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Why did Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalize the Suez Canal in 1956?

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Cargo ships travel along the wide Suez Canal in Egypt, bordered by sandy desert on one side and greenery on the other. — Suez Canal Ships in the Suez Canal in Egypt. One of the world's most important shipping lanes, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal primarily as a retaliatory measure after the United States and Britain withdrew their promised financial support for the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This withdrawal was a response to Egypt’s strengthening political and military ties with the Soviet Union and communist Czechoslovakia.12

By seizing control of the Suez Canal Company—which was then dominated by British and French interests—Nasser intended to use the tolls collected from international shipping to fund the dam's construction himself, projecting that the project would be paid for within five years. This act of Pan-Arab nationalism was a direct challenge to Western influence in the region, ultimately triggering the Suez Crisis when Britain, France, and Israel launched a military intervention to regain control of the waterway.23