Egypt 1857-1890

Question 1

What did British PM: Lord Palmerston say about Egypt in 1860?

Answer 1

“What we wish about Egypt is that it should be attached to the Turkish Empire. which is security against it belonging to another power.”

Question 2

What was Egypts relation with the ottoman empire?

Answer 2

Egypt had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1517, but by late nineteenth century the Empire was in decline

Question 3

What did the British fear of Ottoman colonies in North Africa?

Answer 3

That they would be taken over by rival European powers such as France, threatening British interest in the area

Question 4

Why was Egypt useful to the British?

Answer 4

As a shortcut to India and for access to oil fields in the Middle East

Question 5

How did the British treat the Muslim rulers of Egypt?

Answer 5

With hostility

Question 6

When and who was the plan for the Suez Canal drawn up by?

Answer 6

The french poured money into the country in the 1850s and the plan was drawn up by a frenchman named Ferdinand de Lesseps

Question 7

What was the initial purpose of the Suez Canal plan?

Answer 7

To connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and reduce the route to India by over 6,000 miles

Question 8

When was the Suez Canal Company set up?

Answer 8

1858, with permissions to run and oversea the canal until 1957

Question 9

When and who was the Construction of the Suez Canal by?

Answer 9

Work began in 1859 with thousands of Egyptian labourers employed in buildings the canal, all overseen by fench engineers

Question 10

Why did British interest in Egypt increase during the American Civil war 1861-1865?

Answer 10

British mills were running out of raw cotton which would be imported from America. And Egypt had high quality cotton which attracted British merchants.

Question 11

By the 1870s what percentage of Egypt’s imports were coming from Britain?

Answer 11

40%

Question 12

Who was made Khedive in 1863?

Answer 12

Ismail - often known as Ismail the Magnificent

Question 13

What did Ismail start after his position in 1863?

Answer 13

An expensive program of modernisation that included:
-irrigation
-railways
-education
-street lighting
-Suez canal construction

Question 14

When did the Suez Canal open?

Answer 14

1869

Question 15

What happened to Egypt in 1875?

Answer 15

It had a debt crisis and the country seemed to be heading towards economic collapse

Question 16

What did Khedive Ismail do in response to the Egypt economic collapse in 1875?

Answer 16

Offered all of the egyptian shares in the Suez Canal (44% total ownership)

Question 17

For what price was 44% in shares of the Suez Canal sold for?

Answer 17

£4 million (over £86 million today)

Question 18

Who bought Egypts 44% of Suez Canal shares?

Answer 18

Britain - by the British PM: Benjamin Disraeli

Question 19

How were the British gaining money through the Suez Canal shares?

Answer 19

They earned profits through shipping tariffs

Question 20

What did Khedive Ismail request in 1876?

Answer 20

Requested Britain and France provide immediate expert economic advice

Question 21

How did Britain respond to Ismails call for help 1876?

Answer 21

A treasury Official named Stephen Cave concluded that the only way to save Egypt would be to have it taken over by a “body of high class Europeans”

Question 22

What happened to Egypt in 1878?

Answer 22

An Anglo-French plan to rescue Egyptian economy agreed:
-French controlled government expenditure
-British controlled raising revenue

Question 23

What were some negative consequences of the French and British dual economic control in 1878?

Answer 23

Much unemployment and many of the Egyptian people started street riots and rebellion in the army

Question 24

Who was Ismail replaced by in 1879?

Answer 24

His son, Tawfiq, on orders of the Ottoman Sultan

Question 25

What happened to the Egypt in 1882?

Answer 25

A colonel in the egyptian army, Arabi Pasha, was on the verge of taking over after leading a successful nationalist movement, forcing Tawfiq to appoint allies to key government positions

Question 26

What was the aim of Arabi Pasha in 1882?

Answer 26

To remove the Ottomans as well as the British and French from their positions of dominance

Question 27

What happened on June 11th 1882?

Answer 27

There was a nationalist riot in Alexandria killing 50 Europeans

Question 28

What did the British government do as a result of the Alexandria riot 1882?

Answer 28

Government led by Gladstone ordered the formal occupation of Egypt using the security of the 100,000 people living in Egypt as his justification

Question 29

How was the Alexandria riot described to the British?

Answer 29

Stories in Newspaper described them as wicked and heartless rebels - “Muslim Mob” and that the rebels “killed all the Christians they could find”

Question 30

Due to Royal Navy Bombardment and Army Invasion when was the Suez Canal secured?

Answer 30

October 1882, the rebellion had been crushed, making Britain the official government of Egypt

Question 31

What was Tawfiqs position after October 1882?

Answer 31

He was left in charge though he was nothing more than a figurehead or a “puppet-ruler”

Question 32

Who was Tawfiq forced to appoint late 1882?

Answer 32

A government of ministers who supported British control

Question 33

When was the occupation of Egypt formally confirmed?

Answer 33

In 1885 by the Convention of London, meaning Egypt was a client state of the Empire “Veiled protectorate”

Question 34

How did the French respond to Britains formally confirmed occupation in 1885?

Answer 34

Dual economic control ended with French hopes of dominaning an Independent Egypt. They were outraged and claimed the uprising was an excuse to dominate and freeze them out