The British Invasion of Egypt 1882: Causes and Consequences

Introduction: The Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882

The British invasion of Egypt occurred in 1882 and is also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War. The war was fought between British forces and the forces of Egypt and Sudan, who were led by Ahmed Urabi, also known as Arabi Pasha. The war was fought on the pretext of stopping a nationalist uprising in Egypt against Khedive Tewfik Pasha, and it helped establish and expand the British Empire in Africa (E-International Relations, 2009).

The then ruler of Egypt and Sudan, Tewfik Pasha, was considered a failed ruler and was accused of making poor investments on behalf of the country. This led an Egyptian army officer, Ahmed Urabi (also known as Arabi Pasha), to orchestrate a mutiny against the ruler, ostensibly to protest against the disparity in pay between Egyptians and Europeans (Jones 2014). The British and the French, among whom Britain enjoyed close relations with Tewfik Pasha, sent a joint note in January 1882 that supported the rule of and asserted the supremacy of Tewfik Pasha. That note was subsequently rejected by the council, which had by then come under the control of Urabi Pasha (McGregor 2006).

Shortly afterward, Urabi Pasha formed a new government and himself became the minister of war of Egypt. The new Egyptian government took a tough stance against European dominance and influence in the country while also dismissing large numbers of Turco-Circassian officers from the army. However, the new government was not favored by the European powers, who had significant financial and economic interests in Egypt and the Suez Canal (Spiers 2004). There was considerable apprehension among Europeans — and especially among the British — that the new administration in Egypt would undermine their financial interests in the country.

Consistent with those apprehensions, the new government opposed European interests as well as those of many large landowners. Other groups that felt threatened by the new rule included elites of Turkish and Circassian origin, high-ranking Islamic ulama, Syrian Christians, and the wealthiest families in the country. As happens in many rebellions, the uprising led by Urabi Pasha enjoyed the tacit and direct support of most ordinary Egyptians, including the lower ulema, local leaders, and the officer corps.

In this context of rising concern about the forfeiture of their interests in the region, the British conducted an invasion of Egypt. The riots on the streets of Alexandria on the afternoon of June 11, 1882 — during which rebel forces killed more than 50 Europeans — served as the triggering point for the invasion, which began with the bombardment of the city. What started as an intervention gradually expanded in scope as Egyptian rebel forces spread across the country, and the invasion was effectively completed on September 13 with the capture of Urabi Pasha.

Egypt's Modernization and Growing European Entanglement

During the first half of the nineteenth century, Khedive Mohammed Ali — ruler of Egypt from 1811 to 1849 — initiated a process of modernization of his governmental apparatus and administrative functioning. The modernization effort extended to the country's army as well, and with a modern military, Egypt was able to exert influence over neighboring countries including Sudan, Syria, and the Persian Gulf region. The intention was to create a challenge to the Ottoman Empire, which until then had held substantial influence over the region.

However, the well-being of the general population changed little. The majority of people remained a class of agricultural laborers and farmers who did not enjoy the fruits of modernization. Their lives continued to flow according to the rhythms of the Nile, much as their ancestors' lives had been shaped by its changing tides (Jones 2014). In comparison to most European countries, Egypt remained relatively backward despite the modernization efforts and extensive state-building exercises undertaken by the ruler. Nevertheless, those efforts did yield some rewards, including a flourishing trade in Egyptian cotton in exchange for British goods after the 1850s — aided by the open trade policies and free-market measures adopted by the British government in 1846 (BBC, 2011).

The accession of Khedive Ismail to the throne of Egypt in 1863 is considered a turning point in the country's modern history. He sought to centralize power in order to create a strong state modeled on the nations of Europe, and his rule did bring some social change to the country. Most notably, the construction of the Suez Canal was completed and opened to shipping during his reign. To showcase Egypt's modernization, the country even participated in the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 (Spiers 2004).

Infrastructure expanded rapidly under Ismail's rule: railroads, telegraph lines, harbors, schools, and land irrigation projects were all built at pace. Exports also increased dramatically. But the large-scale projects required substantial funding, and the ruler sought it by raising taxes on the common people while simultaneously depending on foreign funds, aid, and debt (Landes 1958).

It was at this point that Egypt became more deeply integrated with European countries, particularly Britain and France. The Suez Canal grew in importance as a critical artery for the economic development of the surrounding regions, and the British became increasingly entangled with Egypt economically. Alexandria became one of Egypt's major port cities; historians estimate that more than 10,000 Europeans had settled there by 1880. Britain and France thus had deep-rooted economic interests in Egypt through commerce, trade, and the financing of infrastructure projects (BBC, 2011).

At the same time, resentment was growing within Egypt over the country's rising debt and near-bankruptcy, as well as the increasing influence of European powers in Egyptian affairs. This discontent was the seed that grew into the nationalist rebellion led by army captain Urabi Pasha, which ultimately overthrew the government. Fearing that their interests would be harmed, and troubled by the continuing hostility of the new government toward Europeans, the British sent warships to the Egyptian coast near Alexandria (Landes 1958).

Egyptian Bankruptcy and the Debt Crisis

During Egypt's modernization drive under Ismail, the country accumulated enormous debt. The numerous and often overambitious infrastructure projects required foreign funding. The biggest single financial watershed, however, was the construction of the Suez Canal. The multi-million-dollar project pushed Egypt to the brink of bankruptcy. Opponents of the ruler described Ismail as a reckless, ambitious, and extravagant ruler who had brought the state to a condition in which all the indicators of national bankruptcy and ruin hovered menacingly over the economy (McGregor 2006). This economic vulnerability opened the door for European powers to make significant financial inroads into Egypt and exert influence over its economy.

More than 44% of the total stock of the Suez Canal was purchased by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in 1875, acquiring a large portion of the government's share in the project. These developments led to Egypt being declared a bankrupt state in 1880, with Britain becoming its largest creditor. By the time Egypt neared insolvency, more than 88% of the country's exports went to Great Britain and nearly half of its imports were of British origin (Jones 2014). At the time of the British invasion in 1882, Egypt's government debt had grown from £3 million to nearly £100 million — a rise that occurred entirely under Ismail's rule from 1863 to 1879.

Among the major projects Ismail undertook were: the construction of the Suez Canal; the hiring of former American Civil War veterans to train and professionalize the Egyptian national army; the construction of more than a thousand miles of rail tracks and roads; the development of a deep-water port at Alexandria to facilitate trade; the financing of land reclamation and irrigation projects to expand farmland; and payments to Ottoman authorities in Constantinople to secure his son Tewfik's right to succeed him to the throne (O'Rourke 1936).

As part of the modernization effort, Ismail also invested heavily in expanding the cotton industry in Egypt. The industry had flourished during the American Civil War, when demand for Egyptian cotton surged. However, cotton exports began to decline after the end of the U.S. Civil War, leaving the country with enormous debt and shrinking export revenues. Attempts to restructure Egypt's foreign debts backfired: the restructuring resulted in service fees on foreign loans absorbing a large portion of each loan's value, leaving the country with only half the usable benefit of the funds borrowed (McGregor 2006).

Egypt came closest to the precipice in 1875 when its foreign debts stood at £46 million despite the country having already repaid £29 million (O'Rourke 1936). It was at this point that Prime Minister Disraeli purchased a major share of the Suez Canal from the Egyptian government, further deepening British economic stakes in the country's stability. British influence over Egyptian finances grew even further when the Egyptian government requested that Britain send financial advisors to oversee its economy. Those advisors recommended greater European investment, which in turn increased both British and French economic interests in Egypt after 1876 (Cleary 2015).

Conclusion

The invasion of Egypt by the British in 1882 was driven more by economic considerations than by genuine security concerns. It has been argued that the Egyptian government at the time of the invasion was sufficiently capable of maintaining law and order and that no credible threat to the Suez Canal actually existed. Meanwhile, by 1880, Egypt had accumulated enormous debts, much of it owed to European creditors. British government bodies and private British citizens alike had made substantial investments in the country's infrastructure projects. According to critics of the invasion, the British feared that a nationalist government would prove hostile to their financial interests and influence in Egypt — and this fear, more than any strategic imperative, drove the decision to invade (Jones 2014).

References

BBC. 2011. "British History in Depth: The Suez Crisis."

Brendon, Piers. 2008. The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781–1997. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Cleary, Vern. 2015. "The Suez Canal and the British Conquest of Egypt." Webs.Bcp.Org.

E-International Relations. 2009. "The British Invasion of Egypt, 1882." http://www.e-ir.info/2009/03/23/the-british-invasion-of-egypt-1882/.

Jones, J. 2014. "Egypt and Europe in the 19th Century." Courses.Wcupa.Edu. http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his312/lectures/egypt.htm.

Landes, David S. 1958. Bankers and Pashas. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

McGregor, Andrew James. 2006. A Military History of Modern Egypt. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International.

O'Rourke, Vernon A. 1936. "The British Position in Egypt." Foreign Affairs 14 (4): 698. doi:10.2307/20030771.

Spiers, Edward M. 2004. The Victorian Soldier in Africa. Manchester: Manchester University Press.