Administration Of India And Egypt 1890-1914

Question 1

When did Egypt become a FORMAL protectorate?

Answer 1

December 1914, completely under British control
- it was a ‘veiled protectorate’ before this

Question 2

How was Egypt regarded by British before 1914?

Answer 2

As being under military occupation, not a colony just meant to be temporary as Egypt technically still belonged to the Turkey, with the Sultan ruling over the Khedive

Question 3

What were the 3 main hindrances to British freedom of acting in Egypt?

Answer 3

. The capitulations (rules for all foreigners in Egypt)
. Caisse de la Dette (countries controlling Egypt’s finances)
. The mixed courts

Question 4

What were the capitulations and how did they hinder British freedom of acting in Egypt?

Answer 4

Privileges granted by the Sultan to protect Europeans from Muslim laws against Christians e.g new Egyptian laws affecting Europeans had to be approved by governments of all countries representing Egypt

This slowed down law-making

Question 5

How did the Caisse de la dette hinder British freedom of acting in India?

Answer 5

. Meant half the country’s revenue went to paying European bond holders
. Members could prevent British consul-general from spending money on matters they disliked

This meant Cromer’s plan to finance the re-conquest of Sudan was stopped by France and Russia

Question 6

What did the mixed courts deal with and how did they hinder British freedom of acting in Egypt?

Answer 6

Cases involving Egyptians and Europeans
Mostly consisted of judges who weren’t supportive of the British

Question 7

How were French a threat to Britain in Egypt?

Answer 7

They were very interested in Egypt and a massive challenge up to the 1898 Fashoda incident

Question 8

What happened to Anglo-French relations after the Fashoda incident?

Answer 8

Britain and France grew closer and signed an entente cordiale in 1904

Question 9

What did improved anglo-French relations do to the Caisse de la dette?

Answer 9

Meant it could no longer control Egyptian finances and it became a debt-collection agency for foreign bond holders

Question 10

How did Britain try to diminish Turkish power in Egypt to better control Egypt and what came from it?

Answer 10

1887: British tried to make an agreement with Sultan where they would withdraw their troops after 3 years
. Nothing came of it and Britain began to ignore Turkish rights and the sultan didn’t interfere

Question 11

Why was the Aswan Dam opened and when?

Answer 11

To hold back the waters of the Nile, opened in 1902

Question 12

Who directed the building of the Aswan Dam?

Answer 12

Sir John Aird (British)

Question 13

How long did the Aswan dam take to build?

Answer 13

6 years

Question 14

How much did Aswan dam cost to build?

Answer 14

£2 million

Question 15

What did the Aswan Dam allow, showing Britain’s positive influence in Egypt?

Answer 15

Allowed half a million acres of former desert to be irrigated with water from its reservoir, enabling year-round cultivation

Question 16

When did Britain see a significant rise in tourism in Egypt?

Answer 16

Late C.19

Question 17

What was Evelyn Baring’s other name?

Answer 17

Lord Cromer

Question 18

What was Baring’s political role as Consul-General?

Answer 18

‘Adviser’ to the Khedive

Question 19

What was the structure of the Egyptian parliament under Baring?

Answer 19

Partially elected, made up of advisory council of laws and general assembly
- Egyptian government ministers had ‘support’ from a British ‘adviser’
- if the ministers resisted advice/interference, they could be dismissed

Lots of British control in Egypt

Question 20

How did the number of British working in Egyptian government change from 1885 to 1905?

Answer 20

1885 - 100
1905 - more than 1000

Question 21

What was Baring’s financial and economic task in Egypt?

Answer 21

Regularise Egyptian financial affairs as Khedive Isma’il had gotten into £70 million debt mostly due to European bank holders

Question 22

How did Baring try and solve financial and economic problems in Egypt?

Answer 22

. Made cutback’s to Egypt’s military and bureaucracy to balance financial problem
. Sorted out economy by improving communications and investing in irrigation schemes

Question 23

What changes did Baring make to create a more happy and prosperous Egypt?

Answer 23

. Improved conditions for Egyptian labourers
. Better sanitation and health services in towns
. Within 10 years, cotton and sugar exports trebled and population went from 7 to 10 million

Question 24

What was Baring’s military impact in Egypt?

Answer 24

Reformed Egypt’s army:
. 6000 British troops put into the army to be safe from jeopardy
. Kitchener commander the army

Question 25

Why did Baring reform Egyptian army?

Answer 25

Britain couldn’t risk the Suez Canal, needed to protect it well and needed to protect Egypt-based investments

Question 26

What changes was Baring wary on making to education in Egypt?

Answer 26

. Changes to law courts, police and education
. Wary of extending educational opportunities due to the risk of national protest (too much British influence could cause protest)
- Egyptians were rarely offered more than a few years of elementary school

Question 27

When did Baring finally start implementing opportunities for Egyptians?

Answer 27

. 1909 - new uni founded to supplement the uni of Cairo which only provided religious education
- taught modern subjects and trained men for the professions they would do

Question 28

What was the significance of Thomas Cook and Son in Egypt?

Answer 28

. Became Egypt’s largest employer, providing jobs in hotels, houseboats and excursions
. Had Nile cruises from 1908, promoting tourism in Egypt

Question 29

How did British use Egypt for tourism in 1900s?

Answer 29

Wealthy Britons ‘wintered’ here (moving to a hot country in the winter)

Question 30

What did tourists in Egypt enjoy most?

Answer 30

. Climate
. Ancient treasures such as the pyramids and Cairo’s citadel

Question 31

How was the popular tourism in Egypt slightly racist?

Answer 31

. Few ventured into the countryside
. Guidebooks discouraged Europeans from mixing with locals

Question 32

When was the Denshawai incident?

Answer 32

1906

Question 33

Put simply, what was the Denshawai incident?

Answer 33

A completely unnecessary confrontation between residents of Denshawai (Egyptian village) and British officers

Question 34

What was the impact of the Denshawai incident?

Answer 34

Many villagers who confronted were harshly punished and this angered many Egyptians, catalysing Egyptian nationalist attitudes against British occupation in Egypt

Question 35

What was the series of events in the Denshawai incident?

Answer 35

. June 1906: very hot period in Egypt
. Group of British officers hunted pigeons in Dinshawai for sport which were a local source of livelihood, annoying residents
. In midst of scuffle, officer wounded a female villager with a gun, provoking further attack even thought it was probably an accident. She eventually died of wounds
. Officer escaped towards British camp on foot but died, likely of heatstroke
. Villager tries to help officer but when soldiers come back from camp, they assumed the officer was killed by the villager and so the soldiers killed the villager

Question 36

What was the response to the Dinshawai incident?

Answer 36

. Female villager killed was ignored
. British authorities set up a special tribunal to try 52 villagers for the death of the officer

Question 37

What happened in the Denshawai incident trial?

Answer 37

. British accused villagers of premeditated murder
. Defence (Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid: Egyptian lawyer) claimed the villages actions were a response in the heat of the moment
. Swift trial found villagers guilty - corrupt judicial system favouring British
. Punishments varied from public lashes to up to 4 years in prison

Question 38

What is significant about the fact that that British officers hunted pigeons when the Dinshawai villagers didn’t like it?

Answer 38

Shows the British either don’t care about what’s important to Egyptians or they don’t know

Question 39

What time period is the British occupation of Egypt?

Answer 39

1882-1952

Question 40

What were the reactions to the Denshawai incident?

Answer 40

. Met with horror in GB - empire already looked brutal before the incident
. Anger from Egyptians captured in newspapers, poems etc. leading to growth of Egyptian nationalism
. Allowed journalist and Lawyer Kāmil and other nationalists to rally against the British occupation of Egypt
. Lord Cromer retired

Question 41

How was the Khedive’s government corrupt under British occupation?

Answer 41

He was supposedly ruling on behalf of Egyptians but was really just doing what the British wanted, probably for money

Question 42

What was the state of Egyptian nationalism by late 1890s?

Answer 42

Growing middle-class nationalist movement in newspapers, attacking British for failing to deal with the Khedive’s corrupt government and not helping Egyptian poor

Question 43

What did Egyptian nationalist movement claim Britain were failing to do?

Answer 43

Failed to promote Egyptian-cloth industry which could have gotten unemployed people jobs as they were only interested in raw cotton to help keep the spinners of Lancashire unemployed. Are Britian really here for the interests of Egyptian people?

Question 44

What were the complaints of Egyptian nationalists?

Answer 44

. Lack of opportunities for educated Egyptians
. Egyptians still not likely to run their own government

Question 45

What party revived in 1893?

Answer 45

Egyptian national party (al -Hizb - al - Watani) as an underground movement (Egyptian nationalists)

Question 46

On the Egyptian national party’s revival, who supported them and what were they trying to do?

Answer 46

. Attracted educated Egyptians such as lawyers who felt they lacked opportunities
. Sought end to British occupation of Egypt and their own government

Question 47

How did the British react to the Egyptian national party revival in 1893?

Answer 47

It was largely ignored by Baring, BUT he did appoint Saad Zaghluls Pasha (nationalist) as minister for education to try and quell any serious tensions

Question 48

How did power of British officials in British Raj change in 1909?

Answer 48

An element of representative government was introduced at provincial level:
. At top was the Viceroy backed by the Indian civil service
- their job was to ensure the regime was secure, that the Indians were content and India remained profitable to Britain
. This administrative elite remained small in size

Question 49

Why were there strict limitations on the size of the Indian civil service and what did this mean?

Answer 49

Its pay and pensions were costly, so there were often no more than 3-4 officers per district

This meant that rule continued to require the collaboration of the Indian population

Question 50

When did the collaboration of Indian population in British Raj affairs become even more optimal?

Answer 50

As India modernised, with the extension of the railways and spread of education which allowed more Indians to read English

Question 51

What caused more British intervention in Indian life?

Answer 51

Economic and social development:
. Physically, as the economy developed and cities grew
. Also in terms of raising money through taxation

Question 52

How did the Indian civil service accomplish better intervention in Indian life?

Answer 52

Through a policy of ‘divide and rule’
. Emphasise divisions in India and asserted Britain’s moral authority to bring ‘enlightened reform’ to such a diverse nation

Question 53

What is evidence of Indian civil services acknowledging some degree of educated Indian representation on provincial councils but what was the rub?

Answer 53

Reforms in 1892 and 1909
However, both reforms managed change in such a way to preserve British influence and exploited the divisions between the educated Indians to create an ‘Anglo-Indian’ administrative elite

Question 54

Why was Viceroy Curzon particularly focused on reform in India?

Answer 54

He was aware of the growing criticisms of British rule which came from professional ‘middle class’ Indians and their representative body, the Indian national congress

Question 55

When was the Indian national congress established and why?

Answer 55

1885 to campaign for home rule

Question 56

How were the members of the Indian national congress cautious of British rule but also criticising it?

Answer 56

Cautious: opened their proceedings by singing the British national anthem
Criticised:
. British trading agreements
. Restraints on Indian industry
. Heavy taxations Indians had to pay so the high-earning British civil servants of the Raj could be paid so much

Question 57

Apart from Indian National congress, where else did pressure against British rule in India come from?

Answer 57

Social and humanitarian groups such as the ‘Servants of India society’ which was active among the Dalit community at the bottom of the caste system and wanted to see the reform of old restrictive laws and practices

Question 58

How did Curzon try and improve efficiency of British Raj and reform it?

Answer 58

. Made some changes to the civil service
. Founded the imperial cadet corps in 1901
. Reformed the universities and the police
. Lowered taxes
. Adopted the gold standard to ensure a stable currency

Question 59

Why was the Imperial cadet corps founded?

Answer 59

To appease Indian princes and elite figures with military training and ‘special’ officer commissions

Question 60

What was Curzon best known for as Viceroy?

Answer 60

His attempt to divide the province of Bengal in 1905, despite his positive attempts at reform