17 November, 1869
TODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
The opening on November 17, 1869 of the Suez Canal in Egypt, one of the most important artificial sea-level waterways in the world, paved the way for the Philippines’ direct commercial relations with Spain instead of via Mexico.
As travel time from the Philippines to Spain and vice versa was shortened to 30 days from more than two months, this positively affected the development of agricultural exports, which brought economic prosperity to native indios or the so-called “ilustrados” (Filipinos with money and education).
These development also paved the way for Filipino “ilustrados” to send their children to universities in Europe. The new route was built for 10 years by a French company led by Ferdinand de Lesseps.
(Ref: Philippines News Agency; Photo from alchetron.com/Suez-5735-W)
