A History of Protestant missions in the near East

338 History of Protestant Missions in the Near East
for civilization
than the contrast between the disturbed state
of the country when England assumed the government in
1882, and its present orderly condition. The changeful and
romantic story of the dynasty of Muhammad AH forms the
political background of the history of missions in Egypt.
civil wars to
Muhammad Ali fought his way through bloody
the government of Egypt in 1804, and was acknowledged by
the Porte. His ambitious mind then led him to throw off the
supremacy of the Porte and to establish Egypt as an independent
African state. In accordance with this scheme he
conquered immense territories in Nubia, Darfur, Kordofan
and the countries adjacent to the Upper Nile. He even
ventured to snatch Palestine from the Porte. In order to
give
his country the appearance of a civilized European state,
he founded grand schools, providing them with European
masters, and imitated the fine manners of the French. He
also sent many Egyptians to study in France. To meet the
expense of such extravagant enterprises he imposed crushing
taxes and forced labour on his unhappy subjects. His two
successors, Abbas and Said (1849-1863), were weaker men,
and did not adhere to any consistent foreign policy. Yet
they endeavoured to make the lives of the fellaheen more
bearable, and reduced the taxation. But Ismail Pasha
(1863-1879)
went even further than Muhammad Ali. His
policy was directed towards the aggrandizement of his dynasty.
He acquired the title of Khedive, and, as such, was only
nominally dependent on the Sultan, the title being also made
hereditary. He tried to assume the role of an up-to-date
civilized ruler by undertaking magnificent schemes of improvement,
such as the construction of the Suez Canal, which was
completed in 1869, and the building of railways. At the
opening of the canal he arranged a pompous ceremony at immense
cost. All the time the country was groaning under
extortionate taxation, and Egypt's debt grew to enormous
proportions. The end of it was that his senseless extravagance
and dilatory payment of interest on loans caused the
European Powers to depose him. His well-meaning but weak