The Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On July 11, 1882 AD, the British fleet started the bombardment of the port city of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War, following a coup by Colonel Ahmed Orabi against Towfiq Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, because of grievances over disparities in pay between Egyptian and European employees, as well as other concerns. As a nation Egypt was in limbo.
Although a province of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks neither governed nor cared for Egyptian affairs, because of their own internal decline. Consequently, Egypt had been looted and misgoverned for decades by the Khedives, who in turn were exploited by the British and the French. This naturally caused resentment among nationalist forces in Egypt, manifested by Orabi’s coup.
The British who had no right to meddle in the internal affairs of Egypt, bombarded Alexandria for three days, followed by marines occupying it. Much of the city was destroyed by fires that broke out as a result of the bombardment. The British then restored to power Khedive Towfiq, who declared Orabi a rebel. Orabi counteracted by obtaining a fatwa from the al-Azhar Shaykhs stating that Towfiq was a traitor who betrayed his religion and brought on the occupation of Egypt by a foreign nation.
Orabi ordered conscription and the British army tried to reach Cairo through Alexandria, but was stopped for five weeks at Kafr ad-Dawwar by Orabi. In August, a British army of over 40,000, commanded by Garnet Wolseley invaded the Suez Canal Zone. Orabi redeployed to defend Cairo while his main force dug in at Tel al-Kabir, north of the railway and the Sweetwater Canal, both of which linked Cairo to Ismailia on the Suez Canal. Wolseley, on being informed of the weak defences of the Egyptians, attacked them and killed two thousand Egyptian Muslims.
Orabi’s forces were routed, and British cavalry pursued them and captured Cairo, which was undefended. Khedive power was restored while the British occupied Egypt until the Anglo-Egyptian Treaties of 1922 and 1936, giving gradual control back to the corrupt and inefficient Khedives, who were finally overthrown in the 1952 revolution by Colonel Jamal Abdun-Nasser and General Mohammad Najib.