A Tour of Egypt 37joined forces with the Mamluks and successfully drove the
French from Egypt. This left the British and Mamluks in a
power struggle over Egypt.
The Ottoman sultan appointed Muhammad Ali to the post
of governor in Egypt in 1805. In the end, he was the successor
to the disputes between the Mamluks and the British.
Although Muhammad Ali was not Egyptian (he was Albanian
by birth), his great organisational skills and vision for a rich
and powerful Egypt provided the impetus for suppressing
the Mamluks. Muhammad Ali’s successors ruled in theory
on behalf of the Ottoman sultan, but in reality functioned as
independent rulers (called khedives or ‘viceroys’).
The Suez Canal was opened in 1869 during the leadership
of Khedive Ismail. Unfortunately, for Egyptians, Ismail
overextended Egypt financially and was forced to sell the
Egyptian government’s share of the Canal to the British. As
a result, British control over Egyptian finances ensued. A
popular revolt threatened an overthrow of the khedive system
in 1882, but was halted when the British intervened. The
British then established a de-facto protectorate, but kept the
khedive office in place.
As most know, the Ottoman Empire, long in decline,
finally collapsed totally with the end of World War I. The
British used Egypt as a staging ground against the Ottomans
throughout the War, insuring their interests in the Suez Canal
were protected. Since Egypt was technically still part of the
Ottoman Empire, Britain officially declared its intention
to ‘defend’ the country. Following the end of World War
I, a nationalist movement took form in Egypt. Egyptian
nationalist leaders formed the Wafd (delegation), which
presented demands to the British. They wanted complete
independence for Egypt. When the British refused their
demands, the Wafd turned to violence, organising boycotts,
strikes and terrorist attacks against the British.
Under pressure, the British formally dissolved the
protectorate in 1922, but retained certain controls over the
Egyptians through regulation of foreign policy, defence and
communications. Thus, Egypt’s ‘independence’ was a thin
shell. Through this process, Egyptians did regain control over