土，

which was resistant to these proposals.

該帝國反對這些提案。

But Egypt's political and economic autonomy was gradually increasing,

但埃及在政治及經濟上的 自治權都在日漸提升，

and its government was eager to pursue the project.

埃及政府也很熱切 想要進行這項計畫。

When Sa’id Pasha came into power in 1854, he approved a plan

1854 年，薩伊德‧帕夏掌權，

他核准了野心勃勃 又會操控人心的法國外交官

from the enterprising and manipulative French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps.

斐迪南‧德‧雷賽布提出的計畫。

Signed in 1854 and 1856, a pair of concessions gave de Lesseps

1854 年及 1856 年簽署的

兩項特許讓德‧雷賽布有權 設立蘇伊士運河公司，

authority to establish the Suez Canal Company

and finance it by selling shares to “capitalists of all nations.”

並透過賣股份

給「各國的資本主義者」 來獲取資金。

The contracts between Sa’id Pasha and the Canal Company

薩伊德‧帕夏和運河公司之間的合約

also promised a workforce of hundreds of thousands of Egyptian workers.

也承諾動用數十萬埃及的勞動人口。

Beginning in 1862, about 20,000 laborers were forcibly recruited every month,

從 1862 年開始，

每個月有約兩萬名勞工被強迫徵召，

digging the canal in harsh desert conditions

他們在嚴酷的沙漠環境中挖運河，

without easy access to food or water.

卻無法輕易取得食物和水。

Diseases like cholera ran rampant and workers toiled under the threat of whips.

霍亂等疾病蔓延，

工人在鞭子的威脅下艱辛地工作。

The estimates of those who died during construction range into the thousands.

估計在建造期間死亡的人數

達數千人。

In 1864, the new Egyptian ruler, Isma’il Pasha,

1864 年，

新上任的埃及統治者伊斯梅爾‧帕夏

put an end to the coerced Egyptian labor,

不再強迫埃及的勞工，

but he still pressed forward with construction.

但他仍然繼續推動建造。

Foreign workers from all over Europe and the Middle East

來自歐洲及中東各地的外國工人，

labored alongside dredgers and bucket excavators

與挖泥船及斗式挖土機一同工作，

to remove 74 million cubic meters of dirt.

要移除七千四千百萬立方公尺的土。

This massive population of workers required infrastructure

有這麼大量的工人，需要有基礎設施

to deliver drinking water and other supplies,

來遞送飲用水及其他補給品，

giving rise to a flourishing economy of restaurants, brothels, and smuggled goods.

讓餐館、妓院，以及走私業 一片欣欣向榮。

Amidst the bustle were born three new cities with multi-ethnic populations:

三個跨種族的新城市 在這一片繁忙喧鬧中誕生：

Port Said on the northern Mediterranean shore,

地中海北岸的賽德港、

Ismailia on the canal's middle tract,

運河中段的伊斯梅利亞，

and Port Tewfiq, at the southern edge of the canal.

以及運河南端的陶菲克港。

The construction site bypassed the Nile and ran directly from Port Said to Suez.

工地避開尼羅河，

直接從賽德港延伸到蘇伊士。

And after years of work, the streams of the two seas finally began merging

經過多年的努力，這兩片海洋的水流

終於在 1860 年代中開始匯流。

in the mid-1860s.

The finished canal was 164 kilometers long,

完工後的運河， 長度為一百六十四公里，

with a width of 56 meters at the surface,

表面的寬度為五十六公尺，

and it was officially inaugurated on November 17th, 1869.

1869 年十一月十七日正式啟用。

While it struggled financially during its first few years,

雖然前幾年在財務上很艱困，

the canal ended up dramatically accelerating global trade.

但這條運河後來 大大加速了全球貿易。

It also facilitated the migration of numerous marine species,

它也促成了許多海洋物種的遷移，

dramatically changing local ecosystems and cuisine.

大大改變了當地的生態系統和料理。

Over the decades, traffic through the canal grew.

數十年間，通過運河的 交通量越來越大。

But in 1875,

但在 1875 年，

financial issues forced Egypt to sell much of its stock in the Canal Company,

財務問題迫使埃及賣出 所持有的大部分運河公司股份，

allowing Britain to take over.

讓英國接手。

It was only in 1956 that control of the canal fully reverted to Egypt

到了 1956 年，運河的控制權

才因為賈麥爾‧阿布杜爾‧納瑟總統

when it was nationalized by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

讓運河國有化而完全轉還給埃及。

This move sparked a military standoff

此舉觸發了埃及與英國、法國，

between Egypt and Britain, France, and Israel.

和以色列之間的軍事僵局。

But once resolved,

但，僵局解決後，

it transformed the canal into a major source of Egypt's national revenue

運河就成了埃及 國家收入的主要來源之一，

and helped redeem the canal's imperialist legacy.

協助恢復了運河的帝國主義遺產。

Today, nearly 30% of all global ship traffic passes through the Suez Canal,

現今，近三成的全球海上交通

都會通過蘇伊士運河，

totaling over 20,000 ships in 2021.

2021 年總計有超過兩萬艘船通過。

However, the incident of the Ever Given is a stark reminder

然而，長賜輪事件

很清楚地提醒大家

of just how fragile our manmade systems can be.

我們的人造系統有多脆弱。