hsy2601 marked assignment 1 2021

Unique Assignment Number: Due Date: 11 August 2020 Question ‘Without the intervention of the British- Ottoman military alliance, Napoleon would have succeeded in occupying Egypt ().’ Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer. The invasion and occupation of Egypt by the French under Napoleon and his generals between 1798 and 1801 would have been a fiasco even without the British- Ottoman military alliance. The alliance only precipitated the downfall of Napoleon’s reign in Egypt. However, the role and resistance from the indigenous people, played a pivotal role in the French being unable to occupy Egypt. Already by the 18th century, Egypt was officially in the hands of the Ottoman Empire since they had conquered it in 1517. Napoleon and his generals underestimated and had no insight into the power of the indigenous people and hence thought it was going to be an easy gateway. The essence of this essay is to explain why the occupation of Egypt by the French did not succeed due to the resistance of the locals and other factors. Napoleon Bonaparte had many reasons why he wanted to take over Egypt. He wanted to extend Western imperialism and for France to be viewed as one of the strong nations among European countries. Britain being one of their staunchest enemies, the French saw the occupation of Egypt as a way to emulate their rivals by creating a colony of their own. The British having a powerful navy and fleet of soldiers had succeeded in eliminating the French from their overseas territories in the 18th century. As if that was not enough, the French lost their control and possessions in India, North America and Canada. Napoleon saw the occupation of Egypt as an opportunity to pursue his personal ambitions and build a reputation for himself. In addition, the opportunity would help France to compete with Britain and limit her influence. Knighton, 2016, has it that, ‘The ultimate target of the Egyptian campaign was not the country being fought over.’It was actually an indirect invasion of Britain. Britain was a stumbling block as she supported the French enemies on land and above all limited them on the seas. In Egypt, Napoleon saw an opportunity to protect the French trade merchants, an opportunity for a profitable sugar industry and to be a blockade to Britain as much of her wealth came from India through Egypt