a series of events that took place in 1956 when the Egyptian government nationalized the Suez Canal. The two main owners of the canal, Britain and France, attacked Egypt by air and sent groups of soldiers to attack on land. This caused many arguments in Britain. Some people thought that the government was right to use the armed forces and show that Britain was still a strong country, but many people were shocked and angry at the use of force, and believed that the government was wrong. The United Nations was opposed to the British and French action, and after less than two months the soldiers left Egypt. These events made many people realize that European countries such as Britain and France now had much less influence than in the first half of the 20th century, when they still had large empires.
See also Eden .