Egypt and Sudan Flashcards
Why were the British interested in Egypt ?
- British interest in Egypt was revived during the American Civil War, when British mills were starved of raw cotton
- Egypt’s cotton was particularly good quality so attached those anxious of finding new sources of this vital material
What product in Egypt were the British attracted to ?
- cotton
What did British companies do in Egypt ?
- British companies invested heavily in the production of Egyptian cotton and in the ambitious modernising programme of the ruling, Isma’il Pasha
What was part of Isma’il Pasha’s modernising programme ?
- Isma’il embarked on a number of projects from irrigation to schools to the cutting of the Suez Canal
What did the Suez Canal cutting involve ?
- involved the cutting of the Suez Canal through Egypt to connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula
Why was the Canal useful / significant ?
- Canal helped British seafarers and merchants, not least those trading with India and China.
- Route to India was 6,000 miles shorter than that via the Cape
Impact of thew Canal ?
- Canal had an immediate and dramatic effect on world trade, reducing profits of those British traders in the Cape Colony who operated warehouses for the storing of goods
When did the British buy shares of the Suez Canal ?
- 1875
How did the opportunity to buy shares of the Suez Canal come about ?
- Isma’il Pasha, who faced increasing debts, sought a buyer for his country’s shares in the Canal
How many shares did the British buy ?
- £ 4 million shares
Which prime minister bought the shares in the Suez Canal ?
- Benjamin Disraeli
Why and how was Isma’il Pasha deposed ?
- As a result of both domestic and Anglo - French pressure as well as his economic management
Who was Isma’il Pasha deposed by ?
- deposed by Ottoman Sultan in 1879
What was British influence in Egypt like ?
- British money and support kept Egypt afloat
- British High Commissioner , Lord Dufferin, wielded considerable influence
Who became the new Khedive ?
- his son Tewfiq
What were British policies in Egypt ?
- In order to pop up Egypt’s ailing economy, taxes were imposed on Egyptian food and goods
- army reduced by two thirds
Reaction / impact of British policies in Egypt ?
- such measures increased unemployment
- led to a nationalist rebellion under Colonel Arabi Pasha and fellow army officers
Impact of Tewiq being forced to appoint Arabi’s allies to government positions ?
- their fiercely anti European stance provoked British concerns over trade and investment, and over the security of the 10,000 Europeans living in Egypt and of the canal route to India
What happened in the streets of Alexandria, Egypt ?
- political tensions spilled out on the streets, where violence claimed the lives of 50 Europeans
How did the British respond to events in Alexandria and da further series of revolts across Egypt ?
- Events convinced , British prime minister William Gladstone, to intervene and British naval forces were sent to bombard Alexandria
How did Arabi Pasha respond to British naval forces ?
- declared war
How was Britain’s influence in Egypt threatened
- anti European stance led to concerns over trade and investment, and security of Europeans living there
How did the war go ?
- British Commander - in Chief, Sir Garnet Wolsely was able to secure the Suez Canal, with the bulk of British forces before defeatingArabi’s forces at Tel el - Kebir, which enabled them to take Cairo
What did the British do after they won the war ?
- restored Tewfiq as a puppet ruler: occupation of Egypt had begun
- Major Evelyn Baring was installed as Consul General
- Tewfiq was forced to create a government amenable to Britain, employ British military personnel to supervise his army and rely on British advisors
