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Land that could be bridged by a canal.
It all clicked into place. Clearing my throat, I said tentatively: ‘It was of significance because a canal could be built to link the two, without the different sea levels causing a natural catastrophe?’
He was quiet for a moment.
‘Mr Linton?’
‘Yes, Sir?’
‘Your intelligence is greater than that of an average British Member of Parliament.’
‘Err… Thank you, Sir.’
‘Don’t get too excited, though. Nowadays, this doesn't mean much.’
‘Oh.’ I hesitated. ‘And why is it so important to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean?’
He sighed coolly. ‘Only slightly greater than an MP’s intelligence, I see. Well, Mr Linton, why do you think?’
‘I have no idea, Sir.’
‘What, Mr Linton, is the most potent instrument of power in our world today?’
‘Um… guns?’
I could almost feel him close his eyes in exasperation.
‘A typical answer, and a very dangerous misconception. The most potent instrument of power in our world today, Mr Linton, is trade. It was trade that built the British Empire, trade that lost it its American Colonies. It was trade that destroyed the might of the Incas, Turks and Chinese and made Europe, and above all Britain, the master of the world.’
‘Um… I think guns played some part in that, too.’
‘Yes, yes. They played a part.’ He waved my comment away as if it were of no more importance than an annoying fly. ‘But if not for trade, Europe would never have become inventive and rich enough to develop the gun and put it to its full use. If not for trade, great ships would not have been built, the world would not have been circumvented, the Americas not discovered, the farthest corners of the world not reached and then subjugated. Trade is what keeps Europe’s power alive today, and it is what has enabled me to build my very own empire. And now imagine, in such a world, dominated by trade, what you could do if you were able to open a new trade route, a trade route to the richest lands of the East which would be only half as long as the existing ones.’
As he spoke, I saw the map of the world from my father’s old atlas appear in front of my inner eye, and I could see red lines flowing across it, marking the most important trade routes of the British Empire. I had never thought about why exactly these trade routes were shown on every map, but now, listening to Mr Ambrose’s almost passionate words, I realized: they were the Empire. Without them, it would not exist.
And I also realized something else: All of the trade routes to the East ran around the Cape of Good Hope, circumventing the entire continent of Africa before they reached their destination. They did not go through the Mediterranean and from there to the Red Sea, because on this far shorter journey, there was a piece of land in the way.
Of course! Lilly, you blockhead, how could you not have seen this sooner!
‘Suez,’ I whispered. ‘You are planning to build a canal at Suez!’
Again, he didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then: ‘It seems that not just your intelligence is slightly above that of an average MP. Your knowledge of geography, too. Adequate thinking, Mr Linton.’
Would it kill him to say ‘good’ instead of ‘adequate’ for once? Yes, it probably would. He’d choke on it.
‘How much trade goes around the Cape of Good Hope every year?’ I enquired cautiously.
He made a low, derisive noise.
‘All the trade with China, India, Indochina, Australia, New Zealand… practically half the world’s trade. Certainly the most profitable half. And if everything had gone according to plan, all this was to be channelled through one thin lane of water.’ Underneath the coolness, his voice almost became passionate as he spoke. ‘All this was going to flow through one centre of the world. All this I
was to hold in the palm of my hand. Can you imagine, Mr Linton? Can you?’
I shook my head. I had to work hard to resist the urge to shiver.
‘N-no. I cannot.’
