The Oriental Crisis of 1840 was an episode in the Egyptian–Ottoman War in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, triggered by the self-declared

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali Pasha's aims to establish a personal empire in Ottoman Egypt.

Background

In the preceding decades, Muhammad Ali had expanded and strengthened his hold on Ottoman territory, beginning with Egypt, where he acted as a viceroy for the Sultan. Called upon to assist the Ottomans in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, Muhammad Ali in return demanded parts of

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria () is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Ara ...

to be transferred to his personal rule. When the war ended and the Porte failed to keep its promise, Muhammad Ali launched a military campaign against his Ottoman masters and easily took most of the Syrian lands.

Syrian War

In 1839, the Ottoman Empire attempted to retake Syria from Muhammad Ali but was defeated by his son, Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Nezib. Thus, a 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. On the verge of total collapse and defeat to Muhammad Ali, an alliance of European powers comprising

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

decided to intervene on behalf of the young Sultan Abdülmecid I.

Convention of London

By the Convention of London, signed on 15 July 1840, the Great Powers offered Muhammad Ali and his heirs permanent control over Egypt, Sudan, and the southern part of the

Damascus Eyalet Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...

, 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 Syria. If he delayed acceptance more than 20 days, he would forfeit everything offered. 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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

French position

The French, under the newly-formed cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

, sought to increase French influence in North Africa after their 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. 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.

Military campaign

In September 1840, the European powers eventually moved from diplomatic means to military action. When French support for Muhammad Ali failed to materialize, British and Austrian naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean moved against Syria and Alexandria.

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

was the port where the defecting Ottoman fleet had withdrawn. After the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and the Austrian Navy first blockaded the

Nile delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

coastline, they moved east to shell

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

and

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on 11 September 1840. British and Austrian forces then attacked

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. Following the bombardment of the city and the port on 3 November 1840 a small landing party of Austrian, British and Ottoman troops, which were led personally by the Austrian fleet commander, Archduke Friedrich, took the citadel after Muhammad Ali's Egyptian garrison in Acre had fled.

Long-term results

After the surrender of Acre, Muhammad Ali finally accepted the terms of the Convention on 27 November 1840. He renounced his claims over

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and the Hijaz and agreed to downsize his naval forces and his standing army to 18,000 men if he and his descendants would enjoy hereditary rule over Egypt and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, an unheard-of status for an Ottoman

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. Indeed, a ''

firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...

'' was issued by the sultan and confirmed Muhammad Ali's rule over Egypt and the Sudan. Muhammad Ali withdrew from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, 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 The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the

climate system Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere ( ...

, suggesting that the British ability to project power led to the export of

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

use across the world. In addition, the intervention left Egypt economically subordinate, undergoing the most extreme

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...

of any country in the 19th century, and the decisive bombardments by coal-powered

steamships A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

and reports of desolation in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

emboldened British and American Christian Zionists, whose interests coincided with the foreign policy interests of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

. Malm argues that this aftermath laid the groundwork for the later

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

and began the first conception of a

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. Overview Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewi ...

as a " satellite colony" that would forward the political and economic interests of

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...

in the

, which through the 20th and 21st century have been intertwined with the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (often by oil tankers ...

Background

Syrian War

Convention of London

French position

Military campaign

Long-term results

See also

References

Further reading