Anglo-Egyptian War

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Tel-el-Kebir
Egyptian Revolution of 1882 from The Illustrated London News, July 29 1882
The bombardment of Alexandria
Plan of the Suez Canal from 1881
Prince Arthur as commander of the Guard Brigade. Painting by Carl Rudolph Sohn
Evelyn Baring, by John Singer Sargent

The Anglo-Egyptian War was the campaign for the occupation of Egypt by Great Britain in the course of the suppression of the Urabi uprising in 1882. The war ushered in British rule in Egypt and favored the spread of Mahdism of Muhammad Ahmad in Egyptian-occupied Sudan and the Mahdia uprising that started from it .

root cause

The khedivat Egypt officially belonged to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century , but had achieved relative independence under the dynasty of Muhammad Ali . Due to some administrative reforms, a strong construction activity and a failed financial policy, the national debt rose sharply under the Khedive (viceroy) Ismail Pasha . Contributing to the construction costs of the Suez Canal led to the financial ruin of Egypt . Finally, under Ismail Pasha, the debts soared that in 1876 the state was no longer able to pay its creditors the interest. The national debt of £ 3 million when he took office as Viceroy had grown to £ 100 million. As early as 1875, Egypt was effectively bankrupt. The bondholders became restless. Among other things, Ismail had to sell his holdings of Suez Canal shares to Great Britain . On November 24, 1875, 176,602 shares changed hands for £ 3,976,582. In the following year, France and Great Britain set up a control commission for the shattered Egyptian finances. The Suez Canal was of enormous strategic importance for Great Britain. When it opened, the route to India , the most important British colony, was shortened by around 7,000 km.

course

The Urabi Movement

Developments under Ismail left Egypt deeply indebted to the major European powers. They used this to extort concessions from Ismail. By 1878 the state came completely under international financial supervision. Ismail Pasha, who wanted to oppose further interference by the great powers, dissolved the mixed government in 1879. Britain and France, however, insisted on the reinstatement of their ministers. When the khedive was unwilling to do so in view of the disaffection that prevailed in large parts of the country, he was forced to abdicate by the Turkish sultan on June 26, 1879 at the instigation of the European powers because of wastefulness. His office was taken over by his son Tawfiq , who was more compliant to the wishes of the powers that be. From 1880 onwards, Egypt used half of its state revenue to repay debt. For the country this meant high tax burdens, insufficient pay for civil servants and dismissals of soldiers and officers. An opposition to the international control of financial and economic policy therefore developed around Colonel Ahmed Urabi Pascha , which developed from army officer circles and united various social opposition groups. Another group were large landowners who demanded participation in power and who opposed the influence of Europeans in the administration. Furthermore, there was support from various intellectuals and Muslim reformers. The movement also turned against the autocratic rule of the Ismails. In the fall of 1881 there was unrest in the country. As a result, the new Khedive Tawfiq had to dismiss his Prime Minister Riaz Pascha. Sharif Pasha became the new prime minister . Ahmed Urabi, appointed Minister of War in February 1882, became the real ruler . Under the motto Egypt, he called on the Egyptians to abolish European financial control. Britain initially acted hesitantly, despite its extensive financial ties with the country. It was only when Urabi had raised his own army, brought the whole country under his control and threatened the connection to India via the Suez Canal that the liberal British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone changed his policy.

The bombardment of Alexandria

In May 1882 the British and French sent a fleet to Alexandria . Under the pressure of this demonstration, the Khedive deposed Urabi, who had meanwhile been appointed pasha , on May 22, 1882 . This led to the defection of the large landowners and the Europeanized educated elite of Urabi and their affiliation to the Khedives. A few weeks later riots broke out during which 50 Europeans, including the British consul, were killed. Troops of the Khedive were able to restore order. Still, Urabi was able to gain control. He had the city fortified against the sea and aimed guns at the Allied fleet. On July 10, the British Admiral Seymour announced that he would have the city bombarded if the guns were not removed. France then withdrew its ships so as not to be involved in this conflict. Urabi was thereby encouraged to let Seymour's ultimatum pass. On the morning of July 11th, Seymore opened the city with a volley from HMS Alexandra . The Egyptian coastal battery fired back, but the damage that its smaller caliber did to the British ships was far less. The bombardment lasted all day until the fire of the Egyptian guns stopped during the night. Fires broke out in the city and raged for over two days. On July 14th, the city was occupied by British landing forces, mainly naval forces.

Urabi Pasha was Prime Minister from July to September 1882.

British intervention

The British now brought in regular troops from Gibraltar and Malta , and General Sir Archibald Alison took command. On July 17th the 'Stafford Regiment' landed first in Alexandria. On July 18th the 'King's Royal Rifles' followed. By July 19, the British troops in Alexandria were 3,755 strong. In the event of an attack by 1,200 other Seymour men, these could have been increased to 5,000 men. On August 5th an expedition was undertaken along the Mahmoudieh Canal and the battle of Kafr El Dawwar broke out. The battle ended as a tactical victory for the British, but after the battle they changed their strategy against Alexandria.

On August 15, 1882, the British Commander in Chief General Wolseley reached Egypt. Additional British troops were deployed by August 19 to ensure further economic and financial penetration of the country and, above all, control of the Suez Canal .

Wolseley asked General Hamley to work out a plan of attack on Abukir . But since Urabi also expected an attack on Abukir, Wolseley dropped Hamley's division there and sailed with the rest of the army to Ismailia . On August 28, there was a fight between 2,000 men under General Gerald Graham and 10,000 Egyptians at Mahsama . On September 10th, Wolseley and his army began marching west through the desert towards Cairo. Halfway there, he met Urabi's army. On September 13th she was defeated in the battle of Tel-el-Kebir and Urabi himself was captured. In the battle of Tel-el-Kebir the Egyptian army was crushed. It was finally dissolved on December 20, 1882. It has now been rebuilt under the command of a British commander in chief, the Sirdar . Urabi Pascha was sentenced to death by the Egyptian government, but exiled to Ceylon at the urging of the British . On September 14th, the first British troops entered Cairo.

consequences

Egypt remained occupied even after the Urabi movement was suppressed. British rule came in Egypt, which lasted until 1922. The last British troops did not even leave Egypt until after World War II . However, Gladstone avoided open British colonial rule and installed with Consul General Evelyn Baring, later Lord Cromer , an advisor who directed the Khedives. The unsatisfactory compromise solution, that although British troops held the Nile valley, outwardly still officially ruled the Khedive as the representative of the Turkish sultan , resulted from consideration for the other European powers. This emerges from a report by Count Herbert von Bismarck to his father, Prince Bismarck , about a conversation with the British Foreign Minister, Lord Granville . Herbert von Bismarck writes from London:

“I put in here that I had believed that the English government intended to give its diplomatic representative in Egypt a position similar to that which the French Prime Minister occupies in Tunis, so that it would be protected from political intrigue. 'No,' answered Lord Granville, 'we don't want to go that far; [...] We want to request that free navigation on the Suez Canal be given an international guarantee by the powers for all seafaring nations for time of war and peace, and at the same time we want to propose that Egypt as a neutral state by the European powers à la guise de Belgique (ie in the way of Belgium) would be recognized. We believe this will disarm the envy and jealousy of other nations and will also relieve us of the burden of keeping troops in Egypt. '"

The turmoil in Egypt in the course of the Urabi movement and the occupation of Egypt by Great Britain favored the spread of Madhism in the Egyptian-occupied Sudan . The resulting Mahdi uprising is considered to be the first successful uprising by an African country against colonialism and led to the formation of its own state at the end of the 19th century.

Until the Urabi movement and the Mahdi uprising, Eritrea and Somaliland belonged to Egypt. By losing the connection to these areas in the course of the uprising, the European colonial powers succeeded in occupying these countries.

literature

  • Colonel JF Maurice: The Campaign of 1882 in Egypt . JB, Hayward & Son, London 1887.
  • Thomas Archer: The war in Egypt and the Soudan. An episode in the history of the British Empire, being a descriptive account of the scenes and events of that great drama, and sketches of the principal actors in it . 4 volumes. Blackie & Son, London 1885–1887 (digital copies: Volume 1 , Volume 2 , Volume 3 , Volume 4 , English).
  • Michael Barthorp: Blood-red desert sand. The British Invasions of Egypt and the Sudan 1882–98 . Cassell Military Trade Books, London 2002, ISBN 0-304-36223-9 (English).
  • The Earl of Cromer: Modern Egypt . New edition. Macmillan, London 1911 (Reprint: BiblioBazaar, Charleston SC 2008, ISBN 978-0-559-78674-7 , English).
  • Heinrich Pleticha (ed.): The Mahdi uprising in eyewitness reports . dtv, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-423-02710-X , (= dtv 2710 - dtv eyewitness reports ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Maurice: The Campaign of 1882 in Egypt p. 10
  2. ↑ The Campaign of 1882 in Egypt p. 12
  3. ↑ Kingston: Blow the Bugle p. 302
  4. ↑ The Mahdi uprising in eyewitness accounts . dtv, Munich 1981. ISBN 3-423-02710-X . P. 54