Oriental Crisis of 1840: Difference between revisions

|date= Summer-NovemberSummer–November 1840

In 1839, the Ottoman Empire attempted to retake Syria from Muhammad Ali but was defeated by his son, [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]] in the [[Battle of Nezib]]. Thus, a [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)|new war]] between Muhammad Ali and the Ottomans escalated, with the latter failing once again to wage it successfully. In June 1840, the entire Ottoman navy defected to Muhammad Ali, and the French planned to offer full support to his cause.<ref>Efraim Karsh, Inari Karsh, ''Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789-19231789–1923'', (Harvard University Press, 2001), 36-3736–37.</ref>

By the [[Convention of London (1840)|Convention of London]], signed on 15 July 1840, the Great Powers offered Muhammad Ali [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|and his heirs]] permanent control over Egypt, Sudan, and the [[Eyalet of Acre]] if those territories would nominally remain part of the Ottoman Empire. If he did not accept the withdrawal of his forces within ten days, he would lose the offer in [[Ottoman Syria|southern Syria]]. If he delayed acceptance more than 20 days, he would forfeit everything offered.<ref>Geoffrey G. Butler, Simon Maccoby, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hEK83BhHp-4C&pg=PA440& The Development of International Law], p. 440</ref> The European powers agreed to use all possible means of persuasion to affect the agreement, but Muhammad Ali hesitated since he believed in support from [[July Monarchy|France]].<ref>Efraim Karsh, Inari Karsh, ''Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789-19231789–1923'', (Harvard University Press, 2001), 38.</ref>

The French, under the newly-formed cabinet of [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] [[Adolphe Thiers]], sought to increase French influence in North Africa after their [[French conquest of Algeria|conquest of Algeria]]. Supporting Muhammad Ali's thus-successful revolt seemed suitable. [[Counter Admiral]] [[Julien Pierre Anne Lalande]] was dispatched to the Mediterranean to eventually join forces with the defected Ottoman fleet.<ref>Efraim Karsh, Inari Karsh, ''Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789-19231789–1923'', (Harvard University Press, 2001), 37.</ref> However, France became politically isolated when the other Great Powers backed up the Sultan, and Thiers was unprepared to bring his country into open war with Britain. France switched sides and aligned against Muhammad Ali in October 1840.

After the surrender of Acre, Muhammad Ali finally accepted the terms of the Convention on 27 November 1840. He renounced his claims over [[Crete]] and the [[Habesh Eyalet|Hijaz]] and agreed to downsize his naval forces and his standing army to 18,000 men if he and his descendants would enjoy [[hereditary]] [[governance|rule]] over Egypt and [[Sudan]], an unheard-of status for an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[viceroy]].<ref>Morroe Berger, ''Military Elite and Social Change: Egypt Since Napoleon'', (Princeton, New Jersey: Center for International Studies, 1960), 11.</ref> Indeed, a ''[[firman (decree)|firman]]'' was issued by the sultan and confirmed Muhammad Ali's rule over Egypt and the Sudan. Muhammad Ali withdrew from [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]], the Hijaz, the Holy Land, Adana and Crete and handed back the Ottoman fleet.

Ecologist [[Andreas Malm]] marked the intervention as the pivotal event in the history of the [[Middle East]] and the [[climate system]], suggesting that the British ability to [[power projection|project power]] led to the export of [[fossil fuel]] use across the world. In addition, the intervention left Egypt [[Periphery countries|economically subordinate]], undergoing the most extreme [[deindustrialization]] of any country in the 19th century, and the decisive bombardments by coal-powered [[steamships]] and reports of desolation in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] emboldened British and American [[Christian Zionists]], whose interests coincided with the foreign policy interests of [[Lord Palmerston]]. Malm argues that this aftermath laid the groundwork for the later [[Zionist movement]] and wasbegan the first conception the idea of as ana [[Jewish state]] as a "[[satellite state|"satellite colony"]]" that would forward the political and economic interests of [[western countries|the West]] in the [[Middle East]], which through the 20th and 21st century have been intertwined with the [[petroleum industry]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Malm |first1=Andreas |title=The Destruction of Palestine Is the Destruction of the Earth |url=https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/news/the-destruction-of-palestine-is-the-destruction-of-the-earth |website=[[Verso Books]] |access-date=24 April 2024 |date=8 April 2024}}</ref>

* Houghton, John. "The Egyptian Navy of Muhammad Ali Pasha." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' 105.2 (2019): 162-182162–182.

* Mahmoud, Muhammad. "The international position on the Egyptian control of the Levant 1813-18401813–1840 AD." ''Adab Al-Rafidayn'' 50.82 (2020): 665-698665–698. [https://radab.mosuljournals.com/article_166395_5eb33beb29806ee0fbd07dc8a501bc59.pdf online]

* Middleton, Charles R. "Cabinet Decision Making at the Accession of Queen Victoria: The Crisis of the East 1839-18401839–1840," ''Journal of Modern History'' (1979) 51#2 pp. D1085-D1117D1085–D1117 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1881124 in JSTOR]

* Molatam, Mona Mohamed, Ashraf Mo'nes, and Samah Abd Elrahman Mahmoud. "The Firman 'Decree' 1841 to Keep the Rule of Egypt Generally." ''Minia Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research MJTHR'' 14.1 (2022): 130-144130–144. [https://journals.ekb.eg/article_253145_8d243b571934e22aa154c31d49c87b31.pdf online]

* Rodkey, Frederick Stanley. "4. Colonel Campbell's Report on Egypt in 1840, with Lord Palmerston's Comments1." ''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 3.1 (1929): 102-114102–114.

* Soliman, Ali A., and M. Mabrouk Kotb. "Egypt’s Finances and Foreign Campaigns, 1810-18401810–1840." ''Global Dimensions of African Economic History'' 18 (2019): 19+ [http://www.ub.edu/histeco/aehn2019/pdf/aehn2019_P05_02.pdf online].

* Ufford, Letitia W. ''The Pasha: How Mehemet Ali Defied the West, 1839-18411839–1841'' (McFarland, 2007) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zmJE_okYJE0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=egypt+1840+pasha+&otspg=2ORpkUlQCS&sig=XknRtFF0Qwv4n6I4sl8pRTZhOG8PR7 online].