In March 2021, fierce winds blew a container ship off course.
In most places, this would have caused a minor incident.
But in the Suez Canal, it was a global crisis.
This vessel wasn't just blocking other ships — it was obstructing the flow of international trade through one of the world's most important waterways.
The site of the Suez Canal has been of interest to rulers of this region as far back as the second millennium BCE.
To move goods between Asia and the Mediterranean basin, traders had to traverse the narrow isthmus separating the Red Sea and the Nile, journeying in camel-bound caravans through the unforgiving desert.
A maritime passage between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea would bypass this trip altogether.
And throughout the 16th century, multiple powers attempted to construct such a canal.
But their plans were obstructed by cost, political strife, and the ever-shifting sands.
In 1798, interest in building a canal was rekindled, this time attracting attention from across Europe.
