HSY2601 - Themes In The 19th Century History: Power And The Western -exam-essay-for-nov-17-2021.

HSY2601 - Themes In The 19th Century History: Power And The Western -exam-essay-for-nov-17-2021. INTRODUCTION In the eighteenth century Egypt was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, after being conquered in 1517. 1 Before the Ottoman rule Egypt had been ruled by the Mamluks, a dynasty of slave warriors, who had themselves seized control in 1250. Napoleon Bonaparte a French statesman and military leader who had risen to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns saw an opportunity in the weakened control of Egypt by the Ottoman Empire. In 1798, a French invasion force under the command of Napoleon disembarked near Alexandria. The invasion force was accompanied by a commission of scholars and scientists whose function was to investigate every aspect of life in ancient and contemporary Egypt. France wanted control of Egypt for two major reasons, its commercial and agricultural potential and its strategic importance to the Anglo-French rivalry. During the eighteenth century, the principal share of European trade with Egypt was handled by French merchants. The French also looked to Egypt as a source of grain and raw materials. In strategic terms, French control of Egypt could be used to threaten British commercial interests in the region and to block Britain's overland route to India. Napoleon intended bring modernity and freedom to Egypt, however this was undermined by the cultural and religious differences between the French and the Egyptians. Napoléon Bonaparte's invasion of Ottoman Egypt in the summer of 1798 was intended to forestall the drift of that province into the British sphere of influence, and to interrupt British communications with India, the more urgent of which went from Bombay to the Red Sea, up the Nile and across the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and London. Many French observers had become convinced that the Ottoman Empire was in swift decline and would lose its provinces to the British or Russians. The rebelliousness of Egypt made it especially vulnerable to the Great Powers, since it was already slipping from Istanbul's grasp.2 1 Burleigh, Nina. Mirage: Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt. First Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. 2 Colla, E. (2003). "Non, non! Si, si!": Commemorating the French Occupation of Egypt (1798- 1801). MLN, 118(4), . This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :33:08 GMT -06:00 Downloaded by: STUVIARESOURCES01 | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material France wanted control of Egypt for two major reasons--its commercial and agricultural potential and its strategic importance to the Anglo-French rivalry. During the eighteenth century, the principal share of European trade with Egypt was handled by French merchants. The French also looked to Egypt as a source of grain and raw materials. In strategic terms, French control of Egypt could be used to threaten British commercial interests in the region and to block Britain's overland route to India.3 Napoleon attempted to introduce new policies regarding to administrative systems in what he perceived backward Egypt backward society in Egypt, while creating a version of indirect colonial rule. His intentions were for the Muslim clergy to work jointly with France. It is in the implementation of these policies that Napoleon faced a challenge. Some of the administrative policies he introduced saw taxes increase for the local people, these changes brought the people of Egypt new hardships, to most Egyptians French rule seemed arbitrary and destructive. The Egyptians were used to the Ottoman Empire rule whose proximity was not as close as that of the French. The economic impact of French’s presence in Cairo triggered the Egyptian resistance. Egypt being predominantly a Muslim society, keep their religion sacrosanct, and sign of blasphemy is treated with resistance. What seem to be one of the greatest shortcomings of Napoleon was impositions he made on the Egyptians’ religion, one of them being that the French flag be hoist at every prayer at the mosque. Napoleon even went as far as persuading the local clerics to conduct Friday’s duha (prayer) in his name, which according to the Muslim laws is seen as blasphemy. 4 The Egyptians were also told that they had to wear the tricolour cockade, the red, white and blue badge which symbolised loyalty to the French Republic. All this made the predominantly Muslim Egypt to resist the attack on their religion. Napoleon’s gesture of 3 Goldschmidt, Arthur. Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004 4 Cole, Juan. Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East. First Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :33:08 GMT -06:00 Downloaded by: STUVIARESOURCES01 | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material conversion to Islam was supposedly seen as mockery to Islam, by the local and must have infuriated Egypt and led it to revolt.