In 1798, the French Directory ordered Napoleon Bonaparte to invade Egypt. Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader. He entered Egypt with the goal of spreading the liberal ideals of the French Revolution. Napoleon very quickly occupied the populated parts of the country. He proclaimed himself the liberator of Egypt and the protector of Islam. Muslim scholar Abd Rahman Al-Jabarti’s chronicle of the French invasion of Egypt provides eyewitness accounts to Napolean’s invasion with an opposing viewpoint to the belief that Napoleon held of himself. Al-Jabarti was critical, judgemental, and did not always agree with Napoleon’s intentions due to the cultural misunderstandings occupying both the French and Egyptians. Initial …show more content…
The French imposed various taxes on the Egyptian people, and this served as the height of the discontent that the local citizens had towards the French. The first tax that the French applied was on the title deeds of property. This created a situation in which the people of Cairo had to produce the title deed to their property, pay for a new one if one could not be produced, or risk forfeiting their property. Al-Jabarti describes the unfairness of the French system saying, “If a land owners title-deed was found in the register, confirmation was demanded from him…If it happened the landowner had no certificate, or if he had one and it was not recorded in the register, or recorded and that record was not confirmed, the his holdings would be confiscated by the Diwan of the Republic and became its property” (Al-Jabartī, Napoleon in Egypt, 68). This was seen as evil and malicious. The people in Cairo were outraged and frustrated by these actions. Al-Jabarti was especially critical, stating, “The French established a foundation for malice, a foundation for godlessness, a bulwark of injustice, and a source of all manner of evil innovations…These were sub stipulations formulated in their stupid idiom and crude style, dedicated to one purpose, namely robbing them of their money by devious means and despoiling their real estate, inherited property, and the like” (Al-Jabartī, Napoleon in Egypt, 67). The implementation of property taxes created a great turmoil amongst the people, creating a larger gap between the two cultures. People found the enforcement of the property tax to be unbearable. “When people heard (rumours) of this affair and realized it was true, they raised an uproar since they found it too great of a burden” (Al-Jabartī, Napoleon in Egypt, 83). These taxes would turn the upper classes, including the Ulama, scholars of Muslim
The Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798 – Napoleon in Egypt, was written by the Egyptian born scholar and jurist, Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (c. 1753-c.1825) between 1798 and 1801, framing the French occupation of Egypt. Both the Middle East and Europe, during the late 17th century were in a state of redefinition. Although the chronicle had covered only the brief period during first seven months of 36, it serves as a crucial accounting. Clearly illustrated is a paradigmatic shift between a modern culture and an antiquated system with a chronicle of events that swings between something that is merely observational to something written by an emotionally charged spectator. Although the work has been widely accepted, there is still some speculation as to degrees of censorship and possible omissions through various translations.
Napoleon just maintains the goals of the French Revolution since he needed to secure and reinforce his own energy.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Nothing has been simpler than my elevation…It is owing to the peculiarities of the time.” Coming to power at a time of instability and disorder in France immediately following the French Revolution, Napoleon quickly established himself as the political leader and military power behind France. Easily and efficiently overthrowing the poorly managed Directory, Napoleon established a three man governing body referred to as the Consulate. Naming himself Consul for Life in 1802, and crowning himself emperor in 1804, Napoleon made it clear that is was a time of dramatic change in France. Although establishing himself as an absolute ruler, Napoleon did it all with the support of the people, through the use of a plebiscite. Obviously a man that held immense power, Napoleon has been credited with many great successes. To the people of France, Napoleon was a savior, a man who could, despite being an autocrat, implement the ideals of the French Revolution. Establishing order, giving the French people a sense of security, and running his government smoothly became Napoleon’s priorities. Through a variety of reforms including, centralizing the government, establishing public education, instituting religious tolerance specifically signing the Concordat of 1801, and stimulating the economy, Napoleon won the support of French people across the classes, including the peasantry who in years previous had suffered greatly under absolute rulers. One of Napoleon’s most lasting reforms was his installment of the Napoleonic Code, a set of laws that reflected the idea of equality so evidently bannered throughout the French Revolution. Napoleon was able to capture the attention of the French people through every facet except absolutism.
Napoleon was a tyrant because he betrayed the French Revolution ideals of freedom, equality, and poverty. He was the closest person ever to uniting Europe, but did not get that done. He had so much power and used it to become a tyrant. Everyone hated him and would make fun of him .Cartoonists mocked him with cartoons, and people would laugh about how he was so short, but with a big hat, and belly. Napoleon made 3 main and big mistakes; the continental system, peninsular war, and invasion of Russia. Napoleon failed almost everything he did, very few were accomplished.
Which he didn’t have much success in because No, after a short victory, the French fleet were defeated in the Battle of the Nile. This led the army stranded. Shortly after Napoleon himself arrived in Egypt, he had to return to France, abandoning his army, to deal with political turmoil. Seeing how napoleon left his army and just left them to sit and die is so wrong as a leader you don’t leave behind the ones who are willing to risk their lives to help you and stand with you because like me I would have left him to die. Than napoleon wanted to start another battle which was called the battle of Battle of Marengo Napoleon barley defeated Austrian forces in northern Italy. His remaining generals finished war against Austria, taking the Austrian Netherlands, northern Italy, and the left bank of the Rhine for France. Shortly napoleon eliminated most church states, free cities and gave their lands to German Princes. Seeing all of this was so upset watching all this going down I was crying because they took the land I have and gave it to the German princes which took me away and took what I wanted most he was so wrong and unfair and very
In the early 19th century a man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte led a Coup D’etat that created a new government in France. This new government started out with a tribunal leadership, which Napoleon was first consul, and later changed to an empire with Napoleon as emperor. Some people believe that he made the revolution better and expanded the revolution but this is not true. The facts, when closely looked at, prove that Napoleon effectively destroyed the revolution by telling the people of his country one thing while he was actually planning on doing something totally different. He deceived people so well that he is still convincing people today that he was a defender of the revolution.
Kirchberger, Joe H. The French Revolution and Napoleon. New York: Facts on File inc, 1989.
Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.
The French “imposed more and higher taxes on Muslims than Europeans” (library of congress). In their country, Muslims had to pay more taxes, and even new taxes than they had before the French invaded their country. The Algerians then had to apply for citizenship into their own country. The application was so difficult that many applicants were unable to complete it, and were denied citizenship. The lifestyles of Algerians were changed so much that the French tried to make the Muslims forget who they were.
When we think of Napoleon, we think of massive military conquest comparable to the Roman Empire. However, there are also the numerous reforms he made to domestic policy during his reign of 1799 to 1815. There are three main viewpoints relating to his domestic policy. The first is by Godechot who believed Napoleon "changed the history of France and the world". He thought that Napoleon's policies truly benefited France. However, a contrary viewpoint is made by Seward who thought Napoleon was a demagogue who had an "obsession with power". A third median of the two extremes was proposed by Soboul. Soboul thought that Napoleon advantaged France in some ways but hindered in others.
The economic situation of Egypt before its colonization was quite good. The working and owning class maintained the industrial aspect while the upper class maintained the government and political prospect. Through the colonization of Egypt, Britain gained control of the Suez Canal, a major part of the world trade routes. With this advantage, Britain decided to heavily tax the ships which passed through. This brought mass amounts of money of which the Egyptians never saw. Instead of going to maintain Egypt or even the Suez Canal itself, the money went straight to the British government as profit. Finally, the news that Britain had colonized Egypt and was using it as a "profitable business" reached the public. Immediately, the Egyptians began to leave the country. The British had to act quickly, for they knew that without the Egyptians to maintain the land and canal, the profit would be lost.
Metz, H. C. (1990). Egypt: A Country Study. (Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, Ed.) Retrieved from Country Studies: http://countrystudies.us/egypt/15.htm
Napoleon Bonaparte, the son of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15, 1768. In 1779, he was sent to a military school in Paris. He was made fun of by the French there, and gave him the dream of power. Napoleon was waiting for the right time to achieve greater power, and that moment came when the French monarchy was overthrown.