This message comes from IXL,
providing an online learning environment intended to keep student skills sharp over summer vacation.
The platform covers core subjects and adapts to each child's pace.
Receive 20% off at IXL.com slash NPR.
As evening sets in on July 26, 1956, the president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser,
stands at a podium in Alexandria, looking out at a crowd of 100,000.
He's about to throw a wrench into the plans of the most powerful countries on Earth.
At first, the speech seems fairly standard, kind of upbeat.
But about halfway into the nearly three-hour speech, Nasser begins to rail against what he calls the imperialists
who have mortgaged our future, his voice growing more fiery.
And then he repeatedly says the name Ferdinand de Lesseps, the 19th century French developer
who built the Suez Canal in the 1860s, which dramatically cut down the travel time between Europe and Asia.
The canal was mostly built by Egyptian laborers.
It runs through Egyptian territory.
But the two biggest shareholders of the company that controlled shipping in the canal, Britain and France.
And towards the end of the speech, Nasser reads a presidential decree nationalizing the Suez Canal Company,
putting control of shipping there in the hands of Egypt.
At that exact moment, miles away,
Egyptian military forces mobilize to occupy the canal offices, taking control of all its assets.
The crowd erupts with cheers.