Egypt Under the Ottomans, the French, and the British

            While under the Ottomans, French, and British, Egypt saw different ways of colonizing a land.  The Ottomans put a Viceroy in charge of Egypt along with the aid of an advisor called a Divan.  They divided Egypt into four provinces with khashifs collecting taxes from the Egyptians in each province.  During Ottoman rule, Egypt experienced a lack of cultural advancements.  Historical texts were rarely written while ingenuity in architecture was also at an all time low.

            After their initial conquest the French sent many scholars and scientists to Egypt to report on the condition of the country.  Napoleon tried to please the Egyptians by giving them councilmen that had a voice in political matters.  This was futile as Egyptians were fed up with foreign rule in general, French administration, and the economic problems that surface when a country is at war.  This led to an Egyptian revolt in Cairo that needed French artillery to quell.  French rule had huge impacts on Egypt.  By bringing in scholars, it opened up Egypt to the Western world.  Egyptians were now influenced by European cultures.  In addition to this, the Rosetta Stone, which allows for the translation of hieroglyphics was discovered during French occupation (1).

            Under the British the Egyptian khedive ruled in name only.  The British administrators held all the power in Egypt.  There were some positives to the English occupation of Egypt.  One was that they were able to fix the economic problems left in Egypt by the French.  They also improved the irrigation system by constructing multiple dams.  One negative however, is that the British failed to address education or public health.  After making Egypt a protectorate in 1914, the British used the country as a military base during World War I (2).