Suez Canal
- Louis Napoleon gave his blessing to Ferdinand de Lesseps and his attempt to revive a canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
- Lesseps produced this "Eighth Wonder of the World" by re-digging an ancient canal which had long since filled in.
- Empress Eugenie ceremonially opened the Canal
- The majority of the shares belonged to the Khedive of Egypt (governor).
- Later, the British would secretly buy up a majority of the shares to the canal. Perfidious Albion strikes again.