the suez canal and egypt Flashcards
(23 cards)
how long have britian used egypt for important route between europe and asia?
centuries
british interest in egypt revived during what and why?
american civil war of 1861 to 1865
british mills were starved of raw cotton
what did british companies begin heavily investing in?
production of Egyptian cotton
by 1870, how much egypts imports were coming from britain?
40%
who was ismail pasha?
helped to modernise egypt and sudan - embarked on number of projects
what did ismail pasha most famously do?
cutting of suez canal through egypt to connect mediterranean with the red sea
how much shorter was the suez canal than the cape?
6000 miles
what year was the suez canal opened?
1869
what did the suez canal provide?
new and quicker passage to east asia
1854-56, new company - suez canal company was constructed, why?
for shares to be bought
why did britain not buy many shares from the suez canal company?
britain rather sceptical about the project
thought the canal would be unsuitable for large ships
what effect did the canal have?
immediate and dramatic effect on world trade
what british prime minster stepped in for ismail pasha share in canal?
benjamin disraeli
how much did benjamin disraeli buy share for?
4 million
what did the purchase made by benjamin give britain?
control over passage to india, income from shipping tariffs
and encouraged further british interest in egypt
why was colonial charles gordon sent from britian?
act as governor-general of sudan
who sent charles gordon to sudan?
‘puppet’ khedive ismail
who did charles gordon face opposition from?
muhammad admad
what did muhammad ahmad proclaim he was?
proclaimed himself mahdi or saviour of mankind
what did mahdi transform the politics into?
jihadist army
what did the mahdi and jihadist army sought to do?
liberate sudan from outside rule
during the mahdist attack, what happened to general charles gordon?
beheaded
what was charles gordon made, seen as hero trying to save empire?
martyr
