ABSTRACT
The Egyptian nationalization of the Suez Canal constituted a major challenge to Britain's authority in the Middle East as well as to its prestige on the international scene. On 22 November, the British and French governments notified the United Nations that a phased withdrawal of forces would begin as the United Nations Emergency Force achieved strength in the area. In the words of Charles Robertson, "the decision was a painful one, based largely on continued pressure from the United States, Secretary of the Treasury George M. Humphrey had told the British that no American financial aid would be forthcoming until such a statement was made." The British economy suffered more than the European continent because British industry was much more dependent on seaborne trade, Further, by the midfifties British industry had an unprecedented dependency on oil rather than coal as an energy source.
