British Imperialism of Egypt

The "Invasion"

After the death of the great leader, Muhammad Ali, his son, Said Pasha, and grandson, Ismail Pasha, created a huge national debt while trying to modernize the government of Egypt and pay for the construction of the Suez Canal. This debt led to a descision by Ismail to sell shares of the Suez Canal to Great Britain. In 1876, seven years after the Suez Canal opened, Great Britain and France gained control of the finances of Egypt.

The sultan, unhappy with the descisions of Ismail, disolves his power and gives his son Tawfik Pasha the position. Egyptian nationalists were upset by the government's weakness and foreign control, and began a revolution. Tawfik asked the British for assistance, and in 1882, they occupied Egypt.

Under British Rule

The completion of the Suez Canal promised a shorter route to India for the British. It was for this reason that the British decided to purchase the shares offered by Ismail and aid Tawfik in putting down the nationalist movement. Initially, the British promised that once order was restored, they would evacuate the country. This promise was broken, however, and Britain remained in Egypt until 1954. Tawfik, though remaining on the throne as a figurehead prince, lost all governing power to the British consul. The first consul general was Sir Evelyn Baring (known after 1892 as Lord Cromer).

In 1882, nationalist Mustafa Kamil revolted against the khedive, or British governor. He fought for self-government and was backed by Tawfik's successor, Abbas II, but was ignored by the British authorities. The revolt eventually caused Great Britain to invade with forces to protect their holdings. Their occupation, though illegal, remained in Egypt until the 1950's.

With sufficient control in Egypt, Britain decided to spread its influence into Sudan, Egypt's neighbor to the south. For many years previous, Egypt had had much influence in Sudan and this occupation did not help relations between Egypt and Great Britain.

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Egypt Links

• Pages devoted to many countries and their flags, maps, and other interesting facts: http://www.theodora.com/flags/flags.html

  A Brief Review of Modern Egyptian History: http://www.cad.strath.ac.uk/~ayman/modern-egypt.html

  A Complete Index of Egypt Topics: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/ABZU/ABZU_REGINDX_EGYPT.HTML