Canal digging dates back to the Ancient World, providing the means to move crops, building stones, and people. Wheeled transport, where it existed, was hobbled by poor road surfaces, and loads carried could not approach what a canal barge transported. One of the earliest canals, connecting the River Nile to the Gulf of Suez, dates to the reign of Ramses II in the 13th century B.C.
By the 18th century, Europe was heavily investing in canal building, substantially lowering the ...