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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2010
Nothing less than a revolution! The Dutch prince Hendrik had no doubts about the impact of the Suez Canal, cutting through the isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. At the end of 1869, having witnessed the opening of this new waterway, the prince remained in Egypt for six weeks to study the possible benefits for Dutch trade and shipping. As one of the driving spirits behind the modernization of the Dutch maritime industry he earned himself the epithet ‘the seafarer’. In the following year he played an active role in the founding of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN), the first Dutch steam shipping line to the Netherlands Indies.