History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty facts for kids
The history of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty (1805–1953) covers a long period. It includes the end of Ottoman Egypt, the time when Egypt was called the Khedivate of Egypt and was controlled by the British, and then the time when it was officially independent as the Sultanate of Egypt and Kingdom of Egypt. This era ended with the Revolution of 1952 and the creation of the Republic of Egypt.
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Muhammad Ali's Rise to Power
The journey of Muhammad Ali's seizure of power was a tough civil war. It involved three main groups: the Ottoman Turks, the Egyptian Mamluks, and Albanian soldiers who were loyal to Muhammad Ali. This conflict lasted from 1803 to 1807. Muhammad Ali Pasha finally took control of Egypt in 1805. The Ottoman Sultan then recognized him as the ruler. After this, Muhammad Ali was the clear leader of Egypt. He focused on keeping Egypt independent in practice, even though it was still officially part of the Ottoman Empire.
Egypt under Muhammad Ali
Campaign against the Saudis
The Ottoman-Saudi War happened between 1811 and 1818. It was fought between Egypt, led by Muhammad Ali, and the Wahhabis from Najd. The Wahhabis had taken control of Hejaz from the Ottomans.
When the Wahhabis captured Mecca in 1802, the Ottoman Sultan ordered Muhammad Ali to fight them. His goal was to take back Mecca and restore the Ottoman Empire's honor.
First Arabian Campaign
Muhammad Ali respected the Ottoman Sultan's authority. In 1811, he sent an army of 20,000 men and 2,000 horses. His sixteen-year-old son, Tusun, led this army against the Saudis in the Ottoman–Saudi War. After some early success, this force faced a major defeat at the Battle of Al-Safra. They had to retreat to Yanbu.
Later that year, Tusun received more soldiers. He then went on the attack again and captured Medina after a long siege. Next, he took Jeddah and Mecca. He defeated the Saudi army beyond Mecca and captured their general.
However, some problems followed. Muhammad Ali decided to lead the war himself. He left Egypt in the summer of 1813, leaving his other son, Ibrahim, in charge. He faced many challenges in Arabia, mainly due to the difficult land and the Saudis' fighting style. But overall, his forces were stronger. He removed and exiled the Sharif of Mecca. After the Saudi leader Saud died, Muhammad Ali made a treaty with Saud's son, Abdullah I, in 1815.
Muhammad Ali heard that the Turks, whom he was helping in Arabia, were planning to invade Egypt. He also heard that Napoleon had escaped from Elba. Fearing danger to Egypt from France or Britain, Muhammad Ali returned to Cairo. He arrived on the day of the Battle of Waterloo.
Second Arabian Campaign
Tusun went back to Egypt after hearing about a military revolt in Cairo. Sadly, he died in 1816 at only twenty years old. Muhammad Ali was not happy with the treaty he made with the Saudis. Some parts of it were not fulfilled. So, he decided to send another army to Arabia. He included the soldiers who had recently caused trouble.
This new expedition was led by his oldest son, Ibrahim Pasha. It left in the autumn of 1816. The war was long and difficult. But in 1818, Ibrahim captured the Saudi capital of Diriyah. Abdullah I, their leader, was captured. He was sent to Istanbul (or Cairo in some stories) with his treasurer and secretary. Despite Ibrahim's promise of safety and Muhammad Ali's efforts to help them, they were executed. By the end of 1819, Ibrahim returned, having defeated all resistance in Arabia.
Reforms
Muhammad Ali started making big changes in Egypt. While he was away in Arabia (1813–15), his representative in Cairo took control of almost all private lands. The previous owners were given small pensions instead. Through this major change, Muhammad Ali became the owner of nearly all the land in Egypt.
While Ibrahim was fighting in Arabia, Muhammad Ali focused on making Egypt's economy stronger. He created state monopolies for the country's main products. This meant the government controlled their production and sale. He also built several factories. In 1819, he started digging the new Mahmoudiyah Canal to Alexandria. This canal was named after the Ottoman Sultan. The old canal was in bad shape, and a safe way to connect Alexandria and the Nile was much needed.
A trade agreement, the Treaty of Balta Liman, was signed in 1838 between Turkey and Britain. This treaty aimed to end monopolies. Its effect on Egypt was delayed for some years. Eventually, foreign countries got involved to make sure it was applied.
Another important step for Egypt's economy was the growth of cotton farming. This started in the Nile Delta in 1822. The new cotton seeds came from the Sudan. With better irrigation and new industries, Muhammad Ali earned a lot of money from cotton in just a few years.
Other efforts were made to improve education and medicine. Muhammad Ali favored European merchants. He relied on them to sell his monopoly exports. Because of him, the port of Alexandria became important again. He also encouraged the transport of goods from Europe to India through Egypt.
The Pasha also tried to organize his army like European armies. But this led to a big rebellion in Cairo. Muhammad Ali's life was in danger, and he had to hide in the citadel at night. The soldiers looted many places. The revolt's effects were lessened by giving gifts to the rebel leaders. Muhammad Ali also ordered that those who suffered from the unrest should be paid by the government. The idea of forcing people into the army (conscription) was temporarily stopped because of this rebellion.
Economy
In the early 1800s, Egypt under Muhammad Ali had one of the world's most productive cotton industries. It ranked fifth globally in terms of the number of spindles per person. This industry first used machines powered by traditional sources like animal power, water wheels, and windmills. These were also the main power sources in Western Europe until about 1870.
Even though steam power had been explored in Ottoman Egypt in 1551, it was under Muhammad Ali in the early 1800s that steam engines were brought into Egyptian factories. Egypt did not have much coal. However, people looked for coal deposits, and boilers were made for Egyptian industries. These included ironworks, textile manufacturing, paper mills, and hulling mills. Coal was also brought in from other countries. Its cost was similar to imported coal in France until the 1830s. Then, Egypt got access to coal from Lebanon, which produced 4,000 tons yearly.
Compared to Western Europe, Egypt also had better farming and a good transport system through the Nile. Some historians believe that Egypt had the right conditions for fast industrialization in the 1820s and 1830s. It also had the potential to use oil for its steam engines later in the 1800s.
Invasion of Libya and Sudan
In 1820, Muhammad Ali ordered the conquest of eastern Libya. He first sent an army westward in February 1820, which took over the Siwa oasis. Muhammad Ali wanted to expand his rule south into Sudan. He aimed to control the valuable trade routes to the Red Sea. He also hoped to find rich gold mines in Sennar. The campaign was also a way to get rid of unhappy soldiers and to capture enough people to form a new army.
His youngest son, Ismail, led the forces for this mission. The army had between 4,000 and 5,000 men, made up of Turks and Arabs. They left Cairo in July 1820. Nubia quickly surrendered. The Shaigiya tribe beyond Dongola was defeated. The remaining Mamluks scattered, and Sennar was taken without a fight.
Mahommed Bey, the defterdar (a financial officer), led another force of similar size against Kordofan. He also succeeded, but only after a tough battle. In October 1822, Ismail and his group were burned to death by Nimr, the king of Shendi. After this, the defterdar, known for his cruelty, took command of those areas. He punished the people terribly. Khartoum was founded around this time. In the following years, Egyptian rule expanded greatly. They also gained control of the Red Sea ports of Suakin and Massawa.
Ahmad Revolt
In 1824, a local rebellion started in Upper Egypt. It was led by a man named Ahmad from al-Salimiyyah, a village near Thebes. He claimed to be a prophet. Soon, between 20,000 and 30,000 rebels followed him. Most were farmers, but some were soldiers who had left the new army, which was still being organized.
The farmers were angry about many of Ali's changes. They especially disliked the new system of forcing people into the army and the increase in taxes and forced labor.
Muhammad Ali crushed the rebellion. About a quarter of Ahmad's followers died. But Ahmad himself escaped and was never seen again. Most of these unfortunate people only had long sticks as weapons. Still, they fought hard, and the battle where they were defeated was like a massacre. This movement was the last attempt from inside Egypt to challenge the pasha's power.
In the years that followed, order was established across Egypt. Ali's new, well-trained army spread throughout the country. Public safety became excellent. The Nile and the roads were safe for all travelers, whether Christian or Muslim. The Bedouin tribes were encouraged to live peacefully.
Greek Campaign
Muhammad Ali knew that the empire he had worked so hard to build might need to be defended. His master, Sultan Mahmud II, wanted to limit the power of his ambitious leaders. The Sultan was also influenced by Muhammad Ali's enemies, especially Hüsrev Pasha, who had never forgotten his humiliation in Egypt in 1803.
Mahmud was also planning reforms based on Western ideas. Muhammad Ali had seen how much better European fighting methods were. He decided to build a fleet and an army like Europe's before the Sultan did. This was partly to protect himself and partly to achieve his own bigger goals. Before the War of Greek Independence started in 1821, he had already spent a lot of time and effort. He organized a fleet and trained Egyptian officers and workers with French teachers. It wasn't until 1829 that he could build and equip his own ships, when a dockyard and arsenal opened in Alexandria.
By 1823, he had successfully reorganized his army using European methods. The unruly Turkish and Albanian soldiers were replaced by Sudanese and fellahin (Egyptian farmers). The new army's strength was shown in 1823 when six disciplined Sudanese regiments put down a revolt by Albanians in Cairo. After that, Muhammad Ali had no more problems with army rebellions.
His planning paid off when the Sultan asked him for help. The Sultan wanted him to put down the Greek rebels. As a reward, he offered Muhammad Ali control of the Morea (a region in Greece) and Syria. Muhammad Ali had already been made governor of Crete by the Sultan in 1821, and he had occupied it with a small Egyptian force. In the autumn of 1824, a fleet of 60 Egyptian warships gathered in Suda Bay. They carried 17,000 disciplined troops. The following March, with Ibrahim as commander, they landed in the Morea.
Egypt's strong navy took control of much of the sea, which was crucial for the rebellion. On land, the Greek rebel groups had largely defeated the Sultan's troops. But now they faced a strong opponent in Ibrahim's disciplined army. The story of the battle of Navarino and Greece's freedom is told elsewhere. The Egyptians left the Morea because of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington. In August 1828, he appeared before Alexandria. He threatened to bombard the city, which gave Muhammad Ali a good excuse to sign an agreement. This agreement meant Ibrahim and his army would return to Egypt.
War with the Sultan
Ali went to war against the Sultan to get raw materials Egypt lacked, especially wood for his navy. He also wanted a market for Egypt's new factory goods. From late 1831 to December 1832, Ibrahim led the Egyptian army through Lebanon and Syria. They crossed the Taurus Mountains into Anatolia. There, he defeated the Ottoman forces and advanced to Kutahya, which was only 150 miles from Istanbul.
For the next ten years, the relationship between the Sultan and the Pasha was a major concern for diplomats around the world. Not only was the future of the Ottoman Empire at risk, but Egypt itself became very important internationally. British leaders, especially, were interested because of Britain's routes to India through the Isthmus of Suez and the Euphrates valley.
Ibrahim, leading again for his father, launched another brilliant campaign. It started with capturing Acre on May 27, 1832. It ended with the defeat and capture of Reshid Pasha at Konya on December 21.
Soon after, Russia stepped in and stopped him. After many talks between the European powers, the Ottoman government, and the pasha, the Convention of Kütahya was signed on May 14, 1833. In this agreement, the Sultan agreed to give Muhammad Ali control of Syria, Damascus, Aleppo, and Itcheli, along with the area of Adana. The announcement of the pasha's appointment was made in the usual yearly decree (firman) on May 3. Adana was given to Ibrahim a few days later, where he would collect royal taxes.
Muhammad Ali now ruled a nearly independent empire. It stretched from Sudan to the Taurus Mountains. He only had to pay a small yearly tribute. However, the weak points of his power soon became clear. Less than a year after the Convention of Kutahya, Ibrahim applied Egyptian government methods in Syria. This included monopolies and forced military service. This made Syrians, Druze, and Arabs revolt, even though they had first welcomed him as a liberator. Muhammad Ali himself put down the unrest, and the Syrians were scared into submission. But their unhappiness encouraged Sultan Mahmud to hope for revenge. Only the strong efforts of European powers prevented another conflict.
In the spring of 1839, the Sultan ordered his army, led by Reshid, to advance from Bir on the Euphrates into Syria. Ibrahim, seeing his side threatened, attacked them at Nezib on June 24. Once again, the Ottomans were completely defeated. Six days later, before the news reached Constantinople, Mahmud died.
With the Ottomans defeated and Syria conquered, Muhammad Ali reached the peak of his power. For a brief time, he was as powerful as the ancient Egyptian kings. He controlled Egypt, Sudan, and Syria. He saw the Ottoman armies fall apart after their defeat in Syria. It seemed like he could take over the Middle East and Anatolia. Some even thought he could march to Istanbul and become the Sultan.
The European powers were very worried about the Ottoman Empire being at Muhammad Ali's mercy. They issued the Convention of London of 1840. This was meant to end the war and deal with Muhammad Ali's likely refusal. Their intervention during the Oriental Crisis of 1840 was quick. A force, mainly British (with some French and Greek soldiers), easily defeated Muhammad Ali's proud modern army.
Muhammad Ali hoped for victory because France was unwilling to fully participate. France had some friendly feelings towards him and only sent a small force to try to stop British expansion in North Africa. However, even though France disliked British control over Egypt, it also did not want the ambitious governor to upset the balance of power. By waiting for a better chance, Muhammad Ali suffered a harder defeat.
But even though he lost Syria and his great power, the war with the West was not a complete disaster. The Western Powers defeated and humiliated him, but they did not want to remove him. He served as a check on Ottoman power. So, even though the peace treaty was harsh, it achieved one of Muhammad Ali's biggest dreams: to keep his family in control of Egypt. It was not everything the clever Pasha wanted, but he had to accept it. Even by the end of the Syrian War, Muhammad Ali was showing his age and did not have much time left.
End of Muhammad Ali's Rule
The end came in early 1841. New decrees (firmans) were issued. These limited the pasha's power to Egypt, including the Sinai peninsula and some places on the Arabian side of the Red Sea, and to Sudan. The most important of these documents is dated February 13, 1841.
The rule of Egypt was made hereditary within Muhammad Ali's family. A map showing Egypt's borders came with the decree. A copy was kept by the Ottoman government. The Egyptian copy is thought to have been lost in a fire. The Turkish copy has never been shown, and its existence is now doubtful. This was important because border disputes arose between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt in 1892 and again in 1906.
Various rules were placed on Muhammad Ali, showing he was still a vassal. He was not allowed to have a navy, and his army could not be larger than 18,000 men. The pasha was no longer a problem in European politics. But he continued to work on improving Egypt. However, times were not always good. The long wars, along with a cattle disease in 1842 and a damaging Nile flood, made things worse. In 1843, there was a plague of locusts, and whole villages became empty. Even the army, which was forced to serve, was a burden for people not used to strict military service.
Florence Nightingale, the famous British nurse, wrote in her letters from Egypt in 1849–50. She said that many Egyptian families tried to "protect" their children from the harsh military service. They would blind them in one eye or cut off a limb to make them unfit. But Muhammad Ali was not fooled by such tricks. He created a special group of disabled soldiers, saying that one could shoot well enough even with one eye.
Meanwhile, the poor fellahin (farmers) were forced to pay every last penny. They were also made to build magnificent public works without pay. In 1844–45, the country's condition improved a bit due to financial reforms the pasha made. Muhammad Ali, who had been given the honorary rank of grand vizier in 1842, visited Istanbul in 1846. There, he made peace with his old enemy Khosrev Pasha, whom he had not seen since he spared his life in Cairo in 1803.
In 1847, Muhammad Ali started building a large bridge across the Nile at the beginning of the Delta. Towards the end of 1847, the aging pasha's sharp mind began to fail. By June of the following year, he could no longer manage the government. In September 1848, Ibrahim was recognized by the Ottoman government as the ruler of Egypt. But he died in November of the same year.
Muhammad Ali lived for another eight months, dying on August 2, 1849. He had done great work in Egypt. His most lasting achievements were weakening Egypt's ties to Turkey, starting the large cotton industry, recognizing the benefits of European science, and conquering Sudan.
Muhammad Ali's Successors
When Ibrahim died in November 1848, the rule of Egypt went to his nephew, Abbas I, the son of Tusun. Abbas ended the system of government-controlled trade. During his rule, the railway from Alexandria to Cairo was started, pushed by the British government. Abbas was against European ways and lived a very private life. After ruling for less than six years, he was murdered in July 1854 by two of his slaves.
His uncle, Said Pasha, Muhammad Ali's favorite son, succeeded him. Said lacked the strong will or physical health needed to carry out the good projects he planned. For example, his attempt to stop slave raiding in Sudan was completely unsuccessful. He truly cared about the well-being of the fellahin (farmers). A land law in 1858 gave them the right to own their land, rather than the state owning it.
The pasha was very influenced by the French. In 1854, he was persuaded to give the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps permission to create a company. This company would dig a canal through the Isthmus of Suez and operate it for 99 years. Lord Palmerston, a British statesman, was against this project. British opposition delayed the Ottoman government's approval of the plan for two years. This led to a second agreement in 1856. It required the Egyptian government to provide 80% of the workers for the canal's construction.
Said also made deals with the British. He gave a concession for the Eastern Telegraph Company. Another in 1854 allowed the creation of the Bank of Egypt. He also started Egypt's national debt by borrowing £3,293,000 from a company called "Frühling & Göschen". The pasha actually received £2,640,000. In January 1863, Said Pasha died. His nephew, Ismail, a son of Ibrahim Pasha, succeeded him.
Ismail the Magnificent
Ismail's rule, from 1863 to 1879, was first seen as a new time for Egypt to become modern. He completed huge development projects and tried to make good changes to the government. But this progress, along with his own lavish spending, led to bankruptcy. The later part of his rule is important because it brought European countries deeply into Egypt's finances and development. This eventually led to the British occupation of Egypt soon after.
In his early years, many things changed regarding Egypt's independence. This seemed likely to give Ismail a more important place in history. In 1866, the Ottoman Sultan gave him a special decree (firman). This was on the condition that Ismail increase his yearly payment from £376,000 to £720,000. This decree also changed how the throne of Egypt would be passed down. It would now go to the oldest male child, and then to the oldest sons of those successors. This was different from the old Turkish law. The next year, another decree gave him the title of khedive instead of vali, which Muhammad Ali and his first successors had used. In 1873, a further decree made the khedive almost like an independent ruler in many ways.
Ismail brought back and improved Muhammad Ali's government system. This system had fallen apart under Abbas's quiet rule. Ismail completely updated the customs system, which was chaotic. He reorganized it based on British ideas and with English officials. In 1865, he started the Egyptian post office. He reorganized his grandfather's military schools and supported education. Railways, telegraphs, irrigation projects, lighthouses, harbor works at Suez, and the breakwater at Alexandria were all built during his rule by some of Europe's best builders.
Most importantly, Egypt supported the Suez Canal, which finally opened in 1869. The government not only bought many shares in the project, which were first meant for British investors, but it also provided the forced labor to dig the canal. It also dug a canal to bring Nile water to the new city of Ismailia at the Suez's midpoint. When Khedive Ismail tried to end Egypt's forced labor duty, because he needed workers for cotton production (due to very high cotton prices during the American Civil War), Egypt had to pay more than £3 million in compensation to the Canal Company. These funds helped pay for the large dredging equipment brought in to replace the labor and finish the canal.
After the American Civil War ended, Ismail had to find new ways to fund his development and reform efforts. The money and labor needed for these public works were cruelly taken from a very poor population. Lady Duff Gordon gave a clear picture of the people's condition in her book Last Letters from Egypt. In 1867, she wrote: "I cannot describe the misery here now. Every day some new tax. Every animal, camel, cow, sheep, donkey, and horse is made to pay. The farmers can no longer eat bread; they are living on barley-meal mixed with water, and raw green stuff. The taxes make life almost impossible: a tax on every crop, on every animal first, and again when it is sold in the market; on every man, on charcoal, on butter, on salt. . . . The people in Upper Egypt are running away in large numbers, completely unable to pay the new taxes and do the required work. Even here (Cairo) the beating for the yearly taxes is terrible."
In the late 1860s, Egypt tried to build a modern navy. It ordered several armored warships, including two "Nijmi Shevket" class and two "Lutfi Djelil" class ships. Although these were meant for the Egyptian Navy, they had to be given to the Ottoman Navy in 1869. Egypt was able to keep a navy with a few unarmored warships. These included the iron steam frigate Ibrahim and a large yacht, the "Mahroussa", which still exists today in a rebuilt form.
In the following years, things got worse. A public health crisis happened in Egypt. The Constantinople Board of Health reported that the plague was still in Egypt, in the areas of Marj and Assyr. A 21-day quarantine was put on the ports of El Wedj. Thousands of people died, and large sums of money were spent expanding Ismail's lands in Sudan and on useless conflicts with Ethiopia. Eventually, Egypt successfully took over the region of Darfur, further expanding the state.
By 1875, the poverty of the fellah (farmer) was so extreme that the country's usual money was not enough for even the most urgent government needs. Khedive Ismail had repeatedly broken his promises to his lenders. He could no longer get any more loans from European banks. Taxes were usually collected many months in advance, and the huge unpaid debt was growing fast. In these circumstances, Ismail had to sell his remaining assets. Among them, he sold 176,602 Suez Canal shares to the British government for £976,582. This meant Egypt lost control of the waterway.
These problems made the British government look more closely into Egypt's financial state. Europeans had invested a lot of money there. In December 1875, Stephen Cave, a Member of Parliament, and Colonel (later Sir) John Stokes were sent to Egypt. They were to investigate Egypt's financial situation. Mr. Cave's report, made public in April 1876, showed that with the current government, national bankruptcy was unavoidable.
With no other options, European powers used Egypt's debt to get concessions on how the debts would be repaid. Other investigations followed, and each one brought Ismail more and more under European control. The creation of the Mixed Tribunals in 1876, which replaced the old system of consular courts for civil cases, made some of the courts international.
The Caisse de la Dette, set up in May 1876 after the Cave mission, led to international control over a large part of the government's income. In November 1876, Mr. (later Lord) Goschen and M. Joubert came on behalf of British and French bondholders. One result was the establishment of Dual Control. In this system, an English official would oversee the country's income, and a French official would oversee its spending. Another result was international control of the railways and the port of Alexandria to balance these things.
Then, in May 1878, a commission of inquiry was formed. Its main members were Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, Major Evelyn Baring (later Lord Cromer), and MM. Kremer-Baravelli and Monsieur de Blignières. One result of that inquiry was the extension of international control to the Khedive's own huge property.
Driven to desperation in September 1878, Ismail had to accept a new government. It was led by Nubar Pasha, with Rivers Wilson as finance minister and de Blignières as minister of public works. He claimed to be happy with this setup and announced that Egypt was no longer in Africa but part of Europe. However, within seven months, he found his new role unbearable. He got rid of his annoying cabinet through a secret military riot in Cairo and went back to his old autocratic ways of ruling.
Britain and France were worried about losing influence. They decided to punish Ismail through the Ottoman Sultan, who was happy to have a chance to show his authority. The Europeans and the Ottoman government decided to force Ismail out of office. On June 26, 1879, Ismail suddenly received a short telegram from the Sultan. It was addressed to him as the former Khedive of Egypt. It told him that his son Tewfik was appointed as his successor. Surprised, he did not try to resist, and Tewfik was immediately declared khedive.
Dual Control
After a short time when nothing much happened, and it seemed things might get worse, Britain and France brought back the Dual Control in November 1879. Major Baring and Monsieur de Blignières were put in charge. For two years, the Dual Control governed Egypt.
People from different parts of society, especially the wealthy and some ordinary citizens, became unhappy. They reacted against European interference. The Dual Control had no strong way to protect itself or force its will. So, it had to interfere with the power, privileges, and benefits of the local elite. This elite, if they were civilians, were not very dangerous. They were unlikely to do more than plot and quietly resist. But there was a military part of this elite. They were braver and had learned their power when Ismail used them to overthrow his government.
Among the rebellious soldiers at that time was an officer named Ahmed Urabi. He was a powerful leader. A group of fellow army officers and many ordinary people followed him. He became the center of a protest. Its goal was to protect Egyptians from their Turkish and European oppressors. The movement started among Arab officers. They complained that Turkish officers were favored. It then grew into an attack on the special position and strong influence of foreigners. Finally, it was directed against all Christians, both foreign and native. The government was too weak to stop the unrest. It had to make concessions, and each concession led to new demands. Urabi was first promoted, then made under-secretary for war, and finally a member of the cabinet.
The risk of a serious uprising brought the British and French fleets to Alexandria in May 1882. Europeans wanted to intervene because they were concerned about the safety of the Suez Canal and the huge British investments in Egypt. However, the French hesitated, and the British alone tried to stop the revolt. On July 11, 1882, after widespread revolts in Alexandria, the British fleet bombed the city. The leaders of the national movement prepared to fight back. A meeting of ambassadors was held in Constantinople, and the Sultan was asked to stop the revolt. But he hesitated to use his troops against what was more a threat to European interests.
Egypt Occupied by the British
The British government decided to use armed force and asked France to help. The French government refused, and a similar invitation to Italy also met with a refusal. So, Britain acted alone. They landed troops at Ismailia under Sir Garnet Wolseley. They put down the revolt at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir on September 13, 1882. Although it was claimed this would be only a temporary intervention, British troops remained in Egypt until 1956.
The landing in Ismailia happened because the British failed in their original plan. That plan was to destroy defenses in Alexandria and then march to Cairo.
With no fleet to protect the city, British warships easily bombed Alexandria. This forced many civilians to leave. Urabi, the Egyptian army commander, was not allowed to have more than 800 soldiers. Defeated in Alexandria, he decided to fight the British on land. He gathered 2,200 men at Kafr-el-sheikh and built a strong base. He held it against 2,600 British soldiers who were trying to advance on Cairo from the north. The battle was between an Egyptian army, led by Ahmed ‘Urabi, and British forces, led by Sir Archibald Alison. As a result, the British gave up hope of reaching Cairo from the north. They moved their base of operations to Ismailia instead. The British forces retreated to their main base at Alexandria. The British then moved a large force to Ismailia. There, 13,000 of them fought 16,000 Egyptians. They met Urabi at El-Tal El-Kebier. This fort was not as well prepared as the defense lines at Kafr-El-Shiekh to withstand heavy artillery. So, the fort was taken, and Urabi was sent away to India.
The khedive, who had taken refuge in Alexandria, returned to Cairo. A new government was formed under Sherif Pasha, with Riaz Pasha as a key member. Their first task was to put the rebel leaders on trial. Urabi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. However, the khedive changed the sentence to banishment. Riaz resigned in disgust. This solution was arranged by Lord Dufferin, who was then the British ambassador to Istanbul. He had been sent to Egypt as a high commissioner to sort out affairs and report on the situation.
One of his first actions was to stop the death penalty for the revolt's leaders. He also stopped the idea of protecting the khedive and his government with a special guard from Asia Minor, Epirus, Austria, and Switzerland. He insisted that Egypt must be governed in a truly fair way. Looking at all parts of the government, he set out the general plan for restoring order and prosperity to the country. He also aimed to give Egypt the ability to govern itself in the future.
The Egyptian Fundamental Ordinance of 1882, a constitution, followed an earlier failed attempt to create a constitution in 1879. This document was limited. It was more like a basic law for the Consultative Council to the khedive than a real constitution.
Demographic Changes During the Reign of Muhammad Ali and His Successors
For many centuries before 1805, Egypt's population stayed around 4 million. But during this period, that changed, and the population began to grow rapidly. This growth was slow until the 1840s. However, after that, the Egyptian population grew to about 7 million by the 1880s. The first modern census in 1897 recorded 9,734,405 people in Egypt.
This increase happened because death rates dropped a lot. People also lived 10–15 years longer. This shows that Muhammad Ali and his successors were very successful in modernizing Egypt. It also means that the quality of life for most Egyptians greatly improved in the 1800s. In 19th-century Egypt, population growth did not follow the usual pattern where growth slows down as the population gets bigger. Instead, it was a rapid, increasing growth.
Rulers of the Dynasty
Eleven rulers led the Muhammad Ali Dynasty from 1805 to 1953, a period of 148 years.
- Muhammad Ali Dynasty family tree
See also
- History of Modern Egypt
- Al-Nahda
