Also, Egypt’s ancient Egyptian societies were lost during the Greek occupation of the coast. Many people had witnessed ancient Egyptian remains like hieroglyphics and temples, but few knew their source or purpose.
The birth of Egyptian modification was when the Napoleonic wars began. The French army, led by Napoleon, were responsible for the Napoleonic wars. They had begun when the French army landed near the Nile river in 1798. The reason for their attack was to disrupt the British trade with India. Even though Napoleon was futile, Napoleon’s army overpowered the Ottoman defenders but then the British sunk its fleet.
By invading Egypt, Napoleon had Europeans engrossed by Egypt’s ancient history. Following the withdrawal of Napoleon’s army, Muhammad Ali, an Albanian military officer, established his own sovereign government in 1811 in Egypt. Preceding his death in 1849, Muhammad Ali had taken over Sudan and Syria and founded an educational system that was a replica of the French’s. Muhammad Ali also presented new crops and technology, nationalized Egyptian farm land and, finally, expanded the Egyptian army and brought reform to it.
Britain became interested in Egypt. Their key purpose was to stabilize the region so the British government had the tendency to support the Ottoman empire in opposition to all rivals. During this time, an “overland route” was introduced in the 1840s, linking Alexandria and the Gulf of Suez.
George Stephenson’s railroad and the telegraph line accelerated contact between India and Britain. Those were put to exceptionally good service to suppress the Indian rebellion in 1857.
In 1869, when the opening of the Suez Canal occurred, it confused the British stance in Egypt. The government was not in favor of the Suez Canal production, however, this had only forced the Egyptians to enter a joint venture with the French in order to construct the canal.
The British canal adversaries were afraid that British shipping would lean towards the canal, becoming solely reliant on it, then undergo disruptions during war time because of its vulnerability.
The adversaries were not at all incorrect, in fact, the canal was immensely successful and productive. This caused merchants to migrate collectively to its direction. Passing through the canal in its first thirteen years, the tonnage mounted from beneath half a million up to five million. By 1882, British ships were in possession of eighty percent of it.
Only paying minimal fees for the passing of their own ships through the canal, owned by mostly French investors and the Egyptian government, the British government seemed to abide by this arrangement. As indicated by the British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, as long as Egypt was “well-run and hospitable”, Britain had no reason to possess it. What the BFSLP meant by “hospitable” was that the British merchants could function freely there.
The Egyptian nationalist movement had only started when Egypt became dependent on French military advisors, British capital and many other foreign impacts for modernization. This presented the British government with the opportunity to get immediately and directly associated with the canal.
The Egyptian nationalist movement became operational in the 1870’s, this was when trouble arose. The nationalists began to aim at Europeans and Turks. Muhammad Ali and his successors were considered “Turks” by those nationalists. When the Ottomans were defeated in the Russo-Turkish war, nationalists were encouraged. Ahmed Arabi, one of the nationalists, accepted officer training in a school created by Muhammad Ali. Under Ali’s son, Said, he received an elevation to the rank of colonel. Ahmed Arabi and his compatriots became enraged at the huge amount of money Egypt owed to foreigners under the rule of Said’s nephew (Ismail).
Egypt was in debt by £3 million before Ismail’s reign, however, by the end of his rule (1863), Egyptian indebtedness rose to nearly £100 million. This drastic change was the result of Ismail’s endeavors to modernize Egypt. He accomplished many achievements such as completing the Suez Canal and he paid Ottoman leaders in Constantinople (now Istanbul) to consent Tewfik, Ismail’s son, to succeed him.
Before the year 1875, Egypt had returned £29 million of its loans. However, Egypt still owed £46 million and was reaching bankruptcy. The British prime minister learned that Egyptian investments in the Suez Canal were for sale, he decided to buy those shares for his government.
In 1876, Tewfik’s government asked for British advisors, specialized in finance. Stephen Case was sent to examine Egypt’s economic circumstances. Stephen Case informed Disraeli, the person who sent Case, that Egypt was stable but still required further European guidance. Britain’s and France’s governments then sent representatives to overlook the Egyptian financial position.
The existence of foreigners in the Egyptian government provoked the nationalists, even though they managed to reduce the debts. They became more aggravated when the strangely low Nile flooding instigated starvation in Upper Egypt in 1876-1877.
As the government went further into debt, it fell behind on payments of wages to the army, risking their loyalty. The first army mutiny came in February 1879 and Ismail was overthrown by a second revolt in June 1879.
Ismail's son Tewfik took over. Europeans welcomed the change because they believed Tewfik, a weak ruler, could be influenced more easily. Tewfik proved too weak to control the Egyptian nationalists, however, and his reign turned out to be a disaster for all parties.
Egyptian military officers rose up against Tewfik's government in February 1881 and again in September, both times under the leadership of Colonel Arabi Pasha. Tewfik responded by dismissing the pro-European Prime Minister Cherif Pasha and replacing him with Mahmoud Pasha Sami, a nationalist leader. Sami then picked Arabi Pasha to take charge of one of the government ministries.
Fearing that the nationalists had become too powerful, France and Britain tried to strengthen Tewfik by signing a secret "Anglo-French Joint Note" on January 8, 1882, pledging to support Tewfik against anyone who disturbed the peace. The move backfired, however, when Egyptian nationalists interpreted this as a signal that the Europeans would invade to protect Tewfik. In May 1882, France and Britain each sent small naval squadrons to protect "European interests," and on Sunday, June 11, Egyptians rioted in Alexandria and killed about 50 Europeans including three British military personnel. The British responded by bombarding Alexandria on July 11, and Arabi's army set siege to Alexandria and cut off its water supplies.
Arguing that Egypt was descending into "anarchy" which threatened the Suez Canal (located about 180 miles to the east), the British government sought international support for an invasion of Egypt. Neither the Ottoman sultan nor any European governments joined in, so in August 1882, Britain acted alone. Within two months, they captured the canal and defeated the Egyptian army at Tel-el-Kebir. Arabi and the other nationalist leaders were sent to exile in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka).
Although British prime minister Gladstone tried to withdraw the British forces immediately, there was no Egyptian government left to maintain order, and even worse, the British invasion ignited a revolution by fundamentalist Muslim forces in the Sudan on the Upper Nile River under the leadership of a man known as the Mahdi. Under British pressure, Tewfik withdrew the remaining Egyptian forces (and their British advisors) from the Upper Nile, but not before General Gordon, a British officer employed by Egypt, was killed at Khartoum in January 1885. His death made him a martyr in the minds of the British public and for many years afterward, the cry "avenge Gordon" was sufficient to rouse enthusiasm for imperial expansion.
Gordon's death triggered endless recriminations and criticism of Britain's Egypt policy. Critics argued that the Egyptian intervention was fought on behalf of British investors using taxpayers' money. Later, others charged that Egypt was the prototype for a form of financial imperialism that used loans of questionable value to gain an interest in local affairs, and then a subsequent default as justification for invasion to protect "European interests."
