La genèse de l'esprit national égyptien (1863-1882)

"A true relation of the travels and perilous adventures of Mathew Dudgeon,…. is a historical study written in the early 20th century. It examines the formation of modern Egyptian national consciousness during the reign of Khedive Isma'il and the lead‑up to the 1881–82 revolution, with special attention to finances, foreign intrusion, and the role of reformist thinkers. Drawing on unpublished memoirs and Arabic‑language journalism, it explores how economic crises, the Suez Canal, and Anglo‑French rivalry shaped a new political spirit in Egypt. The opening of the work sets out a source‑rich, corrective agenda: using the unpublished memoirs of Arabi Pasha and especially Muhammad Abduh, lost runs of the Arabic opposition press, and European reports to clarify the period 1863–1882. The introduction sketches a long view of Egyptian identity from pharaonic continuity through Hellenistic and Byzantine suppression, the Arab conquest and arabization, Mamluk and Ottoman domination, and the catalytic yet brief French expedition. It highlights Muhammad Ali’s nation‑building—an Egyptian conscript army, irrigation, industry, schools, and missions to France—followed by Sa‘id’s humane fiscal and land reforms and the fateful Suez concession. The first chapter then turns to Isma'il: a dazzling start gives way to reckless borrowing, ostentation, and costly bids for autonomy at Constantinople; debt instruments multiply, the Moukabala deepens strain, and the 1873 loan proves ruinous. The Canal’s completion swells foreign presence and British strategic interest; Disraeli’s 1875 purchase of canal shares and the 1876 Cave mission inaugurate intrusive financial control amid Anglo‑French rivalry, while Cave’s report catalogs mismanagement, extravagant projects, and the crushing burden passed on to the fellahin. (This is an automatically generated summary.)