Britská zahraniční politika a Egypt v 80. letech 19. století

Abstract

The opening of the Suez Canal and the bargain of the share in the Suez Canal Company were important moments for British imperial policy, which also considerably increased Britain's interest in Egypt. In 1882, following the instability of the Khedivate, Great Britain decided to occupy Egypt for strategic and imperial reasons. The occupation set the fur flying, in particular between Britain and France. Her Majesty's Government considered two alternative solutions – withdrawal, or a reform policy and modernization of Egypt. The economic depression, due mainly to Arabi's revolt and an expensive and failed military expedition to Suakin, forced the British Consul-General in Cairo, Sir Evelyn Baring, to open negotiations about Egyptian financial affairs, in which France had pronounced influence. The subsequently summoned conference (summer 1884) of Great Powers in London did not lead to an agreement, as the conferees did not concur on when Britain should abandon Egypt. In June 1885, the new British Prime Minister, Marquis of Salisbury, looking at the occupation as a “milestone of the British foreign policy”, and an “unbearable burden” at the same time, decided for a quick withdrawal from Egypt in order to relieve the British diplomatic position in Europe. For this purpose, he despatched the diplomat Sir Henry Drummond- Wolff to Constantinople to reach an agreement with the Sublime Porte on the British presence in Egypt. The preliminary treaty was signed almost immediately, the ensuing negotiations in Cairo, however, led rather to idle talks than stark facts.In May 1887, Sir Henry succeeded in his effort to conclude a British-Ottoman convention on Egypt, which solved up to the time's the problematic position of the British troops in the country. Great Britain promised that in case of the agreement's ratification their army would be withdrawn within three years. Joint French-Russian pressure and threats to the Sultan and his empire gave rise the decline of the agreement. Thus, the Drummond-Wolff's mission fell short of expectation. Despite Sir Henry's failure, the British diplomacy managed to push through the passage of the British-Ottoman convention on the Suez Canal. In October 1888, following complicated British-French talks, the representatives of European Powers and the Ottoman Empire signed an extensive document ensuring free navigation in the Suez Canal in periods of peace and war.