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Battle of the Pyramids
Napoleon went to Egypt to destroy British trade. He defeated the Mameluke Army at the Battle of the Pyramids. Wiped out nearly all of the Egyptian army. The British came back and destroyed his fleet at Aboukir Bay. -
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Mehemet Ali created his own independent government in Egypt. When he died in 1849, he had accomplished many things. He invaded the Sudan and Syria. He created an educational system. He nationalized all farm land and reformed and expanded the army. He introduced new crops and technology. -
Robert Stephenson's Railroad
This railroad improved travelling in Egypt. Faster distance travelled between the port of Alexandria and the Gulf of Suez. It sped up communications between Britain and India. However, it could not handle bulky cargo. It was also put to good use in organizing military forces. -
Suez Canal
This canal was built with the French people's money. Egyptians worked on the canal. The Egyptians spent most of their money the first day the canal opened. This caused them to go in debt. Even though it was a loss for Egypt, the Suez Canal was very successful during this time because it provided a sea route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. -
Ismail's Government
Ismail's government asked for British financial advisors. Disraeli sent Stephen Case to take a look at Egypt's economic system. He stated that Egypt's economy was mostly stable. However, he noted that Egypt needed extra European help. The governments of France and Britain sent people to monitor Egyptian finances. -
Tewfik's Government
Egyptian military officers stood up to Tewfik's government twice. Both times by Colonel Ahmed Arabi Pasha. In return, Tewfik replaced Prime Minister Cherif Pasha with Mahmound Pasha Sami. Then Sami chose Arabi Pasha to control one of the government ministries. -
Revolts
Arabi Pasha formed a revolt from the Egyptian army. Riots also started against the Europeans in Egypts. The French didn't want to participate in the bombardment of Alexandria because of political problems. The Arabists were defeated at Tel el-Kabir. Cairo was taken over the day after. -
Britain Imperializes Egypt
The British imperialized Egypt after war with Egypt's army lead by Orabi Pacha near Cairo. They wanted to control Egypt so they could secure the main route to India, Malaya, Australia and New Zealand. Secured more resources fro Great Britain. Helped in securing Suez Canal. -
Egypt's Partial Independence
Independence had finally arrived for Egypt. However, it was not what they had hoped for. A constitution was made by the National Assembly. Egypt was officially a parliamentary monarchy. Fuad I, the son of Ismail, took the title of king. A parliamentary system was made of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. -
Completion of Suez Canal
One clear signal for the start of the Scramble for Africa was the British takeover of Egypt in 1882. The imperial land grab began with the world’s most amazing engineering feat at the time, a 102-mile-canal that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean through the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt. The sea level waterway would allow for much quicker travel from Europe to Asia because boats would no longer need to sail thousands of miles around Africa.
