A visionary desiring to transform Egypt into a beacon of modernization in North Africa, but Ismail Pasha left a legacy of debt that brought his country to the hands of imperial powers.
Early Life
Born on December 31, 1830 in Cairo, Ismail Pasha was the 2nd son of
Ibrahim Pasha, the Wali or Viceroy of Egypt, and the grandson of Wali Muhammad
Ali, who founded the Aliwaya Dynasty of Egypt. Muhammad Ali and his successor’s
familiarity with the west brought Ismail to Europe, in particular Paris, where
he studied in the Ecole d’Etat-Major. There, he learned of the liberal ideas of
the Enlightenment and witnessed the progress brought by the Industrial
Revolution.
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| Ibrahim Pasha |
After his studies, he returned to Cairo, only then to leave the Egypt
once more. He served as a diplomat that brought him across Europe. During his
stint in foreign affair service, he served in Rome and met with the Pope
Gregory XVI. He returned to Paris and met with Napoleon III. He reached
Istanbul and met with his country’s overlord the Ottoman Sultan. In 1861, he
also served as a military commander of 14,000 men successfully defeating a
rebellion in Sudan.
Ismail propelled to be the heir of Wali Said Pasha when his elder
brother Ahmet Rifaat passed away. In 1863, when Said Pasha passed away, Ismail
assumed the position of Wali without opposition.
Wali Ismail Pasha
Modernization
Modernization went to the forefront of Ismail’s agenda. His studies and
acquaintance with progressive and enlightened ideas inspired him to modernize
his country. He wanted Egypt to mimic the developments that transpired in
Europe.
In his decision to modernize and develop Egypt, he followed in his
predecessor’s up to his grandfather’s footstep. At this time, Egypt continued
to be a vassal of the declining Ottoman Empire. Making Egypt modern prevented
Istanbul from encroaching in the North African country’s autonomy. Moreover, a
wealthy Egypt hoped to win respect and recognition to prevent their descent as
another sphere of influence of another western power. Ismail hoped to follow in
his ancestor’s legacy and even hoped to elevate his family and Egypt’s
prestige.
Changes did came to the country under Ismail. Customs reformed to
improve collection and government revenue. He improved communication by
establishing a postal service and laying out telegraph wires.
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| Ali Mubarak |
He advocated education and established a ministry dedicated in this
sector hiring Ali Mubarak as head. Ali Mubarak spread headed the development of
a modern educational system. Number of school increased. In 1873, his
government established a school for girls which deemed by many as progressive.
Language schools reopened and worked to translate Western works into Arabic and
contribute to the progress of knowledge in the country. The opening of language
schools brought back the acclaimed Egyptian language scholar Rifaa al-Tahtawi
to return from his exile in Sudan.
Enlightenment ideas presented itself in Ismail’s government reform. In
November 1866, he established the Assembly of Delegates. Although only served
as an advisory body, it gave a voice of the population as village headmen
composed the body. Eventually, the influence of the body grew. In 1876 it
successfully urged Ismail to hand over landownership to peasants in exchange
for paying taxes worth 6 years in advance.
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| Nubar Pasha |
Ismail Pasha and his chief minister, Nubar Pasha, also enacted changes
in the justice system with regards to foreigners. Extraterritoriality had been
granted to many westerners which meant any committed by foreigners went to be
tried and judged in consular courts. This meant confusion in law and
jurisdiction plagued the justice system. Ismail and Nubar reformed this and
introduced the mixed court. It meant judges both foreigner and Egyptian sat
together to hear and passed judgment to cases. Somehow, it returned some
sovereignty to Egypt.
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| Punch cartoon featuring Isma'il Pasha during his visit to Britain in 1867 |
Egypt’s presence in international politics expanded under Ismail’s
reign. In 1867, he visited Europe starting with Great Britain. He met with
Queen Victoria who awarded him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Bath. Over
the years he further received awards from different monarchies of Europe. He
also paid a visit to Paris. In the course of his visit, he saw a newly
redecorated Paris with magnificent buildings, wide boulevards, and elegant
theaters. This inspired him to renovate Cairo as well.
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| Cairo (19th century) |
Europeanization of Cairo set Ismail’s reign in stone. Palaces built
inspired by European design. New wide boulevards, lush gardens, and magnificent
bridges erected. He, then ordered the construction of grand opera houses and
theaters. The Ezbekiah Opera House stood as a testament in this era of Cairo
renovation. It opened in November 1869 with the performance of Verdi’s
Rigoletto. In 1871, the prestige of the opera house enhanced with the premier
of Aida’s Christmas Eve. Ismail spend as much as he could to make Cairo the
“Paris on the Nile.”
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| Ezbekiah Opera House |
His beautification extended beyond Cairo. Alexandria also received
attention from the Wali. New roads laid that connected Alexandria to the rest
of Egypt. New boulevards also crisscrossed the city which landscape also
changed with the construction of western style buildings. It also received an
improved port and break waters.
Ismail Pasha also paid attention to military affairs. In 1874, Egyptian
forces annexed Darfur and strengthened their hold of Sudan. Ismail hired
westerners to administer the region to prevent intrigue and avoid allegations
of corruption. In 1875 to 1876, he, however, undertook an expensive military
campaign to extend Egyptian borders into Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia). The
conflict ended in Egyptian defeat and an end to the southern expansion of
Egypt.
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| Suez Canal (1869) |
Suez Canal
None brought more prestige to Ismail Pasha’s reign than the Suez Canal.
The project began during the reign of Ismail’s uncle Said. Said and his friendship
with a French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps brought a vision of a canal
connecting the Gulf of Suez to the Mediterranean Sea shortening the travel
between Europe and Asia. Said agreed to the megaproject that led to the
establishment of the Universal Suez Maritime Corporation or Suez Canal Company
(SCC). The company had the responsibility of carrying out the construction of
the project with the initial budget of £ 6 million.
The ownership of the company varied. Said received 15% share of the
company, which he later grew to 44% through buying of additional stocks. The
Egyptian government received also 15% shares and the rest to be sold to the
international market.
Said’s affection towards de Lessep and his project blinded him in the
negative cost of labor to Egypt. As per original agreement, Egypt provided the
labor of the canal. Cairo then resorted to the corvee system to acquire the
labor needed. The system called on peasants to work at least a month per year
in public work. In 1859, work began in the canal with 20,000 peasants working
in the site in a virtual slave labor condition. Workers almost received nothing
in salary for their labor. Worst, they suffered from horrible working
conditions. They dug through the landscape with few to no tools at all under
sultry heat. Every month, a new batch of 20,000 peasants endured this inhumane
treatment. Many gave up on life digging the canal. By the end of construction,
estimated death stood at 20,000.
Reaction to the mega project differed. France welcomed the development,
especially with a French gaining the concession and French investors owning
most of the company’s stock. Moreover, it gave France control of a new
strategic route to the orient. Egypt welcomed the development, at least for the
Wali Said and later Ismail, as increased the prominence and strategic value of
their country. Istanbul, however, loathed the project as they saw the project
as furthering the autonomy of a vassal state. Moreover, London also shared
Sultan Abdulmecid I’s criticism of the project. Geopolitically, the canal
placed a new shorter and vital route between Britain and her holdings in Asia
under their rival French control. Hence, Said and Ismail’s desire to raise the
significance of Egypt placed it under the crosshairs of the British.
The British acted to stop the construction of the canal. When word of
the horrific conditions of canal workers reached Europe, anti-slave and civil
rights movement lobbied for London to cease the work. Indeed, London pressured
Istanbul that obliged with pleasure to order Cairo to stop the construction.
Ismail ceased sending laborers and in response, the Suez Canal filed an
arbitration case against Cairo to Napoleon III. Napoleon, unsurprisingly,
judged in favor of the Suez Canal Company. Ismail had to pay the Suez Company
an indemnity worth £ 3.8 million to be paid in the next 15 years as
compensation for the changes made in the labor for the construction of the
canal. De Lesseps then used the indemnity to purchased heavy machinery to
finish the construction.
The Suez Canal opened in 1869 with a lavish ceremony attended by
foreign dignitaries and royalties. The ceremony cost Egypt a total of £ 1
million. Personalities such as Empress Eugenie of France, Emperor Franz Joseph
of Austria, Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia, and Grand Duke Michael
of Russia attended the inauguration. The ceremony culminated with a parade of
ships from the royals attending the event crossing the length of the canal. The
opening brought great pride and fanfare for Ismail Pasha.
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| Ferdinand de Lesseps |
Debt Crisis
Egypt enjoyed prosperity and wealth during the initial years of Ismail
Pasha’s reign. The American Civil (1861 – 1865) brought prices of cotton to
skyrocket. Egyptian cotton brought huge revenue to the government that financed
much of modernization program and construction projects. However, the good
season ended with the end of the war. To finance his expensive agendas, Ismail
used loans as a source of funds – an idea he got from Europe. He also had the
idea of making his personal loans part of the state’s loan displaying the
autocratic power of the Wali over Egypt.
Loans skyrocketed as expenses increased. In 1864, Egypt paid the
indemnity from the arbitration worth £ 3.8 million through loans. Renovation of
Cairo and Alexandria also took loans from Europe. Ismail increased expenditure
when in 1868 he bribed officials to convince the Sultan to grant him and his
successors the title Khedive or Viceroy and a shift in succession law from
principle base on the eldest male to the principle of primogeniture. The title
and the succession law amendment, however, came in exchange for an increase in
the annual tribute of Cairo to Istanbul from £ 376,000 to £ 720,000, which
later strained state budget. Continuous bribery further cost money to grant
Egypt further autonomy in diplomacy and military affairs. In 1870’s, Ismail’s
military campaigns to the Sudan and Abyssinia also ate a huge share in
government budget.
Debt payment started to be an issue in the 1870’s. The state revenue
worth £ 10 million found 1/3 of its size designated for debt payment. Taxation
composed most of the state revenue and it already burdened the peasantry. When
rate could no longer be raise, they resorted in collecting taxes in advance.
Hence, in 1871, Ismail passed a law that gave land ownership and 50% discount
in taxes to anyone who paid full taxes worth for 6 years in advance. Egyptian
loans became high risk, hence Ismail began to borrow money with higher interest
rates. Egypt issued bonds, but they only received higher debts that the money
they received. Debt payment stressed the government by the middle of the
1870’s. In 1875, in desperation for cash, Ismail sold 44% shares or 176,602
stocks in the Suez Canal Company to the British Government for £ 3,976,582. In
1876, Egypt defaulted in its loans that amounted to £ 100 million, a sheer
growth from the mere £ 3.292 million debt during the start of his rule in 1863.
Stephen Cave and John Stokes arrived in Egypt with a mission from the
British parliament to assess the financial situation and capability of the
Egyptian government. The mission arrived after Egypt’s default and in April1876
the report unsurprisingly criticized Cairo for its terrible management of their
finances. The mission also proposed for a European intervention in Egyptian
finances to stop the worsening situation.
Fall, Exile, and Death
The Caisse de la Dette Publique or the Commission of the Public Debt
came to embody the intervention of Western powers in Egyptian affairs which
began on May 2, 1876. Ismail and his government loss much of financial control
to the commission. A French-British Dual Control came to effect. The British
oversaw Egyptian revenue, while the French handled government expenditure. Debt
repayments continued to be a challenged for Ismail’s government. Private Banks
and financiers filed cases in the mixed court resulting to repossessions of
Egyptian government assets. For instance, the Egyptian government loss to
western financiers the operation of railways and ports to Alexandria. After
that, state owned lands became property of creditors.
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| The ex-Khedive as depicted by Théobald Chartran in Vanity Fair (May 1881) |
In 1878, another mission arrived from England. It criticized the
absolute power of Ismail and forced the Pasha to accept a constitutional
government. His power extremely curbed a cabinet led by Nubar Pasha ruled the
country along with a British finance minister and a French public works
minister. Ismail Pasha seemed to be initially delighted famously quoting, “My
country is no longer part of Africa, but part of Europe.” A bravado statement
as he sacked the cabinet within 6 months. But with debts and in mercy of the
West, he reinstated the cabinet in 1879. Quagmire of debts worsened as Austria
and even Germany’s Bismarck threatened to intervene in Egypt.
European rivalry then began to play a role in Ismail’s faith. The
Anglo-French hated the prospect of German intervention in Egypt. They then
moved fast to take control of the situation. Seeing Ismail might use the
Germans, they acted first and pressured the Ottoman Sultan to replace the
Khedive of Egypt. In June 1879, the Sultan sent a telegram to Ismail removing
him from power and being replaced by his son Tewfik.
Ismail then went into an exile. He left Egypt for Naples before
retiring to Emirghian in the Bosprus Strait at the request of the Sultan. There
he resided in humiliation staying as a virtual prison until he passed away in
March 2, 1985.
Summing Up
Ismail proved himself a reformer and a visionary. He had ideas of
modernization and progress aimed to benefit Egypt. However, he lacked the
financial prudence, practicality, patience, and discipline that led his reign
to be unsustainable. Eventually, he succumbed to the Trojan horse called debt.
Ismail gained much what he desired, but he let a cancerous debt to grow and
eventually exploited by imperial powers. His reign earned him the nickname “the
Magnificent,” but he sowed the seeds that led to the fall of Egypt to British
domination.
Bibliography:
Websites
"Ismail Pasha." Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on May 25, 2019. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/egyptian-history-biographies/khedive-egypt-ismail
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Ismail Pasha.” In
Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on May 25, 2019. URL:
Books:
Thompson, Jason. A History of Egypt: From Earliest Times to the
Present. New York, New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2008.
Harlow, Barbara & Mia Carter. Archives of Empire V. 1: From the
East India Company to the Suez Canal. London: Duke University Press, 2003.
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