Suez, Geneva's door to Africa

The construction and opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 had a significant impact on the progress of global colonization and the integration of countries without colonies into the world economy. Egypt had been an important destination for the 19th century Swiss and Genevans, above all on an entrepreneurial level but also on a political one, with active participation of Swiss nationals in Egypt’s public institutions. After the inauguration of the famous canal (the main foreign investment of Genevan capital just after French public loans), a bloody war broke out between the Sudanese Mahdists and the Anglo-Egyptian coalition (1881-1899). Many photographs and objects arrived in Geneva, particularly from Suez, during this century: artefacts from the southern Sahara purchased in Egypt in curiosity markets, arms circulating after the massacres of the Mahdists’ conflict or pieces of pottery created specifically for female European tourists.