Nile Valley

Question 1

What were British concerns about Egypt in the 1870s?

Answer 1

• Feared other foreign powers could take over if the ottoman empire collapsed
• Desire to protect trade - up to 80% of Egyptian exports went to Britain by 1880 and 44% of all its imports originated there
• Wanted to protect Suez canal and route to India
• Wanted to protect British investors (bond Holders)
• After humiliation of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, Britain wanted to protect its prestigious worldwide status and not to be seen to give into nationalist movements

Question 2

What were the political issues of the ottoman empire by the 1870s?

Answer 2

weak, bureaucratic Ottoman rule. Local rulers were poor administrators

Question 3

What were the economic issues of the ottoman empire by the 1870s?

Answer 3

Reliance on French and British investment, up to £100 million debt y 1870 (interest rate rising to 20%), Khedive forced to sell suez shares - still went bankrupt by 1875-6

Question 4

How did the British respond to their concerns in Egypt in the 1870s?

Answer 4

They established Dual Control (1878-1882)

Question 5

What were the key points of dual control?

Answer 5

French and British jointly took control of Egyptian finances
Major spending cuts e.g. army and civil service pay
British and French controller generals supervised Egyptian rule
in 1879 British pressure led to the replacement of the Khedive by his son
British and French controlled the Egyptian treasure, customs, railways, post offices and ports

Question 6

What were the effects of Dual control in Egypt?

Answer 6

drops in living standards, unemployment and street rioting
Egyptian sovereignty had diminished, leading to a rise of Egyptian nationalism (Arabi Pasha)

Question 7

What happened at a meeting of the Chamber of Notables in 1881 with regards to the Egyptian government?

Answer 7

Pasha demanded a bigger army, removal of foreign officials and more power - By september 1881 Khedive Tawfiq had had to replace his government with a more nationalist one and in January 1882 Arabi was made minister of War - new government borrowed more money to prevent further spending cuts.

Question 8

What were the four main categories of reasons for the British intervention in Egypt?

Answer 8

Politics/prestige
Humanitarian/People
Trade/Finance
Strategic

Question 9

What were the politics/prestige reasons for the British intervention in Egypt?

Answer 9

Allowing an authoritarian Egyptian ruler to take power would have made Britain look weak and damage the prestige of the empire
Party -political considerations and issues of national prestege can be seen as fundamental in the decision to intervene

Question 10

What are the trade/financial reasons for Britain’s intervention in Egypt in 1882?

Answer 10

British bond holders exposed to failure of egypt being able to pay their debts - British government responsive enough to city of London that Egypt must pay debts to bond-holders whatever that entailed
37% gladstones personal fortune was invested in Egyptian loans
1875 - Disraeli purchased government shares in suez canal - 44% its total stock

Question 11

What are the strategic reasons for the British intervention in Egypt in 1882?

Answer 11

Didn’t want to risk France becoming too powerful in North Africa
Opening of Suez was massively important to British as it dramatically shortened the journey to Indi and 80% of shipping that travelled through the canal was on British ships

Question 12

What are the Humanitarian reasons for British intervention in Egypt in 1882?

Answer 12

100,000 Europeans living in Egypt at the time
June 1882 - tensions boiled over between a maltese man and an Egyptian donkey boy - escalated to violent anti-christian riots across the city - at least 50 Europeans and 250 Egyptians killed

Question 13

What was the veiled protectorate?

Answer 13

1882-1914 - The period when Britain occupied and controlled Egypt but without any legal authority to do - Britain managed the budget, took over training of military and ran the country

Question 14

What were Baring’s military policies?

Answer 14

He reorganised the army along the lines of the Indian army

Question 15

What were the successes of Baring’s policies?

Answer 15

He achieved financial solvency
He set up national bank and post office savings bank to reduce local money lending and extortion
in the 1880s and 1890s there was a massive increase in cotton production
irrigation works nearly doubled the crop area under cultivation
He stopped the slave supply, abolished forced labour, halted the import of marajana, regulated alcohol licences and closed many gambling houses

Question 16

What were the weaknesses of Baring’s policies?

Answer 16

Irrigation works exhausted the soil and spread disease such as malaria
Peasants did not benefit from Baring’s reforms - food crops commanded lower prices and working conditions were poor
30% of national income was used to pay off the debt and so was not invested in schools or other programmes

Question 17

How did Baring run Egypt?

Answer 17

Approved the Dufferin Report of 1883 which established an Egyptian puppet parliament with no power
Governed Egypt according to ‘granville doctrine’ - Egyptian ministers could be dismissed whenever
Ruled peacefully with Khedive Tewfiq but when the new khedive took over in 1892, he challenged Baring but was forced to accept British control
Baring put experienced British colonial administrators in positions of power

Question 18

Outline the Mahdi

Answer 18

In 1881 proclaimed his mission to purify islam and fight governments that did not embrace it
A charismatic and influenctial religious leader
Created a movement of militant islam in the sudan
Set up a religious state
Inspired many followers - armies with up to 40,000 men

Question 19

What was the situation in the sudan before British intervention?

Answer 19

Egyptians had gained control snce 1821 but this was resented
General Gordon, as governor, had tried to end th slave trade in the 1870s but had limited impact
Sudanese society, political structure and economy were all weak in the early 1880s
Mahdi had gathered strong support there from 1881 onwards

Question 20

What were the reasons why intervention in Sudan may not be a good plan?

Answer 20

Britain had no real reason for wanting Sudan and the Mahdi was a formidable force

Question 21

What were the prestige elements that led to the conquest of the Sudan?

Answer 21

Desire to reassert European dominance over ‘African barbarism’ and islamic nationalism
After Indian mutiny, couldn’t be seen as weak.

Question 22

What were the strategic aspects that led to British conquest of Sudan?

Answer 22

Source of the nile regarded as crucial for reasons of economic and military security - they were required to maintain control of the Suez canal

Question 23

What were the strategic aspects that led to British conquest of Sudan?

Answer 23

Source of the nile regarded as crucial for reasons of economic and military security - they were required to maintain control of the Suez canal

Question 24

What was the Instability in the Sudan?

Answer 24

Gladstone and Baring were worried that the problems would destabilise British Egypt
After the death of the Mahdi, Sudan was ruled by Khalifa Abdullah who struggled to maintain control - there was famine, disease and political unrest as resistance fighters remained at large

Question 25

How long did the siege oh Khartoum last?

Answer 25

317 days

Question 26

What did the death and memory of Gordon lead to?

Answer 26

It refused to fade and the British public and press thirsted for revenge - including Kitchener

Question 27

In what was did the battle of omdurman confirm the importance of British industrial/technological superiority?

Answer 27

maxim gun, artillery, use of railway

Question 28

Outline how the battle of omdurman show the British artocities?

Answer 28

mahdists mowed down by new guns - kitchener didn’t reissue order that wounded soldiers be spared
10,000 killed, 5,000 wounded