Why did Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal?
Nasser’s seizure of the canal had nothing to do with the dam at Azwan (which came later), or with hampering British links to India (which by 1956 was already an independent nation). Nasser seized the canal because the canal represented the most obvious example of colonial imperialism in the Middle East. As a Pan-Arabist, Nasser could not attempt to speak for the Arabs with the west if he allowed the West to control the most important resource in the region. He needed to build credibility with his Arab neighbors. And by thumbing his nose at the West and taking the canal, he did just that. After the 1956 war, Nasser’s credibility in the Arab world rose, and he achieved genuine prominance throughout the Arab world.
