Naplion invasion of egypt and its impact on mehmed Ali - Essay Example

Napoleon Invasion of Egypt and its Impact on Mehmed Ali On the year 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French invasion in Egypt that began with the capture of Alexandria. Napoleon’s chief motive for invading Alexandria was because the Mameluke Beys favored the commerce of the English; who were their mortal enemies. Furthermore, Bonaparte claimed that Mameluks extorted and oppressed French merchants, as well as enforcing a tyranny rule over the inhabitants. Moreover, Napoleon believed that the capture of Egypt would aid in the defeat of Britain.

This is because he aspired to capture Malta that would act as a naval base for the French and consequently challenge the British occupation of India. To this end, the Napoleon took control of Alexandria, massacred the Mamluk army at Imbabah and Subra Khit. They consequently captured Cairo on 25th July 1798. It is critical to note that Napoleon ordered his troops to respect the religion, women and culture of Egypt upon their invasion. Evidently, Napoleon employed this tactic so that he would appear as liberator to the general Egyptian populace.

Moreover, upon conquering part of Egypt, Napoleon set out to restructure the military tactics of the Egyptian by training them in French warfare and recruiting them to his Grande Armee. Furthermore, Napoleon was accompanied by scientists and scholars who investigated all facets of life in Egyptian history and contemporary periods. However, it must be noted that the French domination of Egypt was short lived since the Ottoman and British forces joined drive them out. On 1st August 1798, French ships were destroyed at Abu Qir by Lord Nelson’s British fleet.

This led to the isolation of French forces in Egypt. To this end, war was declared against France by Sultan Selim 3. Upon the expulsion of the Napoleon’s army from Egypt, a power struggle among the Mameluks saw the rise of Mehmet Ali Pasha as the ultimate governor of Egypt. Evidently, Mehment was inspired to introduce modern changes to the Ottoman army based on an European model. His aspiration was in light of the exemplary model of Napoleon’s army that had previously defeated him at Abukir in 1799.

To this end, he introduced several industrial and agricultural reforms that acted as a foundation for modeling a professional military. The end result was new armed forces organization known as al-Nizam al-Jedid. Furthermore, Mohamed converted agricultural land into state land from which he derived profits. He equally improved the irrigation system of Egypt and introduced cotton as a cash crop.ReferencesFahmy, Khaled. All the Pashas Men: Mehmed Ali, his army and the making of modern Egypt. New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 0. Print.Moreh, Shmuel.

 Al Jabartis Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798. Princeton & Newyork: Markus Wiener Publishing , 0. Print.Tignor, Robert L.. Napoleon in Egypt: Al Jabartis Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 0. Print.