Nationalism and Imperialism
Question One
Napoleon, the French leader who participated in the French industrial revolution, visited Egypt, a country in the northern part of Africa. Upon his triumphant entry into Alexandria, he issued a statement that comprised promises he made to the Egyptians. Napoleon began by stating to the Egyptians that the hour of punishment for the leaders governing Egypt had come. The punishment would be impacted because these leaders governing Egypt had continuously engaged in insulting the French and its traders. French was a big country that had already undergone the Industrial revolution and primarily engaged in trading activities. Napoleon also promised the Egyptians that the tyrannical period of leadership had to be stopped (Bell, 2021). This action was because the tyrannical leadership had resulted in the assortment of slaves bought in Georgia and Caucasus. He also promised that he had come to restore their rights from the dictatorship leadership they were undergoing. The Egyptians had been subjected to a lot of suffering and torture under the leadership of the Mamluks. They were denied their fundamental rights to life and liberty. Many of them were killed, and many were subjected to becoming laborers. Thus, Napoleon promised to liberate them and offer them their rights back.
Additionally, Napoleon promised equality to all Egyptians. The Mamluks had forcefully grabbed most of the land in Egypt and were exposed to a pleasant lifestyle, contrary to the ordinary people languishing in poverty. Napoleon depicted that all men are equal before God and that the Mamluks should show a lease that God granted them to own the various lands. He emphasized that all Egyptians would have equal opportunities to acquire wealth and that the wisest, best educated, and the most virtuous would be put to govern, promoting a just system of governance. Napoleon further promised wealth and ranks to the Egyptians who would join him and threefold unhappiness to those who would arm themselves for the Mamluks to fight against him. He stated that all villages taking up arms against the Army would be burnt down. In addition, all the villages submitting to the Army will hoist and raise the flag of the grand Seigneur (Again & Saragih, 2021). The Shaykhs shall have seals placed on their possessions, including the houses and other properties that belonged to the Mamluks. Napoleon also promised the Shaykhs, Qadis, and Imams that they should continue to perform their functions effectively without any obstacles.
Napoleon is blaming the Mamluks for the stormy relationship between Egypt and the French Republic. The Mamluks insulted the French nation and its traders for an extended period (Bell, 2021). The French trading activities were becoming popular, and the Mamluks were unhappy about it. They would use any means to destroy the French trading activities and would even ensure there were obstacles in the French making their goods access Egypt. The Mamluks made it difficult for the people of Egypt to carry out trade; hence people could not access the new inventions that were coming up due to the French industrial revolution. The Mamluks also told the people of Egypt that the French aimed to destroy their religion by interfering with Islam (Erol, 2022). This detail led to the people of Egypt hating the French. Therefore, the leadership of the Mamluks led to a bad relationship between the Egyptians and the French Republic.
Question Two
Napoleon perceives the Ottoman Sultan as a good friend to the French Republic for a long time. He even elucidates that the enemies of the Ottoman Sultan are also the French enemies. Their friendship has enabled them to support each other during wars and even conquer. The Sultan had supported Napoleons coming to Egypt. He was also in the fight against the rule of the Mamluks in Egypt. With the support of the Sultan, Napoleon had a large army that would enable him to overcome the Mamluks in Egypt. The Army would fight off the Mamluks Army to bring liberation to the people of Egypt (Bell, 2021). Even in his proclaimed statement to the Egyptians as he triumphantly entered Alexandria, he stated that in the end, after the destruction of the Mamluks, people would thank God, the French Army and shout glory to the Sultan. Therefore, Napoleon perceived Ottoman Sultan as a good friend.
Question Three
Napoleon wanted the French to invade Egypt. Thus, he came up with two primary reasons for the justification of the French invasion of Egypt. His first reason was that the French would cleanse Egypt from the tyranny kind leadership of their Mamluks. He emphasized that this would liberate the people of Egypt, allow them to experience their rights as human beings, and ignite sophistication and civilization. His second justification was that the French were not hostile to Islam and its holy prophet. He emphasized that they did not come to oppose but to uphold the Islam religion. He stated, ‘They will say to you that I have come to destroy your religion; hear them not.’ H even promised the Egyptians that the Shaykhs would continue to perform their actions without obstacles (Erol, 2022). All these justifications used by Napoleon were to convince the Egyptians that the French had good intentions for them. Conversely, Napoleon never did anything Islamic; he was not a Muslim. Despite this, he still respected Islam as a religion. He was using the Islam religion as propaganda to convince the Egyptians and make them respect and listen to him. In addition, he sincerely wanted the French to invade and liberate the people of Egypt from tyrannical rule, but he was not a Muslim.
References
Bell, A. (2021). The Impact of Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt. https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/pat/9/
Agai, J. M., & Saragih, M. Y. (2021). The Contribution of Napoleon Bonaparte to Egyptology. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal): Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(3), 4792-4803. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Agai-Jock/publication/354054410_The_Contribution_of_Napoleon_Bonaparte_to_Egyptology/links/612151c51e95fe241aea8ca4/The-Contribution-of-Napoleon-Bonaparte-to-Egyptology.pdf
Erol, H. İ. (2022). Islamic Propaganda by the French During the Occupation of Egypt (1798-1801). İstanbul University Journal of Sociology, 42(1), and 163-190. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/iusosyoloji/issue/69176/1095462