A Prominent Figure in the Creation of the Suez Canal: Luigi Negrelli (1799-1858)

Leonardi A.

苏伊士运河创建中的杰出人物：路易吉·内格雷利（1799-1858）

伦纳迪

Abstract: The essential role of Luigi Negrelli (1799-1858) in planning the Suez Canal project – then realised by tens of thousands of Egyptian and European workers with the commitment of the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps – was perfectly clear when the work was completed 150 years ago. In the years that followed, however, Negrelli fell into oblivion and his figure was not revisited until the first half of the 20th century, and then in a series of markedly nationalistic studies that misrepresented his image and role. During the interwar period, on the wave of claims to national grandeur, Negrelli was depicted as an “Italian genius” at the service of Risorgimento ideals that he actually had no part of. Meanwhile some German writings, driven by the same nationalistic demagogy, likewise improperly claimed a distinctly German origin for him. Even some recent studies in European cultural publications have been imprecise and totally inadequate in depicting the man and his role.Drawing on abundant, previously unexploited documents produced by Negrelli himself, this paper offers a new interpretation of the role of this eminent engineer. It traces his engagement in the realisation of a series of railways in Europe and his fundamental role in the design of the Suez Canal, identifying him as a distinguished economist and technician of transportation.

Keywords: Luigi negrelli; Suez Canal project; prominent figure

摘要：150年前苏伊士运河竣工时，路易吉·内格雷利（1799-1858）在项目规划中的核心作用已被广泛认可——这条由上万名埃及与欧洲劳工修建的运河，最终在费迪南·德·雷赛布领导的苏伊士运河环球公司主导下完成。然而，在接下来的几十年里，内格雷利的名字逐渐被遗忘，直到20世纪上半叶才重新引起关注，但当时一系列带有强烈民族主义色彩的研究扭曲了其真实形象与贡献。两次世界大战期间，在民族主义浪潮推动下，内格雷利被塑造成服务于意大利复兴运动理想的“天才工程师”——尽管他本人从未参与此类政治活动。若干德语文章同样受到此种民族主义煽动思潮的驱使，断言内格雷利具有纯正的德意志血统。近年来，一些欧洲文化出版物的研究也存在明显偏差，未能准确反映内格雷利的历史作用。本研究基于内格雷利本人大量未曾公开的一手文献，对这一杰出工程师的历史角色提出了全新阐释。本研究系统梳理了他在欧洲多条铁路建设中的工程实践，并着重论证了其在苏伊士运河设计中的奠基性贡献，由此确立了其作为交通运输领域卓越经济学家与技术专家的双重学术身份。

关键词：路易吉·内格雷利；苏伊士运河工程；杰出人物

来源：中国知网

发布时间：2020年1月1日

Date：January 1, 2020

检索：王芳

翻译：彭圣君

一审：杨洋

二审：彭莉

三审：罗玲娟

上传发布：姜浩