January 16, 2008
Mehemet Ali vs. Lord Palmerston: The Struggle for Syria, 1840
Letitia W. Ufford
Independent Scholar and Author
Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the 66th Year
President Joe Giordmaine called the members of the Old Guard to order at 10:15 AM for the 15th meeting of the 66th year. George Folkers led us in the invocation. The minutes of the meeting of January 9, 2008 were read by President Giordmaine. The following guests were introduced: Perry Morgan introduced his wife Liz, and Bruno Walmsley introduced his wife Rosemary. The president congratulated John McLaughlin, Butch Arnould, and Norman Soltenberger for their 25 years of membership in the Old Guard.
Claire Jacobus introduced our speaker, Letitia W. Ufford. Mrs. Ufford has had a lifelong interest in the Middle East, focusing on Arabic studies. She has made several trips to the Middle East, and has spent considerable time in Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt. She received her doctorate in Middle East studies from Columbia University, writing her honors thesis on the subject of Iraq under British rule. She is active in local affairs, and is president of the Princeton Middle East Society.
The topic of Mrs. Ufford’s talk was “Mehemet Ali vs. Lord Palmerston: the Struggle for Syria, 1840. She began by noting that she became interested in the subject as she observed contemporary attempts to change the configuration of countries in the Middle East, and because of the similarities of debate in France’s Assembly in the 1800’s and in our Congress in recent years.
Mrs. Ufford illustrated the story of Muhammed Ali and Lord Palmerston’s conflict with a power point presentation including slides of the principal political and military leaders, the ancient fortifications, the topography of the land on which the battles were fought, and period paintings of the naval forces and armies of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Syria, and Britain. I will make reference to the historical events Mrs. Ufford described and which the slides illustrated.
At the time Sultan Macmoud II was the leader of the Ottoman Empire. He wanted to modernize the nation, and disbanded the conservative Janissaries, who were upholders of the old ways of Turkey. Mohammed Ali was a military leader in the Sultan’s forces. He was born to Albanian parents, and as a young man received a commission in the Ottoman army. In 1799 he led an Albanian contingent against Bonaparte in Egypt, and his success encouraged him to invade Syria.
The geopolitical struggle of the time included securing and maintaining access to India. The nations primarily involved in the struggle were the British, French, and Russians. A joint British-Ottoman expedition ended the French role in Egypt. The British destruction of the French fleet dealt a blow to Napoleon’s ambitions, and his forces could not hold Egypt. Mohammed Ali solidified his power by slaughtering the Mamluks, whom he had invited to a feast. It is called the massacre of the Citadel, a building shown in one of the slides. Thence he became the ruler of Egypt.
In 1824 the Ottoman Sultan requested aid from Ali in putting down a serious rebellion in the Greek provinces. Ali sent his army under the command of his son Ibrahaim Pasha. But his army was defeated as Britain, France, and Russia intervened to protect the Greeks. He withdrew, but asked the Ottoman Sultan for rule of Syria as compensation for his effort. Not receiving it, he invaded Syria. He captured Accra and moved into Anatolia, defeating the Ottoman armies as he moved toward Constantinople. His goal was the removal of the Ottoman emperor, Malmud II. Malmud requested aid from Russia, which alarmed the British and French governments. Lord Palmerston, of the War Office, was concerned about French and Russian influence, not wanting any obstruction to British military and trade routes to India. And Palmerston was afraid Muhammad would aggrandize himself as the protégé of France. So he took an active role against Ali. He saw that if Ali declared himself independent of the Sultan, war would ensue between the Turks and the Egyptians. Palmerston was afraid that the Ottoman Empire would be defeated and Russia would fly to the aid of the Sultan, thus occupying Constantinople and the Dardanelles. They would establish military bases there and never quit. With the exception of France, all the great powers agreed to uphold the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. France, of course, had hoped to become a protector of Egypt and Syria and thus gain the high road to India. But Palmerston threatened war against France. He persuaded the Europeans to sign a convention to oppose Mohammed Ali, and urged the Lebanese to rise up against Ali. To support the Sultan, Palmerston sent the Mediterranean fleet to Alexandria, moving the navy along the coast, shelling Ali’s army in Beirut, landing at Djouni, and ending Ali’s power with the capture of Accra.
When Ali’s armies were defeated, the British commodore, Admiral Napier, without his government’s authorization, granted Mohammed Ali hereditary rule of Egypt, if he would withdraw his forces from Syria and return to Egypt. Ali accepted. This hereditary rule lasted until the overthrow of King Farouk.
Mrs. Ufford concluded by observing that lessons to be learned from this episode are that Europeans, and Americans, should not expect that sudden changes can occur in the Middle East. She also observed that there are dramatic economic and political differences between Europeans and the nations of the Middle East.
Following her presentation, questions were asked regarding the role of the Russians, and their desire for access to the Black Sea. The meeting closed at 11:30.
Respectfully submitted,
H. Dana Fearon
Claire Jacobus introduced our speaker, Letitia W. Ufford. Mrs. Ufford has had a lifelong interest in the Middle East, focusing on Arabic studies. She has made several trips to the Middle East, and has spent considerable time in Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt. She received her doctorate in Middle East studies from Columbia University, writing her honors thesis on the subject of Iraq under British rule. She is active in local affairs, and is president of the Princeton Middle East Society.
The topic of Mrs. Ufford’s talk was “Mehemet Ali vs. Lord Palmerston: the Struggle for Syria, 1840. She began by noting that she became interested in the subject as she observed contemporary attempts to change the configuration of countries in the Middle East, and because of the similarities of debate in France’s Assembly in the 1800’s and in our Congress in recent years.
Mrs. Ufford illustrated the story of Muhammed Ali and Lord Palmerston’s conflict with a power point presentation including slides of the principal political and military leaders, the ancient fortifications, the topography of the land on which the battles were fought, and period paintings of the naval forces and armies of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Syria, and Britain. I will make reference to the historical events Mrs. Ufford described and which the slides illustrated.
At the time Sultan Macmoud II was the leader of the Ottoman Empire. He wanted to modernize the nation, and disbanded the conservative Janissaries, who were upholders of the old ways of Turkey. Mohammed Ali was a military leader in the Sultan’s forces. He was born to Albanian parents, and as a young man received a commission in the Ottoman army. In 1799 he led an Albanian contingent against Bonaparte in Egypt, and his success encouraged him to invade Syria.
The geopolitical struggle of the time included securing and maintaining access to India. The nations primarily involved in the struggle were the British, French, and Russians. A joint British-Ottoman expedition ended the French role in Egypt. The British destruction of the French fleet dealt a blow to Napoleon’s ambitions, and his forces could not hold Egypt. Mohammed Ali solidified his power by slaughtering the Mamluks, whom he had invited to a feast. It is called the massacre of the Citadel, a building shown in one of the slides. Thence he became the ruler of Egypt.
In 1824 the Ottoman Sultan requested aid from Ali in putting down a serious rebellion in the Greek provinces. Ali sent his army under the command of his son Ibrahaim Pasha. But his army was defeated as Britain, France, and Russia intervened to protect the Greeks. He withdrew, but asked the Ottoman Sultan for rule of Syria as compensation for his effort. Not receiving it, he invaded Syria. He captured Accra and moved into Anatolia, defeating the Ottoman armies as he moved toward Constantinople. His goal was the removal of the Ottoman emperor, Malmud II. Malmud requested aid from Russia, which alarmed the British and French governments. Lord Palmerston, of the War Office, was concerned about French and Russian influence, not wanting any obstruction to British military and trade routes to India. And Palmerston was afraid Muhammad would aggrandize himself as the protégé of France. So he took an active role against Ali. He saw that if Ali declared himself independent of the Sultan, war would ensue between the Turks and the Egyptians. Palmerston was afraid that the Ottoman Empire would be defeated and Russia would fly to the aid of the Sultan, thus occupying Constantinople and the Dardanelles. They would establish military bases there and never quit. With the exception of France, all the great powers agreed to uphold the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. France, of course, had hoped to become a protector of Egypt and Syria and thus gain the high road to India. But Palmerston threatened war against France. He persuaded the Europeans to sign a convention to oppose Mohammed Ali, and urged the Lebanese to rise up against Ali. To support the Sultan, Palmerston sent the Mediterranean fleet to Alexandria, moving the navy along the coast, shelling Ali’s army in Beirut, landing at Djouni, and ending Ali’s power with the capture of Accra.
When Ali’s armies were defeated, the British commodore, Admiral Napier, without his government’s authorization, granted Mohammed Ali hereditary rule of Egypt, if he would withdraw his forces from Syria and return to Egypt. Ali accepted. This hereditary rule lasted until the overthrow of King Farouk.
Mrs. Ufford concluded by observing that lessons to be learned from this episode are that Europeans, and Americans, should not expect that sudden changes can occur in the Middle East. She also observed that there are dramatic economic and political differences between Europeans and the nations of the Middle East.
Following her presentation, questions were asked regarding the role of the Russians, and their desire for access to the Black Sea. The meeting closed at 11:30.
Respectfully submitted,
H. Dana Fearon