How Did Britain Expand Into Egypt and Why?

1. Why were the British originally interested in Egypt?

• Need for cotton during the American Civil War. British mills were starved of raw cotton, Egypt’s was of good quality.
  • British companies began investing in Egyptian cotton and in modernising programme of ruling Khedive, Isma’il Pasha.
• By the 1870s, 40% of Egypt’s imports were coming from Britain.

1. What was the Suez Canal and why was it important to the British?

• Project led by a Frenchmen to construct a canal for international shipping with company known as The Suez Canal Company. Set up in 1858 and was completed in 1869. France and Egypt had ownership of shares.
• Became crucial to the British due to the Panic of 1873 and interest grew.
  • Known as ‘The Great Depression’ of its time, British trade plummeted due to goods being transported around Cape of Good Hope and having to be stored in warehouses.
  • 5000 miles longer than with Suez Canal.
• In 1875, Benjamin Disraeli bought Egypt’s shares in the Suez Canal for around £4 million.
  • This became of huge importance to the British because it gave them a passage to India and income from shipping tariffs.

1. How did the British come to take control of Egypt?

• Purchasing of Suez Canal sparked further interest.
  • Led to need for British interest in the region.
• The British began to wield considerable influence over Egypt due to its failing economy.
  • In 1879, Ismail Pasha was deposed due to economic mismanagement and his son, Tewfiq, became new Khedive. British money and resources kept Egypt afloat and British Commissioner, Lord Dufferin, wielded considerable influence in Egypt.
  • To keep Egypt’s economy afloat, taxes were imposed on Egyptian food & goods, army reduced by two thirds → increased unemployment.
• Therefore, nationalist rebellions under Arabi Pasha conducted in 1882 and British concerns grew due to the 100,000 Europeans living in Egypt and over the security of the Suez Canal.
  • In June 1882, in Alexandria, rebellions led to 50 Europeans killed; William Gladstone had to invade Egypt with British naval troops.
    • Arabi forces defeated some British troops however Commander in-Chief, Sir Garnet Wolseley, had taken the Suez Canal.
  • This enabled the British to take control of Cairo and establish control of Egypt, installing Tewfiq as a puppet ruler and soon Major Evelyn Baring was installed as Consul-General. Egypt has been described as a ‘veiled protectorate’ and was annexed in 1885.

1. How did the British come to control Sudan?

• British administrator Charles Gordon who was sent to Egypt to act as Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan faced opposition. The British intervened but were defeated and did not establish clear control over the Sudan until 1896. British adminstrators faced opposition from Sudanese Islamic cleric Muhammad Ahmad, who in June 1881, proclaimed himself to be the saviour of mankind.
  • Drew on long-term hostility towards Egyptian rule, combined with recent resentment of British influence. In 1882, Mahdists took control over the area surrounding Khardoum.
  • In 1883, joint military expedition between the British and Egyptians under the command of Colonel William Hicks launched a counter-attack against the Mahdists. It failed and Hicks was killed.

Gladstone, reluctant to get into further conflict, ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum in 1884 however was overrun in 1885 with virtually the entire garrison killed and General Gordon beheaded.