FOREIGN POWERS AND MUHAMMAD ALI

DURING HIS RISE TO POWER1805-1811

Muhammad Ali Controls the Middle East

• British invasion in 1808 – Muhammad Ali fends them off

• Invasion of the Hejaz to prevent the Wahhabi Rebellion – 1811• Celebration was the end of Mamluk Leaders in Egypt• Tusun, at the time eldest son of Muhammad Ali, led the invasion.• Controlled Mecca after by then end of 1811• By 1813, was planning to take Diriyah – the capital of the Wahhabi rebellion• 1815 – a treaty is signed with Ibn Saud’s son Abdullah I• 1816 – Muhammad Ali sent in Ibrahim Pasha to finish the campaign• Long and arduous marches – Diriyah Captured by 1818

• Muhammad Ali controlled most of Egypt, Arabia, and had designs to complete his empire.

ESTABLISHING CONTROL OVER AFRICA

Muhammad Ali Controls Libya and Sudan

• 1820 – Muhammad Ali decides to conquer Libya and Sudan• February 1820 – captured Siwa in the West (Eastern Libya)

• July 1820 – Ismail (youngest son) leads troops south• Ismail meets with quick progress• Muhammad Ali also dispatches Mohammad Bey• Ismail is burned alive by a Sudanese King in 1822 • Mohammad Bey leads the rest the expedition • By 1825, Controls most of the cost of the Red Sea and Nile through

the Sudan down to Massawa on the Red Sea

EGYPTIAN EXPEDITIONS

Muhammad Ali Sends his troops to Greece

• Greek Rebellion (enough said) – not really• Crete and Cyprus by 1824• Negotiations for Syria (already controls the Hejaz)• Invades Peloponnesus in 1825 – controls Athens by 1826

• Battle of Navarino• Rejection of the Treaty of London led to Naval Battle• Sultan’s navy decimated.

• British ships appear off Alexandria and “convince” Muhammad Ali to withdraw troops from Greece

Muhammad Ali Crisis Round 1

• Muhammad Ali’s First Egyptian War• Frustrated with lack of support in Greece• Need for supplies for his navy, markets for Egyptian products

• Ibrahim leads march from Autumn of 1832 until December, 1833• Ibrahim had arrived at Kuhtaya, 150 miles from Istanbul

• Russia steps in to protect sovereignty of Ottoman Empire

• Convention of Kutahya – Muhammad Ali granted control of :• Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Adana in the Anatolian Peninsula

Results of Muhammad Ali Crisis 1

• Russian support nets them:• Nicholas I was convinced that preserving the Ottoman Empire

was in Russia’s best interest as it would also strengthen Russian influence in the area • (achieved with the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi 1833)

• Britain and France were worried that Russia would gain even more influence if the situation was not stabilized.

A SECOND CRISIS – GREAT POWER INTERVENTION1839-1841

Muhammad Ali Crisis Round 2

• Muhammad Ali unhappy with his first agreement and Hunkiar Skelessi• Ibrahim utilized to fight Ottomans at Syrian border with Ottomans• Ottomans were routed and once again Ibrahim threatened Istanbul• French supported Muhammad Ali with designs for more control (had just

taken Algeria on the northern front)

• Great Powers (Britain, Austrian, Prussia, and Russia) forced to intervene – British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston• Negotiates the Convention of London of 1840• All agreed on the need to maintain the Ottoman Empire but gave Egypt to

Muhammad Ali as a hereditary holding.• Refusal would mean land taken out incrementally

Consequences of Crisis Number 2

• Ottomans Refuse• British bomb Beirut on September 11, 1820• Blockaded the Nile Delta• Battle of Acre, garrison of Muhammad Ali captured

• French switch sides, join Great Powers on Convention of London

• Ottomans finally accept 1840 London Convention in November 1840 • Because of the delay, Muhammad Ali lost:• Syria• Crete• Military concessions

Consequences of Crisis Round 2

• Russia saw this as an opportunity to divide France and Britain.

• Russia’s significant position in the region was reduced by the Straits Convention of 1841 which closed the Dardanelles to all warships.