The occupation of Egypt by England

05The occupation of Egypt by England

Breaking the covenant

• During the conference the British delegate grasped what the covenant implied and appended to the undertaking against acting alone the phrase "unless something arises that leads to it".
• Before the delegates notified the sultan of their decision, England had made its preparations and bombarded Alexandria on 11 July 1882, on the pretext that Egypt was fortifying Alexandria and intended to close the harbour and besiege the British warships lying in it.
• Thus the Covenant of Fair Play came to nothing.

After the bombardment of Alexandria

• British troops landed in Alexandria; the situation became unstable and events ran fast after the Egyptian army's defeat and the occupation of Alexandria.
• Martial law was declared and the army besieged the Khedive's palace in Alexandria.
• The Khedive linked his fate to an English victory and even entrusted them with preserving order in Alexandria.
• Urabi withdrew with units of the army to Kafr el-Dawwar to establish a second defence line.
• The Khedive ordered Urabi to stop his war preparations and to come to the Ras el-Tin palace; Urabi refused, charged the Khedive with high treason, and asked the notables and ulema to consider the matter of his authority.
• A emergency council (majlis urfi) was formed to administer the country's affairs apart from the Khedive's authority.

The conflict of legitimacy

• The Khedive decided to dismiss Urabi from the war ministry because he had not stopped the fortifications; the emergency council resolved that Urabi remained in his post.
• Urabi won sweeping popular support and was titled "Protector of the Precincts of Egypt" (hami hama al-diyar al-Misriyya).
• The council held that the Khedive's staying in Alexandria after the English occupied it was collusion with them.
• The Khedive replied by issuing a manifesto warning Egyptians to join Urabi, holding him responsible for the events that had occurred.