Convention of Constantinople

Convention of Constantinople

Representatives of each respective country
Type	Multilateral trade treaty
Drafted	2 March 1888
Signed	29 October 1888
Location	Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Effective	8 April 1904 [1][2]
Expiration	N/A
Signatories	United Kingdom  Russian Empire  French Republic  German Empire  Ottoman Empire  Austria-Hungary  Kingdom of the Netherlands Kingdom of Spain
Depositary	Ottoman Empire
Language	French

The Convention of Constantinople^[3][4] is a treaty concerning the use of the Suez Canal in Egypt. It was signed on 29 October 1888 by the United Kingdom, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The Khedivate of Egypt, through whose territory the Canal ran and to which all shares in the Suez Canal Company were due to revert when the company's 99-year lease to manage the canal expired, was not invited to participate in the negotiations and did not sign the treaty.

The signatories comprised all the great European powers of the era, and the treaty was interpreted as a guaranteed right of passage of all ships through the Suez Canal during war and peace. During the 74 years of the United Kingdom's military presence in Egypt, from 1882 to 1956, the British government was in effective control of the Canal. In 1956, the Egyptian government nationalised the Suez Canal Company. Future wars between Egypt and Israel would see the canal blocked and unusable for extended periods of time.