1.
Alexandria expedition of 1807
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It was a part of a larger strategy against the Ottoman-French alliance of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III. It resulted in the occupation of Alexandria from 18 March to 25 September 1807, after departure from Constantinople, as an Admiral of the White Squadron he was to rendezvous with the transports in Aboukir Bay. However, by 17 March the fleet of transports with nearly 6,000 British troops embarked on board approached off Alexandria under the command of General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser. The appearance of the British transports off Alexandria was unexpected, and 20 March HMS Tigre was able to take two Ottoman frigates, Uri Bahar and Uri Nasard, and the corvette Fara Numa on 20 March. HMS Apollo with nineteen other transports had separated from the force on 7 March. The sole garrison of the city at this time consisted of Albanian troops and these troops breached the palisaded entrenchments at eight in the evening on the 18 March. British casualties were light, however the Pompey Gate, was barricaded and defended by about 1,000 troops and armed volunteers, forcing British troops to set up camp to the south. Two detachments were sent to occupy Aboukir Castle, and the Cut, Qaitbay Citadel, on the next day 20 March the rest of the transports appeared off Alexandria, and an Arab messenger was sent with an offer of capitulation that was accepted by the city authorities. Sir John Thomas Duckworth also appeared on the 22 March off Alexandria in his flagship HMS Royal George with a part of his squadron, the heads of the British slain were fixed on stakes on the sides of the road crossing the Ezbekia in Cairo. Muhammad Ali, meanwhile, was conducting an expedition against the Beys in Upper Egypt when he heard of the arrival of the British. In great alarm lest the beys should join them, especially as they were far north of his position, he immediately sent messengers to his rivals. Ali promised to comply with all the Beys demands if they should join in expelling the invaders, the possession of Rosetta being deemed indispensable, Brigadier-General Sir William Stewart and Colonel Oswald were despatched there with 2500 men. However, a deputy of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Umar Makram, had begun to rally the local population and they fought a running battle for fifteen days against superior Turkish forces, including a thirteen-day cannonade of the town without effect. On April 20, news arrived from the guard at Al Hamed of the arrival of 50-60 large vessels with reinforcements to join the besieged by Nile. A dragoon was despatched to Lieutenant-Colonel Macleod, commanding at Al Hamed, ordering him to back as well. On 21 April, the guard, numbering 733 and comprising a detachment of the 31st. The survivors, who had expended all their ammunition, became prisoners of war, General Stewart regained Alexandria with the remainder of his force, having lost over 900 men, killed, wounded and missing. Hundreds of British heads were exposed on stakes in Cairo, however, this time the British prisoners were well treated, and officers were given quarters in the Citadel
2.
Suez Crisis
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The Suez Crisis, also named the Tripartite Aggression and the Kadesh Operation or Sinai War, was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal, after the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated Great Britain and France and strengthened Nasser, on October 29, Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai. Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to cease fire, which was ignored, on November 5, Britain and France landed paratroopers along the Suez Canal. The Egyptian forces were defeated, but they did block the canal to all shipping and it later became clear that the Israeli invasion and the subsequent Anglo-French attack had been planned beforehand by the three countries. The three allies had attained a number of their objectives, but the Canal was now useless and heavy political pressure from the United States. U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had strongly warned Britain not to invade, historians conclude the crisis signified the end of Great Britains role as one of the worlds major powers. The Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 until March 1957, Israel fulfilled some of its objectives, such as attaining freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of work financed by the French, the canal instantly became strategically important, as it provided the shortest ocean link between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. The canal eased commerce for trading nations and particularly helped European colonial powers to gain, in 1875, as a result of debt and financial crisis, the Egyptian ruler was forced to sell his shares in the canal operating company to the British government of Benjamin Disraeli. They were willing buyers and obtained a 44 percent share in the operations for less than £4 million. With the 1882 invasion and occupation of Egypt, the United Kingdom took de facto control of the country as well as the canal proper, the 1888 Convention of Constantinople declared the canal a neutral zone under British protection. In ratifying it, the Ottoman Empire agreed to international shipping to pass freely through the canal, in time of war. The Convention came into force in 1904, the year as the Entente cordiale between Britain and France. Following the Japanese surprise attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet based at Port Arthur, the British denied the Russian fleet use of the canal and forced it to steam around Africa, giving the Japanese forces time to consolidate their position in East Asia. The importance of the canal as an intersection was again apparent during the First World War. The attempt by German and Ottoman forces to storm the canal in February 1915 led the British to commit 100,000 troops to the defense of Egypt for the rest of the war. The canal continued to be strategically important after the Second World War as a conduit for the shipment of oil, petroleum business historian Daniel Yergin wrote of the period, In 1948, the canal abruptly lost its traditional rationale
3.
Egyptian Expedition (1882)
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The Egyptian Expedition, in mid-1882, was the United States response to the British and French attack on Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War. To protect American citizens and their property within the city, three United States Navy ships were sent to Egypt with orders to observe the conflict ashore and make a landing if necessary. British and French forces heavily damaged the city so a force of marines and sailors were landed, Rear Admiral James W. Nicholson, commander of the European Squadron, was directed to lead the expedition in the screw sloop USS Lancaster. Nicholson arrived at Alexandria on June 27,1882, the gunboat USS Nipsic on July 1, the British and French fleet, under Admiral Beauchamp Seymour, began anchoring off Alexandria on May 20 but they did not begin their bombardment until July 11. The Americans were informed by the British of their intentions so Rear Admiral Nicholson was able to warn the United States citizens within the city of a pending attack, when the engagement began, the British started shooting at the various forts under the command of Colonel Ahmed Orabi. The Egyptians defended the city well, striking the British ships several times though gradually the fortifications were reduced and silenced over the course of two days, during the bombardment, the Americans opened their ships up to all refugees from the city who needed shelter or medical treatment. By July 14, the attack was over but Alexandria was in a state of anarchy, remnants of Orabis rebels, and elements of the civilian population, were attacking foreign residents, including Americans and in response Nicholson decided to send a landing party ashore. Battle of Taku Forts Battle of Kororareka This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
4.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
5.
History of Egypt under the British
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The first period of British rule is often called the veiled protectorate. During this time the Khedivate of Egypt remained a province of the Ottoman Empire. This state of affairs lasted until the Ottoman Empire joined the First World War on the side of the Central Powers in November 1914, the ruling khedive was deposed and his successor, Hussein Kamel, compelled to declare himself Sultan of Egypt independent of the Ottomans in December 1914. The formal protectorate over Egypt did not long outlast the war and it was brought to an end by the unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence on 28 February 1922. Shortly afterwards, Sultan Fuad I declared himself King of Egypt, the situation was normalised in the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which granted Britain the right to station troops in Egypt for the defence of the Suez Canal, its link with the Indian Empire. Britain also continued to control the training of the Egyptian Army, during the Second World War, Egypt came under attack from Italian Libya on account of the British presence there, although Egypt itself remained neutral until late in the war. After the war Egypt sought to modify the treaty, but it was abrogated in its entirety by a government in October 1951. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the British agreed to withdraw their troops, Britain went to war against Egypt over the Suez Canal in late 1956, but with insufficient international support was forced to back down. Throughout the 19th century, the dynasty of Egypt had spent vast sums of money on infrastructural development of Egypt. However, in keeping with its own military and foreign origin, consequently, despite vast sums of European and other foreign capital, actual economic production and resulting revenues was insufficient toward repaying the loans. Consequently, the country teetered toward economic dissolution and implosion, in turn, European and foreign finances took control of the treasury of Egypt, forgave debt in return for taking control of the Suez Canal, and reoriented economic development toward capital gain. A large military demonstration in September 1881 forced the Khedive Tewfiq to dismiss his Prime Minister, many of the Europeans retreated to specially designed quarters suited for defence or heavily European settled cities such as Alexandria. Consequently, in April 1882 France and Great Britain sent warships to Alexandria to bolster the Khedive amidst a turbulent climate and protect European lives, in turn, Egyptian nationalists spread fear of invasion throughout the country to bolster Islamic and Arabian revolutionary action. Tawfiq moved to Alexandria for fear of his own safety as army officers led by Ahmed Urabi began to control of the government. By June, Egypt was in the hands of nationalists opposed to European domination of the country, anti-European violence broke out in Alexandria, prompting a British naval bombardment of the city. Simultaneously, French forces landed in Alexandria and the end of the canal. Both joined together and manoeuvred to meet the Egyptian army, the combined Anglo-French-Indian army easily defeated the Egyptian Army at Tel El Kebir in September and took control of the country putting Tawfiq back in control. Cromer took the view that political stability needed financial stability, and embarked on a programme of long term investment in Egypts agricultural revenue sources, largest of which, in 1906 the Denshawai Incident provoked a questioning of British rule in Egypt
6.
British Empire
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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
7.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
8.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
9.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
10.
Tewfik Pasha
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Muhammed Tewfik Pasha, also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Khedive Ismail, and was born on November 15,1852 and he was not sent to Europe to be educated like his younger brothers, but grew up in Egypt. In 1866 Ismail succeeded in his endeavor to alter the order of succession to the Khedivate of Egypt, the title, instead of passing to the eldest living male descendant of Muhammad Ali, was now to descend from father to son. But he found, after the change had made, that the Great Powers interpreted the new arrangement as applying strictly to the eldest son. He was given a palace near Cairo to live in, and for years he passed an uneventful life, farming. In Cairo on 15 January 1873 he married Princess Emina Ilhamy, daughter of Damad Ibrahim Ilhami Pasha, in 1878 he was appointed president of the council after the dismissal of Nubar Pasha. He went back to his estate, and settled once more to a quiet country life. He was undisturbed only for a short time, on 26 June 1879, Ismail, at the insistence of Britain and France, was deposed by the sultan, who sent orders at the same time that Tewfik should be proclaimed Khedive. The new khedive was so displeased by the news of his accession that he soundly boxed the ears of the servant who first brought the tidings to him, disorder prevailed until November 1879, when the dual control was reestablished by the governments of Britain and France. For over two years Major Evelyn Baring, Mr. Auckland Colvin, and Monsieur de Blignieres practically governed the country, during all this time the disaffection in the Egyptian army was increasing. Tewfik had been blamed for his failure to take a line with the rebels, but his attitude was governed by his relations with Britain and France. The dissatisfaction culminated in the movement headed by Urabi Pasha. His answer was, I am still Khedive, and I remain with my people in the hour of their danger, at his palace of Qasr el-Raml, three miles from the town, he was beyond reach of the shells, but his life was nevertheless imperiled. When the rebel soldiers attacked the palace he managed to make his escape, here he was obliged to agree that a guard of British bluejackets should protect him from further risk. He showed his courage equally during the epidemic at Alexandria in 1883. When cholera broke out, he insisted upon going to Alexandria and his wife accompanied him, and he went round the hospitals, setting an excellent example to the authorities of the city, and encouraging the patients by kind and hopeful words. In 1884, Sir Evelyn Baring went back to Egypt as diplomatic agent and his first task was to demand that Tewfik should abandon the Sudan. Tewfik gave his consent with natural reluctance, but, having consented and he behaved with equal propriety during the negotiations between Sir H. Drummond Wolff and the Turkish envoy, Mukhtar Pasha, in 1886
11.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
12.
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley
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Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign, Wolseley served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1895 to 1900. His reputation for efficiency led to the late 19th century English phrase everythings all Sir Garnet, meaning, born the eldest son of Major Garnet Joseph Wolseley of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers and Frances Anne Wolseley, Wolseley was educated in Dublin and first worked in a surveyor’s office. Wolesley obtained a commission as an ensign in the 12th Foot on 12 March 1852 without purchase and he then transferred to the 80th Foot on 13 April 1852, with whom he served in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. He was severely wounded in the thigh on 19 March 1853 in the attack on Donabyu and he was promoted to captain on 29 December 1854. Wolseley accompanied the regiment to the Crimea, and landed at Balaklava in December 1854 and he was selected to be an assistant engineer, and attached to the Royal Engineers during the Siege of Sevastopol. Wolseley served throughout the siege, where he was wounded at the Quarries on 7 June 1855, and again in the trenches on 30 August 1855, losing an eye. For his services he was mentioned in despatches, received the war medal with clasp, the 5th class of the French Légion dhonneur. Six months after joining the 90th Foot at Aldershot, he went with it in March 1857 to join the troops being despatched for the Second Opium War, Wolseley was embarked in the transport Transit, which wrecked in the Strait of Banka. The troops were all saved, but with only their personal arms and they were taken to Singapore, and from there dispatched to Calcutta on account of the Indian Mutiny. That March, he served at the siege and capture of Lucknow. In the autumn and winter of 1858–59 he took part in the Baiswara, trans-Gogra and he was present at the action at Sin-ho, the capture of Tang-ku, the storming of the Taku Forts, the Occupation of Tientsin, the Battle of Pa-to-cheau and the entry into Peking. He assisted in the re-embarkation of the troops before the set in. He was Mentioned, yet again, in Dispatches, and for his services received the medal, on his return home he published the Narrative of the War with China in 1860. He was given the rank of major on 15 February 1861. In November 1861, Wolseley was one of the service officers sent to Canada in connection with the Trent incident. In 1862, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, Wolseley took leave from his military duties and he befriended Southern sympathizers in Maryland, who found him passage into Virginia with a blockade runner across the Potomac River. There he met with the Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and he also provided an analysis on Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest
13.
Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester
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Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester, GCB was a British naval commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet between 1874 and 1877 and of the Mediterranean Fleet between 1880 and 1883, Seymour was the son of Colonel Sir Horace Seymour and a cousin of the 5th Marquess of Hertford. He was a great-grandson of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, Seymour entered the Royal Navy in 1834, and served in the Mediterranean and the Pacific, and was for three years aide-de-camp to his uncle Sir George Seymour, and was promoted to commander in 1847. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station from 10 March 1860 and 21 July 1862 as Commodore second class with his pennant aboard Pelorus. He commanded the Naval Brigade in New Zealand during the New Zealand Wars of 1860–61, in 1872, he became a Fourth Naval Lord for two years, and then commander the Channel Fleet. He became a vice-admiral on 31 December 1876, and was appointed KCB in June 1877, from 1880 to 1883 he was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and from 1883 to 1885 he was Second Naval Lord. He became an admiral in May 1882 and he was created Baron Alcester, of Alcester in the County of Warwick, in 1882 for his command of the bombardment of Alexandria and in the subsequent operations on the coast of Egypt. He was also honoured with a grant of £25,000, the Freedom of the City of London. He died 30 March 1895, aged 73, when his peerage became extinct, in his will he left the balance of his estate to Agnes Sinclair for her life time. On her death, two fifths were left to Frederick Charles Horace Sinclair and one each to Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, Claude Sinclair. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Alcester. American University in Cairo, Rare Books and Special Collections Library, Alexandria Bombardment of 1882 Photograph Album
14.
Anglo-Egyptian War
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The Anglo-Egyptian War occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha and vastly expanded British influence over the country, in January 1882 the British and French governments sent a Joint Note to the Egyptian government, declaring their recognition of the Khedives authority. On 20 May 1882, British and French warships arrived off the coast of Alexandria, on 11 June 1882, an anti-Christian riot occurred in Alexandria that killed 50 Europeans. Colonel ‘Urabi ordered his forces to put down the riot, but Europeans fled the city, the reasons why the British government sent a fleet of ships to the coast of Alexandria is a point of historical debate, as there is no definitive information available. May I also venture to say that it has given the Liberal Party a new lease of popularity, first, they describe a plot by Edward Malet in which he portrayed the Egyptian government as unstable to his superiors in the cabinet. The British fleet bombarded Alexandria from 11–13 July and then occupied it with marines, the British did not lose a single ship, but much of the city was destroyed by fires caused by explosive shells and by ‘Urabists seeking to ruin the city that the British were taking over. Tewfik Pasha, who had moved his court to Alexandria during the unrest, declared ‘Urabi a rebel, ‘Urabi then reacted by obtaining a fatwa from Al Azhar shaykhs which condemned Tewfik as a traitor to both his country and religion, absolving those who fought against him. ‘Urabi also declared war on the United Kingdom and initiated conscription, the British army tried to reach Cairo through Alexandria but was stopped for five weeks at Kafr El Dawwar. In August, a British army of over 40,000, commanded by Garnet Wolseley and he was authorised to destroy ‘Urabis forces and clear the country of all other rebels. The engineer troops had left England for Egypt in July and August 1882, the engineers included pontoon, railway and telegraph troops. Wolseley saw the campaign as a challenge as he did not believe the Egyptians would put up much resistance. Seeking to ascertain the strength of the Egyptians Kafr El Dawwar position and this action was reported by Orabi as a battle, and Cairo was full of the news that the advancing British had been repulsed. While, most historians describe the action merely as a reconnaissance in force which was never intended as an assault on the Egyptian lines. However, the end result was that the British abandoned any hope they may have had of reaching Cairo from the north, Wolseley arrived at Alexandria on 15 August and immediately began to organize the movement of troops through the Suez Canal to Ismailia. This was quickly accomplished, Ismailia was occupied on 20 August without resistance, Ismailia was quickly reinforced with 9,000 troops, with the engineers put to work repairing the railway line from Suez. A small force was pushed along the Sweet Water Canal to the Kassassin lock arriving on 26 August, the main body of the army started to move up to Kassassin and planning for the battle at Tell El Kebir was undertaken. Skirmishing took place but did not interfere with the build up, on 12 September all was ready and during that night the army marched to battle. 13 September 1882 - Urabi redeployed to defend Cairo against Wolseley and his main force dug in at Tell El Kebir, north of the railway and the Sweet Water Canal, both of which linked Cairo to Ismailia on the canal
15.
Bombardment of Alexandria
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The Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt by the British Mediterranean Fleet took place on 11–13 July 1882. He was joined in the show of force by a French flotilla as well, the move provided some security to the khedive, who withdrew his court to the now-protected port, but strengthened ‘Urabis nationalists within the army and throughout the remainder of Egypt. On 11 June, anti-Christian riots began in Alexandria, the citys European residents fled and the Egyptian ‘Urabist army began fortifying and arming the harbor. An ultimatum to cease this build-up being refused, the British fleet began a 10½-hour bombardment of the city without French assistance, historians argue about whether Admiral Seymour exaggerated the threat from the Egyptian batteries at Alexandria in order to force the hand of a reluctant Gladstone administration. Once the British had attacked the city, they proceeded to a full-scale invasion to restore the authority of the khedive. Egypt remained under British occupation until 1956, in 1869, Khedive Ismail of Egypt inaugurated the Suez Canal, which was a joint venture between the Egyptian Government and the French-led Suez Canal Company. During the excavation of the canal so many Egyptian workers died that it became common in the memory of Egyptians to say that Egyptian blood ran in the canal before the water of the seas. The canal cut sailing time from Britain to India by weeks, due to the excessive spending of the Egyptian Government under the ambitious Khedive, Britain purchased the Khedives shares of the Suez Canal company in 1875, thus becoming the controlling partner. French and British concern led to the establishment of an Anglo-French Condominium over Egypt which was nominally under the Ottoman Empire. Egyptian nationalism was sparked and, after a revolt by Egyptian troops in 1881, the rebellion expressed resentment of foreigners. ‘Urabi organized a militia and marched on Alexandria, meanwhile, the European powers gathered in Constantinople to discuss reestablishing the power of the Khedive and an Anglo-French fleet was ordered to the port of Alexandria. On 20 May the combined Anglo-French fleet, consisting of the British battleship HMS Invincible, by 5 June, six more warships had entered Alexandria harbour and more cruised off the coast. The presence of the foreign fleet exacerbated the tensions in Alexandria between the nationalist forces and the foreign and Christian population. On 11 and 12 June ferocious riots erupted, possibly started by ‘Urabis supporters, over 50 Europeans and 125 Egyptians were killed in the fracas that began near Place Mehmet Ali with British Admiral Seymour, who was ashore at the time, narrowly escaping the mob. Upon learning of the riot, ‘Urabi ordered his forces to restore order, the reaction by European countries to the disturbance was swift. As refugees fled Alexandria, a flotilla of over 26 ships belonging to most of the countries of Europe gathered in the harbour, by 6 July nearly every non-Egyptian had evacuated Alexandria. That same day, the French Admiral Conrad, had informed Seymour that in the event of British bombardment, the ultimatum, which was ignored amid denials of the defensive works by the Egyptian governor, was set to expire at 7,00 am on 11 July. The attack was carried out by the squadron as it was underway
16.
Battle of Kafr El Dawwar
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The Battle of Kafr El Dawwar was a conflict during the Anglo-Egyptian War near Kafr El Dawwar, Egypt. The battle took place between an Egyptian army, headed by Ahmed ‘Urabi, and British forces headed by Sir Archibald Alison. As a result, the British abandoned any hope they may have had of reaching Cairo from the north, after the bombardment of Alexandria on 11 July, the city was occupied by a mixed force of sailors and marines. The Egyptians withdrew to Kafr El Dawwar, where began the construction of an entrenched camp which would block the route to Cairo. ‘Urabi demanded that one-sixth of the population of every province should be sent to Kafr El Dawwar. All old soldiers of every description were called upon to serve again, on 17 July, Sir Archibald Alison landed in Alexandria with the leading elements of the British expeditionary force, the South Staffordshire Regiment and a battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. He sent patrols in all directions to ascertain the strength and location of the Egyptians, but remained based within the city. Alison was reinforced on 24 July by the arrival of the Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry, a wing of the Royal Sussex Regiment and he immediately advanced to occupy Ramleh where he established a fortified base. Seeking to ascertain the strength of the Kafr El Dawwar position, the line of attack would follow the Cairo railway line and the Mahmoudiyah Canal which led, roughly parallel to each other, towards ‘Urabis trenches. The British force was split into two wings, The left wing would follow the canal and it comprised four companies each of the South Staffordshire and Duke of Cornwalls regiments, accompanied by a naval 9-pounder gun and 80 mounted infantry who would operate on the East bank. On the West bank were six companies of Rifles and another 9-pounder, the right wing would follow the railway line and was made up of 1,000 marines. It was supported by a train, the brainchild of Captain Jacky Fisher, which sported a 40-pounder gun. The whole force, including 200 sailors manning the train and the 9-pounders, facing them in the Egyptian forward lines were a battalion of the Second Infantry, a regiment 1,200 strong, and 900 men of the Mustaphezin Regiment. They could draw on artillery and other support from the main Egyptian position, the forces on the Eastern bank of the canal advanced with the mounted infantry leading the way under the command of Captain Parr and Lieutenants Pigott and Vyse. The party was ordered to retire, and did so carrying Vyses body with them, corbett was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. On the West bank of the canal, facing the Rifles, the Rifles advanced in skirmish order using fire and movement tactics to draw closer to their enemy. The 9-pounder kept pace with them along the towpath, firing the occasional shrapnel shell into the Egyptian position. The Egyptians maintained a steady but inaccurate fire, with most of their bullets passing harmlessly over the heads of their attackers
17.
Battle of Tell El Kebir
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The Battle of Tell El Kebir was fought between the Egyptian army led by Ahmed Urabi and the British military near Tell El Kebir. After discontented Egyptian officers under Urabi rebelled in 1882, the United Kingdom reacted to protect its financial and expansionist interests in the country, on May 20, a combined Franco - British fleet arrived at Alexandria. At the same time, Egyptian troops were reinforcing the defenses of the city in anticipation of an attack. These events heightened tension in Alexandria, and eventually triggered tumultuous rioting with loss of life on both sides, as a result of the riots, an ultimatum was sent to the Egyptian government demanding they order Urabis officers in Alexandria to dismantle their coastal defence batteries. Meanwhile, tension increased between Britain and France over the crisis, as most of the losses had been non-French, thus, the French government refused to support this ultimatum and decided against armed intervention. When the ultimatum was ignored, Admiral Seymour gave the order for the Royal Navy to bombard the Egyptian gun emplacements at Alexandria. On July 11 at 7,00 am, the first shell was fired on Fort Adda by HMS Alexandra and by 7,10, the coastal defenses returned fire soon after, with minimal effect and minimal casualties to the British fleet. On July 13, a naval force landed in the city. Despite heavy resistance from the garrison for several hours, the superiority of the smaller British forces eventually forced the Egyptian troops to withdraw from the city. Lieutenant General Garnet Wolseley was placed in charge of a force with the aim of destroying Urabis regime. The total force was 24,000 British troops, which concentrated in Malta and Cyprus, Wolseley first tried to reach Cairo directly from Alexandria. Urabi deployed his troops at Kafr El Dawwar between Cairo and Alexandria and prepared very substantial defences, there, attacks by British troops were repelled for five weeks at the Battle of Kafr El Dawwar. Wolseley then decided to approach Cairo from a different route and he resolved to attack from the direction of the Suez canal. Urabi knew that Wolseleys only other approach to Cairo was from the canal, by so doing, Urabi committed a grave military and political mistake. Urabi listened to his advice and did not block the canal, when Wolseley had arrived at Alexandria on 15 August he immediately began to organise the movement of troops through the Suez Canal to Ismaïlia. This was accomplished so quickly, Ismailia was occupied on 20 August without resistance, Ismailia was quickly reinforced with 9,000 troops, with the engineers put to work repairing the railway line from Suez. A small force was pushed along the Sweet Water Canal to the Kassassin lock arriving on 26 August, Urabi attempted to recapture the repel the advance and he attacked the British forces near Kassassin on 28 August. The British troops were caught by surprise, as they did not expect an attack, fighting was intense, but the two British battalions with their 4 artillery pieces, held their position
18.
Scramble for Africa
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The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism, between 1881 and 1914. It is also called the Partition of Africa and the Conquest of Africa, in 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under European control, by 1914 it had increased to 90 percent of the continent, with only Ethiopia, the Dervish state and Liberia still being independent. The Berlin Conference of 1884, which regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, is referred to as the starting point of the scramble for Africa. The latter years of the 19th century saw the transition from informal imperialism, by influence and economic dominance, to direct rule. But Europeans showed comparatively little interest in the interior for some two centuries thereafter, European exploration of the African interior began in earnest at the end of the 18th century. By 1835, Europeans had mapped most of northwestern Africa, in the middle decades of the 19th century, famous European explorers included David Livingstone and H. M. Stanley, each of whom mapped vast areas of Southern Africa and Central Africa. Arduous expeditions in the 1850s and 1860s by Richard Burton, John Speke and James Grant located the central lakes. By the end of the 19th century Europeans had charted the Nile from its source, traced the courses of the Niger, Congo and Zambezi Rivers, and realized the vast resources of Africa. Even as late as the 1870s, European states still controlled only ten percent of the African continent, the most important holdings were Angola and Mozambique, held by Portugal, the Cape Colony, held by the United Kingdom, and Algeria, held by France. By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent of European control, technological advances facilitated European expansion overseas. Industrialisation brought about rapid advancements in transportation and communication, especially in the forms of navigation, railways. Medical advances also played an important role, especially medicines for tropical diseases, the development of quinine, an effective treatment for malaria, made vast expanses of the tropics more accessible for Europeans. Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the last regions of the largely untouched by informal imperialism, was also attractive to Europes ruling elites for economic. In addition, surplus capital was more profitably invested overseas, where cheap materials, limited competition. Additionally, Britain wanted the southern and eastern coasts of Africa for stopover ports on the route to Asia and its empire in India. However, in Africa – excluding the area became the Union of South Africa in 1910 – the amount of capital investment by Europeans was relatively small. Consequently, the involved in tropical African commerce were relatively small. Rhodes had carved out Rhodesia for himself, Léopold II of Belgium later, John A. Hobson argued in Imperialism that this shrinking of continental markets was a key factor of the global New Imperialism period
19.
First Boer War
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The war resulted in defeat for the British and the second independence of the South African Republic. The southern part of the African continent was dominated in the 19th century by a set of struggles to create within it a single unified state. British attempts in 1880 to annex the Transvaal were their biggest incursions into southern Africa, in the 1880s, Bechuanaland, became an object of dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to the east, and the British in the Cape Colony to the south. Although Bechuanaland had almost no value, the Missionaries Road passed through it toward territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand in 1884, the British annexed Bechuanaland in 1885, after the Battle of Blaauwberg Britain had acquired the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa from the Dutch in 1815 during the Napoleonic Wars. Certain groups of Dutch speaking settler farmers resented British rule, even though British control brought some economic benefits, the British did not try to stop the Trekboers from moving away from the Cape. The Trekboers were farmers gradually extending their range and territory with no agenda, the formal abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834 led to more organised groups of Boer settlers attempting to escape British rule, some travelling as far north as modern-day Mozambique. However, British colonial expansion was, from the 1830s, marked by skirmishes, the discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River, some 550 miles northeast of Cape Town, ended the isolation of the Boers in the interior and changed South African history. In the 1870s, the British annexed West Griqualand, site of the Kimberley diamond discoveries, however the cultural and historical context was entirely different, and the Boer leaders turned him down. The successive British annexations, and in particular the annexation of West Griqualand, there were other more pressing concerns for the Boer Republics. During the 1870s there was a series of skirmishes within the Transvaal between the Boers and indigenous local tribes, there were also serious tensions between the Transvaal Republic and the Zulus led by King Cetshwayo. The Zulus occupied a kingdom located to the southeast, bordered on the one side by the Transvaal Republic, upon taking the throne, King Cetshwayo had expanded his army and reintroduced many of the paramilitary practices of the famous Shaka, king of the Zulus. He had also started equipping his impis with firearms, although this was a process and the majority had only shields, knobkerries, throwing spears and the famous stabbing spear. Over 40,000 Zulu warriors were a force on their own home ground. The Transvaal Boers became more and more concerned, but King Cetshwayos policy was to good relations with the British in Natal in an effort to counter the Boer threat. In 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the British Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, annexed the South African Republic, for Britain, using a special warrant. They also feared a war on two fronts, namely that the tribes would seize the opportunity to rebel and the simmering unrest in the Transvaal would be re-ignited. The British annexation nevertheless resulted in resentment against the British occupation, the Transvaal Boers, led by Paul Kruger, thereafter elected to deal first with the perceived Zulu threat to the status quo, and local issues, before directly opposing the British annexation
20.
French conquest of Tunisia
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The French protectorate of Tunisia that was established lasted until the independence of Tunisia on 20 March 1956. Tunisia had been a province of the Ottoman Empire since the Conquest of Tunis, in 1770, Admiral De Broves for Louis XV bombarded the cities of Bizerte, Porto Farina and Monastir in retaliation for acts of piracy. In the 19th century Tunisian commercial contacts with Europe were numerous, France had also made a major loan to Tunisia in the mid-19th century. The Tunisian government was weak, with an inefficient tax system that brought it one-fifth of the tax collected. The economy was crippled with a series of droughts and the elimination of corsairs by Western fleets, lastly, Tunisians had little control on foreign trade as ancient 16th century agreements with European powers limited custom taxes to 3%. As a result, its industry was devastated by imports. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Frances international prestige was severely damaged, the Italian representative failed through clumsiness, but the British representative Richard Wood was more successful. In order to limit French influence, Wood obtained the reinstatement of Tunisia as a province of the Ottoman Empire in 1871, Great Britain continued to try to exert influence through commercial ventures, these were not successful, however. There were also various Tunisian land ownership disputes among France, Britain, the French wished to take control of Tunisia, neighbour of the French colony of Algeria, and to suppress Italian and British influence there. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, an arrangement was made for France to take over Tunisia while Great Britain obtained control of Cyprus from the Ottomans. Finally, the use of Tunisian territory as a sanctuary by rebel Khroumir bands gave a pretext for the military intervention, on 28 April 1881,28,000 men under General Forgemol de Bostquénard entered Tunisia. On 1 May, the city of Bizerte surrendered to the 8,000 men of Jules Aimé Bréart, Bréart entered Tunis between May 3 and May 6,1881. He had in his possession the Bardo Treaty establishing a protectorate on Tunisia, surprised, Sadok Bey requested several hours for reflection, and immediately gathered his cabinet. Some of its members insisted that the bey should escape towards Kairouan to organize the resistance, the Bardo Treaty was signed by both parties, under the threat of the French troops on 12 May 1881. An insurrection soon broke out in the south on 10 June 1881, six ironclads were dispatched from Toulon to join the French Navy ships in Tunisian waters. In Sfax, three ironclads from the Division of the Levant were already present, together with four cannon boats, Sfax was bombarded, and on 16 July the city was invested after hard fighting, with 7 dead and 32 wounded for the French. At Kairouan 32,000 men,6,000 horses and 20,000 tons of supplies, Kairouan was taken without a fight on 28 October 1881. Great Britain and Germany silently approved the invasion of the country, in 1882, Paul Cambon energetically took advantage of his position as Resident, leaving the Bey essentially powerless, and in effect administering Tunisia as another French colony
21.
Mahdist War
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Eighteen years of war resulted in the joint-rule state of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the British Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt. Following the invasion by Muhammad Ali in 1819, Sudan was governed by an Egyptian administration, because of the heavy taxes it imposed and because of the bloody start of the Turkish-Egyptian rule in Sudan, this colonial system was resented by the Sudanese people. Throughout the period of Turco-Egyptian rule, many segments of the Sudanese population suffered extreme hardship because of the system of taxation imposed by the central government. Under this system, a tax was imposed on farmers and small traders. In bad years, and especially during times of drought and famine, fearing the brutal and unjust methods of the Shaiqiyya, many farmers fled their villages in the fertile Nile Valley to the remote areas of Kordofan and Darfur. The jallaba were also known to be slave trading tribes, by the middle 19th century the Ottoman Imperial subject administration in Egypt was in the hands of Khedive Ismail. Thus an ever increasing British role in Egyptian affairs seemed necessary and this commission eventually forced Khedive Ismail to abdicate in favor of his son Tawfiq in 1877, leading to a period of political turmoil. Also in 1873, Ismail had appointed General Charles Chinese Gordon Governor of the Equatorial Provinces of Sudan, for the next three years, General Gordon fought against a native chieftain of Darfur, Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur. Upon Ismails abdication in 1877, Gordon found himself with dramatically decreased support, exhausted by years of work, he resigned his post in 1880 and left early the next year. His policies were soon abandoned by the new governors, but the anger, another widely reported potential source of frustration was the Turco-Egyptian abolition of the slave trade, one of the main sources of income in Sudan at the time. In the 1870s, a Muslim cleric named Muhammad Ahmad preached renewal of the faith and liberation of the land, soon in open revolt against the Egyptians, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the promised redeemer of the Islamic world. In August 1881 the then-governor of the Sudan, Raouf Pasha, the captains of the two companies were each promised promotion if their soldiers were the ones to return the Mahdi to the governor. Both companies disembarked from the steamer that had brought them up the Nile to Aba Island, arriving simultaneously, each force began to fire blindly on the other, allowing the Mahdis scant followers to attack and destroy each force in turn at the Battle of Aba. The Mahdi then began a retreat to Kordofan, where he was at a distance from the seat of government in Khartoum. This movement, couched as a progress, incited many of the Arab tribes to rise in support of the Jihad the Mahdi had declared against the Turkish oppressors. Another Egyptian expedition dispatched from Fashoda was ambushed and slaughtered on the night of 9 December 1881, the Mahdi also legitimized his movement by drawing deliberate parallels to the life of the Prophet Muhammad. He called his followers Ansar, after the people who greeted the Prophet in Medina, and he called his flight from the British, the hijrah, after the Prophets flight from the Quraysh. The Egyptian administration in the Sudan, now thoroughly concerned by the scale of the uprising and this force approached the Mahdist gathering, whose members were poorly clothed, half starving, and armed only with sticks and stones
22.
Battle of Dogali
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The Battle of Dogali was fought on 26 January 1887 between Italy and Ethiopia in Dogali near Massawa, in present-day Eritrea. The Italians wanted to create their own colonies in Africa and started to occupy coastal Eritrea, soon they were at war with the Ethiopians in 1885. On his own initiative, Ras Alula Engida, then governor under Emperor Yohannes IV, hundreds of his men were slaughtered by cannon and rifle fire, while only four Italians were injured, forcing Ras Alula to pull his men back. The besieged Italians needed ammunitions and requested supplies, on January 26, a battalion of 500 men under Colonel Tommaso De Cristofori, sent to reinforce the Italian garrison at Sahati, were attacked while in march by Ras Alulas men at Dogali. Italians felt that the battle of Dogali was an insult to be avenged and this would later lead to the First Italo-Ethiopian War which ended in their defeat at Adwa. In 1936, they obtained their revenge with the Second Italo-Ethiopian War with a brief occupation only to be defeated by a joint British. Following Eritrean independence, the monument was removed, henze diplomatically notes in a footnote, When I crossed the battlefield in 1996, I could detect no trace of the monument. Observers, including Erlich and others, attribute this to Eritrean Tigrinya views of their own relationship with Ethiopia as a whole. Since Alula fought for the Empire and not for Medri Bahri, he is viewed as a traitor on the Eritrean side of the border, a hero on the Ethiopian side. The huge square in Rome in front of Termini railway station is called Piazza dei Cinquecento, near the square is also a monument to those soldiers. The Italian cruiser Dogali was named for the engagement
23.
First Franco-Dahomean War
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The First Franco-Dahomean War, which raged in 1890, was a conflict between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and the Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant after winning the Battle of Abomey, at the close of the 19th century, European powers were busy conquering and colonizing much of Africa. In what is today Benin, the colonial power was the French Third Republic. The French had established ties with the indigenous peoples of the area including one of West Africas most powerful states at the time. In 1851, a Franco-Dahomean friendship treaty was ratified allowing the French to operate commercially, by 1890, the Fon kingdom of Dahomey was at the height of its power. It laid claim to almost all the coast of modern Benin plus much of south-central Benin as far north as Atcheribé, one of Dahomeys most important tributaries was the small kingdom of Porto-Novo near the coast. The kingdom had been at odds with Dahomey on and off since the middle of the 18th century, in 1861, Porto-Novo was attacked by British anti-slaving ships. Porto-Novo asked for and received French protection in 1863, but this was rejected by Dahomey, another issue of contention was the status of Cotonou, a port the French believed was under their control because of a treaty signed by Dahomeys representative in Whydah. Dahomey ignored all French claims there as well and continued to collect customs from the port, in 1874, King Tofa took power in Porto-Novo and re-established French protection over the kingdom after Dahomey attacked it in 1882. Dahomey continued raiding the town, which culminated in an incident that brought the Fon, in March 1889, Dahomey attacked a village on the Ouémé where a village chief under the protection of the French. After remarking that the flag of the tri-color would protect him, then in March of that year, France sent a mission to Dahomeys capital of Abomey to assert its claims to Cotonou and offer an annual payment. The crown prince and later king Béhanzin received the mission but nothing was achieved other than mutual distrust, France responded to these events by building up its force in Cotonou to 359 men,299 of which were Tirailleurs or French trained Senegalese and Gabonese. On February 21, the French arrested the senior Fon officials in Cotonou, skirmishes with local militia also broke out. It wasnt long before word of this got back to Abomey, Dahomey sent a force straight to Cotonou with plans to bring it firmly back under Fon control once and for all. On March 4, a Dahomey army of several thousand charged the log stockade around Cotonou at approximately 5 in the morning and this was usual for the Fon army of Dahomey that almost always marched at night and attacked just before dawn. Prying apart the stakes and shoving their muskets through, the Fon fired into the enclosure, some even managed to surmount the 800-meter perimeter inflicting casualties within the walls. After four hours of fighting, often occurring hand-to-hand despite withering French firepower and even gunboat shells. The French sustained few losses, but the Fon suffered several hundred dead, after regrouping, Dahomey sent another force south, this time toward Porto-Novo
24.
Pioneer Column
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The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annexe the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Southern Rhodesia. Rhodes was anxious to secure Matabeleland and Mashonaland before the Germans, the next step was to occupy the territory. Frank Johnson, a 23-year-old adventurer, however, undertook to deliver the territory in nine months with a mere 250 men for £87,500, frederick Selous, a hunter with close knowledge of Mashonaland, agreed to join the effort as guide. Johnson published recruitment notices in Kimberley offering each volunteer 1,200 hectares of land and 15 mining claims, johnsons column eventually consisted of 180 civilian colonists,62 wagons and 200 volunteers. A further party of 110 men,16 wagons,250 cattle and 130 spare horses later attached itself to the column, the troopers were equipped with Martini-Henry rifles, revolvers, seven-pound field guns and Maxim machine guns, as well as an electric searchlight. The route began at Macloutsie in Bechuanaland on 28 June 1890, on 11 July, it crossed the river Tuli into Matabeleland. It proceeded north-east and then north over a distance of about 650 kilometres intending to terminate at an open area explored by Selous a few years earlier that he called Mount Hampden. However, the column halted about 15 kilometres before that at a flat and marshy meadow bounded by a steep rocky hill. The British union flag was hoisted on the day,13 September. The Pioneer Corps was officially disbanded on 1 October 1890 and each member was granted land on which to farm, the effects of the Pioneer Column were immense. The Shona and Matabele were forcibly compelled to join the world of the West. This was accomplished through a hut tax aimed at forcing African men to leave their herds, a new moral order was also imposed that has dramatically altered the culture and beliefs of the indigenous people and stopped their population decline. In 1927, the government of Southern Rhodesia issued a new British South Africa Company Medal to commemorate the earlier 1890 Pioneer Column, samkange, Stanlake, On Trial for My Country, Heinemann African Writers Series 1966, for an African perspective. Hill, Geoff, The Battle for Zimbabwe, Zebra Press, hensman, Howard, History of Rhodesia, Wm Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London,1890, for a contemporary and jingoistic British view. Nehanda Nyakasikana Shangani Patrol Category, Members of the Pioneer Column
25.
Second Franco-Dahomean War
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The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their growing colonial territory of French West Africa. The Fon ceased hostilities with the French after two defeats, withdrawing their forces and signing a treaty conceding to all of Frances demands. However, Dahomey remained a potent force in the area and quickly re-armed with modern weapons in anticipation of a second, after re-arming and regrouping, the Fon returned to raiding the Ouémé Valley, the same valley fought over in the first war with France. Victor Ballot, the French Resident at Porto-Novo, was sent via gunboat upriver to investigate and his ship was attacked and forced to depart with five men wounded in the incident. King Benhanzin rejected complaints by the French, and war was declared immediately by the French, the French entrusted the war effort against Dahomey to Alfred-Amédée Dodds, an octoroon colonel of the Troupes de marine from Senegal. Colonel Dodds arrived with a force of 2,164 men including Foreign Legionnaires, marines, engineers, artillery and these forces were armed with the new Lebel rifles, which would prove decisive in the coming battle. The French protectorate kingdom of Porto-Novo also added some 2,600 porters to aid in the fight, the Fon, prior to the outbreak of the second war, had stockpiled between 4,000 and 6,000 rifles including Mannlicher and Winchester carbines. These were purchased from German merchants via the port of Whydah, King Béhanzin also bought some machine-guns and Krupp cannons, but it is unknown that these were ever put to use. On June 15,1892, the French blockaded Dahomeys coast to prevent any further arms sales, then, on July 4, the first shots of the war were fired from French gunboats with the shelling of several villages along the lower Ouémé Valley. The carefully organized French army began moving inland in mid-August toward their destination of the Dahomey capital of Abomey. The French invasion force assembled at the village of Dogba on September 14, some 50 miles upriver on the border of Dahomey, at around 5 a. m. on September 19, the French force was attacked by the army of Dahomey. The Fon broke off the attack after three to four hours of fighting, characterized by repeated attempts by the Fon for melee combat. Hundreds of Fon were left dead on the field with the French forces suffering only five dead, the French forces moved another 15 miles upriver before turning west in the direction of Abomey. On October 4, the French column was attacked at Poguessa by Fon forces under the command of King Béhanzin himself, the Fon staged several fierce charges over two to three hours that all failed against the 20-inch bayonets of the French. The Dahomey army left the field in defeat losing some 200 soldiers, the French carried the day with only 42 casualties. The Dahomey Amazons were also conspicuous in the battle, after the hard-fought victory at Poguessa, the Fon resorted to guerilla tactics rather than set-piece engagements. It took the French invasion force a month to march the 25 miles between Poguessa and the last major battle at Cana just outside Abomey, the Fon dug foxholes and trenches in their desperate battle to slow the French invasion. On October 6, the French had another encounter with the Fon at the village of Adégon
26.
First Matabele War
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The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in the country today called Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele Kingdom, Lobengula had 80,000 spearmen and 20,000 riflemen, armed with nine-pound Martini-Henrys, which were modern arms at that time. However, poor training meant that these were not used effectively, matters came to a head when Lobengula approved a raid to forcibly extract tribute from a Mashona chief in the district of the town of Fort Victoria, which inevitably led to a clash with the Company. The British government agreed that the British South Africa Company would administer the territory stretching from the Limpopo to the Zambezi under royal charter, queen Victoria signed the charter in 1889. However, in 1893, a chief in the Victoria district named Gomara refused tribute, in order to save face, Lobengula was impelled to send a raiding party of several thousand warriors to bring his vassal to heel. The raiding party destroyed several villages and murdered many of the inhabitants, as a result the Company officials demanded from the raiders that they leave immediately. The Ndebele refused and in the hostilities that developed the Ndebele sustained a number of casualties. There was a delay of just over two months while Jameson corresponded with Rhodes in Cape Town and considered how to amass enough troops to undertake an invasion of Matabeleland. BSAP columns rode from Fort Salisbury and Fort Victoria, and combined at Iron Mine Hill, around the point of the country. Together the force totalled about 700 men, commanded by Major Patrick Forbes, Forbes combined column moved on the Matabele kings capital at Bulawayo, to the south-west. An additional force of 700 Bechuanas marched on Bulawayo from the south under Khama III, the most influential of the Bamangwato chiefs, and a staunch ally of the British. The Matabele army mobilised to prevent Forbes from reaching the city, by the time the Matabele withdrew, they had suffered around 1,500 fatalities, the BSAP, on the other hand, had lost only four men. Lobengula fled Bulawayo as soon as he heard the news from Bembesi, in keeping with custom, he. In the resultant conflagration, the large store of ivory, gold and other treasure was destroyed. The reconstruction of Bulawayo began almost as soon as the fires were out, the column of Khamas men from the south had reached the Tati River, and won a victory on the Singuesi river on 2 November. The town, mostly made up of wood-beam huts with mud walls, was largely destroyed, on 3 November, Bulawayo was reached by the Victoria column from Mashonaland, accompanied by Jameson and Sir John Willoughby. By this time, Lobengula and his warriors were in flight towards the Zambezi. An attempt was made to induce Lobengula to surrender, but no replies were received to the messages, the United Salisbury Column later arrived in Bulawayo, and on 13 November, Major Patrick Forbes organized his column and started in pursuit of Lobengula
27.
Anglo-Ashanti wars
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The wars were mainly due to Ashanti attempts to establish strong control over the coastal areas of what is now Ghana. Coastal peoples, such as the Fante and the inhabitants of Accra, in the Ga-Fante War of 1811, the Akwapim captured a British fort at Tantamkweri and a Dutch fort at Apam. In the Ashanti-Akim-Akwapim War of 1814–16 the Ashanti defeated the Akim-Akwapim alliance, local British, Dutch, and Danish authorities all had to come to terms with the Ashanti. The African Company of Merchants was dissolved in 1821 and the British assumed control of the Gold Coast, by the 1820s the British had decided to support one of the other tribes, the Fanti, enemies of the Ashanti. Inland, the Ashanti kings who ruled from the Golden Stool, said to have come from their great god guardian of the Ashanti soul, Nyame, economic and social friction played their part in the causes for the outbreak of violence. The immediate cause of the war happened when a group of Ashanti kidnapped and murdered an African sergeant of the Royal African Corps, a small British group was led into a trap which resulted in 10 killed,39 wounded and a British retreat. The Ashanti tried to negotiate but the British governor, Sir Charles MacCarthy, rejected Ashanti claims to Fanti areas of the coast and this started the First Anglo-Ashanti War which ran until 1831. The British were overrun, suffered losses, and ran out of ammunition, almost all the British force were killed immediately, only around 20 managed to escape. MacCarthy, along with the ensign and his secretary, attempted to back, he was wounded by gunfire, however. Ensign Wetherell was killed whilst trying to defend MacCarthys body and Williams taken prisoner, mcCarthys gold-rimmed skull was later used as a drinking-cup by the Ashanti rulers. On Mr Williamss recovering his senses, he saw the headless trunks of Sir Charles McCarthy, Mr Buckle, and Ensign Wetherell. During his captivity he was lodged under a shed in the same rooms as the heads which. Major Alexander Gordon Laing returned to Britain with news of their fate, the Ashanti swept down to the coast, but disease forced them back. The new governor of the Gold Coast, John Hope Smith, started to gather a new army, mainly comprising natives, including Denkyiras, in August 1826 the governor heard that the Ashanti were planning on attacking Accra. A defensive position was prepared on the open plain 10 miles north of Accra, on 7 August the Ashanti army appeared and attacked the centre of the British line where the best troops were held, which included some Royal Marines, the militia and a battery of Congreve rockets. The battle dissolved into hand-to-hand fighting but the Ashanti force were not doing well on their flanks whilst they looked like winning in the centre. The novelty of the weapons, the explosions, rocket trails, soon they fled leaving thousands of casualties on the field. In 1831, the Pra River was accepted as the border in a treaty, in 1863, a large Ashanti delegation crossed the Pra river pursuing a fugitive, Kwesi Gyana
28.
First Italo-Ethiopian War
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The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a treaty which, the Italians claimed, turned the country into an Italian protectorate. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of Meqele, forcing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. This was not the first African victory over Western colonizers, according to one historian, In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia alone had successfully defended its independence. The Khedive of Egypt Ismail Pasha, Ismail the Magnificent had conquered Eritrea as part of his efforts to give Egypt an African empire, Ismail had tried to follow that conquest with Ethiopia, but the Egyptian attempts to conquer that realm ended in humiliating defeat. Egypt had very much in the French sphere of influence until 1882 when Britain occupied Egypt. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 had turned the Horn of Africa into a strategic region as a navy based in the Horn could interdict any shipping going up. By building naval bases on the Red Sea that could intercept British shipping in the Red Sea, the French hoped to reduce the value of the Suez Canal for the British, and thus lever them out of Egypt. On 3 June 1884, a treaty was signed between Britain, Egypt and Ethiopia that allowed the Ethiopians to occupy parts of Eritrea and allowed the Ethiopian goods to pass in and out of Massawa duty-free. After initially encouraging the Emperor Yohannes IV to move into Eritrea to replace the Egyptians, in 1882, Italy had joined the Triple Alliance, allying herself with Austria and Germany against France. On 5 February 1885 Italian troops landed at Massawa to replace the Egyptians, the Italian government for its part was more than happy to embark upon an imperialist policy to distract its people from the failings in post Risorgimento Italy. To compensate, a chauvinist mood was rampant in Italy with the newspaper Il Diritto writing in an editorial, the year 1885 will decide her fate as a great power. It is necessary to feel the responsibility of the new era, to become again strong men afraid of nothing, with the love of the fatherland, of all Italy. On March 25,1889, the Shewa ruler Menelik II, having conquered Tigray and Amhara, Menelik II continued the policy of Tewodros II of integrating Ethiopia. However, the treaty did not say the same thing in Italian and Amharic. Italian diplomats, however, claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause, moreover, Menelik did not know Italian and only signed the Amharic text of the treaty, being assured that there were no differences between the Italian and Amharic texts before he signed. Francesco Crispi, the Italian Prime Minister was an ultra-imperialist who believed the newly unified Italian state required the grandeur of a second Roman empire, Crispi believed that the Horn of Africa was the best place for the Italians to start building the new Roman empire
29.
Second Matabele War
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It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele people, which led to conflict with the Shona people in the rest of Rhodesia. In March 1896, the Ndebele revolted against the authority of the British South Africa Company in what is now celebrated in Zimbabwe as the First Chimurenga, the Mlimo the Ndebele spiritual leader, is credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. He convinced the Ndebele and the Shona that the settlers were responsible for the drought, locust plagues, the Mlimos call to battle was well-timed. This left the country nearly defenceless, the British immediately sent troops to suppress the Ndebele and the Shona, but it cost the lives of many on both sides. Months passed before the amount of British forces were adequate to break the sieges and defend the major settlements, the Mlimo planned to wait until the night of 29 March, the first full moon, to take Bulawayo by surprise immediately after a ceremony called the Big Dance. He promised, through his priests, that if the Ndebele went to war and his plan was to kill all of the settlers in Bulawayo first, but not to destroy the town itself as it would serve again as the royal kraal for the newly reincarnated King Lobengula. Once the settlers were purged from Bulawayo, the Ndebele and Shona warriors would head out into the countryside, however, several young Ndebele were overly anxious to go to war, and the rebellion started prematurely. On 20 March, Ndebele rebels shot and stabbed a native policeman, over the next few days, other outlying settlers and prospectors were killed. Frederick Selous, the famous hunter, had heard rumours of settlers in the countryside being killed. When news of the murder reached Selous on 23 March. Nearly 2,000 Ndebele warriors began the rebellion in earnest on 24 March, many, although not all, of the young native police quickly deserted and joined the rebels. The Ndebele headed into the countryside armed with a variety of weapons, including, Martini-Henry rifles, Winchester repeaters, Lee-Metfords, assegais, as news of the massive rebellion spread, the Shona joined in the fighting, and the settlers headed towards Bulawayo. Within a week,141 settlers were slain in Matabeleland, another 103 killed in Mashonaland, with few troops to support them, the settlers quickly built a laager of sandbagged wagons in the centre of Bulawayo on their own. Barbed wire was added to Bulawayos defences, oil-soaked fagots were arranged in strategic locations in case of attack at night. Blasting gelatin was secreted in outlying buildings that were beyond the defence perimeter, smashed glass bottles were spread around the front of the wagons. Except for hunting rifles, there were few weapons to be found in Bulawayo, fortunately for settlers, there were a few working artillery pieces and a small assortment of machine guns. Selous raised a troop of forty men to scout southward into the Matobo Hills. Maurice Gifford, along with 40 men, rode east along the Iniza River, whenever settlers were found, they were quickly loaded into their wagons and closely guarded on their way to Bulawayo
30.
Anglo-Zanzibar War
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The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history, the immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was favourable to British interests. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down, in response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace. The ultimatum expired at 09,00 East Africa Time on 27 August, the Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson while their Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army. Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace, most were recruited from the civilian population, the defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns, which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships. A bombardment opened at 09,02 set the palace on fire, the flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09,40. The sultans forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured, Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa. The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government, the war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence. Zanzibar was a country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika. The main island, Unguja, had been under the control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698 when they expelled the Portuguese settlers who had claimed it in 1499. Sultan Majid bin Said declared the independent of Oman in 1858, which was recognised by Great Britain. The subsequent sultans established their capital and seat of government at Zanzibar Town where a complex was built on the sea front. The complex was constructed of local timber and was not designed as a defensive structure. All three main buildings were adjacent to one another in a line, and linked by wooden covered bridges above street height. Britain had recognised Zanzibars sovereignty and its sultanate in 1886, after a period of friendly interaction. However, Germany was also interested in East Africa, and the two powers vied for control of trade rights and territory in the area throughout the late 19th century. Sultan Khalifah had granted rights to the land of Kenya to Britain and that of Tanganyika to Germany, many of the Arab ruling classes were upset by this interruption of a valuable trade, which resulted in some unrest
31.
Benin Expedition of 1897
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Rawsons troops captured, burned, and looted Benin City, bringing to an end the west African Kingdom of Benin. As a result, much of the art, including the Benin Bronzes, were looted. At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Benin had managed to retain its independence, the territory was coveted by an influential group of investors for its rich natural resources such as palm-oil, rubber and ivory. In March 1892, Henry Gallwey, the British Vice-Consul of Oil Rivers Protectorate, visited Benin City hoping to annexe Benin Kingdom and make it a British protectorate. Although the King of Benin, Omo n’Oba, was sceptical of the British motives he was willing to endorse what he believed was a friendship, the treaty signed by the king agreed to the abolition of the Benin slave trade and human sacrifice. The King refrained from endorsing Gallweys treaty when it became apparent that the document was a ploy intended to make Benin Kingdom a British colony. Consequently, the King issued an edict barring all British officials and this vigilance and the Colonial Offices refusal to grant approval for an invasion of Benin City scuttled the expedition the Protectorate had planned for early 1895. Even so, between September 1895 and mid-1896 three attempts were made by the Protectorate to enforce the Gallwey Treaty. In March 1896, following price fixing and refusal by Itsekiri middle men to pay the required tributes, in October 1896 Lieutenant James Robert Phillips the Acting Consul-General visited the Benin River District and had meetings with the agents and traders. In the end the agents and traders were able to him that there is a future on the Benin River if Benin territories were opened. Benin had developed a reputation for sending messages of resistance. But the way Benin treated its slaves and the display of large quantities of human remains hardened British attitudes towards Benins rulers. The trader James Pinnock wrote that he saw a number of men all handcuffed and chained there. T. B Auchterlonie described the approach to the capital through an avenue of trees hung with decomposing human remains, after the lane of horrors came a grass common thickly stewn with the skulls and bones of sacrificed human beings. To disguise their true intent, the weapons were hidden in the baggage carried by the porters. His request to London was to depose the king of Benin City, replace him with a Native Council, unfortunately for Phillips, some Itsekiri trading chiefs sent a message to the Benin king that the white man is bringing war. The Benin king however argued that the British should be allowed to enter the city so that it can be ascertained whether or not the visit was a friendly one. The Iyase ignored the views, and ordered the formation of a strike force that was commanded by the Ologbosere, a senior army commander
32.
Fashoda Incident
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The Fashoda Incident or Crisis was the climax of imperial territorial disputes between Britain and France in Eastern Africa, occurring in 1898. A French expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile river sought to control of the Upper Nile river basin. The French party and a British detachment met on friendly terms, the British held firm as both nations stood on the verge of war with heated rhetoric on both sides. Under heavy pressure the French withdrew, securing Anglo-Egyptian control over the area, the status quo was recognised by an agreement between the two states acknowledging British control over Egypt, while France became the dominant power in Morocco. France had failed in its main goals, bell says, Between the two governments there was a brief battle of wills, with the British insisting on immediate and unconditional French withdrawal from Fashoda. The French had to accept terms, amounting to a public humiliation. Fashoda was long remembered in France as an example of British brutality. It was a victory for the British as the French realized that in the long run they needed the friendship of Britain in case of a war between France and Germany. It was the last crisis between the two that involved a threat of war and opened the way for closer relations in the Entente cordiale of 1904. It gave rise to the Fashoda syndrome in French foreign policy, during the late 19th century, Africa was rapidly being claimed and exploited by European colonial powers. After the 1885 Berlin Conference regarding West Africa, Europes great powers went after any remaining lands in Africa that were not already under another European nations influence and this period in African history is usually called the Scramble for Africa. The two principal powers involved in this scramble were Britain and France, along with Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. France also had an outpost near the mouth of the Red Sea in Djibouti, the British, on the other hand, wanted to link their possessions in Southern Africa, with their territories in East Africa, and these two areas with the Nile basin. Sudan, which included todays South Sudan and Uganda, was the key to the fulfilment of these ambitions. This red line through Africa was made most famous by the British and South African political force Cecil Rhodes, who wanted Africa painted Red. The French east-west axis and the British north-south axis could not co-exist, Fashoda was also bound up in the Egyptian Question, a long running dispute between the United Kingdom and France over the legality of the British occupation of Egypt. Since 1882 many French politicians, particularly those of the colonial, had come to regret France’s decision not to join with Britain in occupying the country. They hoped to force Britain to leave, and thought that a colonial outpost on the Upper Nile could serve as a base for French gunboats and these in turn were expected to make the British abandon Egypt. Another proposed scheme involved a dam, cutting off the Nile’s water supply
33.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
34.
Herero Wars
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The Herero Wars were a series of colonial wars between the German Empire and the Herero people of German South West Africa. The Hereros were cattle grazers, occupying most of central and northern South West Africa, during the Scramble for Africa, South West Africa was claimed by Germany in August 1884. At that time, it was the only overseas German territory deemed suitable for white settlement, German colonists arriving in the following years occupied large areas of land, ignoring any claims by the Herero and other natives. There was continual resistance by the natives, a sort of peace was worked out in 1894. In that year, Theodor Leutwein became the colonys governor, white settlers were further encouraged and took more land from the natives. That caused a deal of discontent. In 1903, some of the Khoi and Herero tribes rose in revolt, troops were sent from Germany to re-establish order but only dispersed the rebels, led by Chief Samuel Maharero. However a conclusive battle was fought on August 11,1904 at the Battle of Waterberg in the Waterberg Mountains, Chief Maharero believed his six to one advantage over the Germans would allow him to win in a final showdown. The Germans had time to bring forward their artillery and heavy weapons, both sides took heavy losses, but the Herero were scattered and defeated. In October 1904, General Lothar von Trotha issued orders to every male Herero. As soon as the news of this order reached Germany, it was repealed, when the order was lifted at the end of 1904, prisoners were herded into concentration camps and given as slave labor to German businesses, many died of overwork and malnutrition. It took until 1908 to re-establish German authority over the territory, by that time tens of thousands of Africans had been either killed or died of thirst while fleeing. At the height of the campaign some 19,000 German troops were involved, at about the same time, diamonds were discovered in the territory, which briefly greatly boosted its prosperity. However, in 1915, during World War I, British and South African forces occupied South West Africa, on 16 August 2004,100 years after the war, the German government officially apologized for the atrocities. We Germans accept our historic and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time, said Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, in addition, she admitted the massacres were equivalent to genocide. The Herero Wars and massacre are depicted in a chapter of the 1963 novel V. by Thomas Pynchon, the tragic story of the Herero genocide also appears in Pynchons 1973 novel Gravitys Rainbow. The heavy toll of the Herero genocide on individual lives and the fabric of Herero culture is seen in the 2013 historical novel Mama Namibia by Mari Serebrov. The war and massacre is significantly featured in The Glamour Of Prospecting, in the book he describes his first hand accounts of witnessing the concentration camp on Shark Island amongst other aspects of the conflict
35.
Maji Maji Rebellion
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The Maji Maji Rebellion, sometimes called the Maji Maji War, was an armed rebellion against German colonial rule in German East Africa. The war was triggered by a German policy designed to force the population to grow cotton for export. After the Scramble for Africa among the major European powers in the 1880s and these were German East Africa, German Southwest Africa, Cameroon, and Togoland. The Germans had a weak hold on German East Africa. However, they did maintain a system of forts throughout the interior of the territory and were able to some control over it. Since their hold on the colony was weak, they resorted to using violently repressive tactics to control the population, Germany began levying head taxes in 1898, and relied heavily on forced labor to build roads and accomplish various other tasks. In 1902, Carl Peters ordered villages to grow cotton as a cash crop, each village was charged with producing a quota of cotton. The headmen of the village were left in charge of overseeing the production, the German policies were not only unpopular, as they had serious effects on the lives of the natives. The social fabric of society was being changed rapidly, the social roles of men and women were being changed to face the needs of the communities. Since men were forced away from their homes to work, women were forced to some of the traditional male roles. Also, the fact that men were away strained the resources of the village, there was thus a lot of animosity against the government at this period. In 1905, a drought threatened the region, all that as well as opposition to the governments agricultural and labor policies led to open rebellion against the Germans in July. The insurgents turned to magic to drive out the German colonizers, a spirit medium named Kinjikitile Ngwale claimed to be possessed by a snake spirit called Hongo. Ngwale began calling himself Bokero and developed a belief that the people of German East Africa had been called upon to eliminate the Germans, German anthropologists recorded that he gave his followers war medicine that would turn German bullets into water. This war medicine was in water mixed with castor oil. Empowered with this new liquid, Bokeros followers began what would become known as the Maji Maji Rebellion. The end of the war was followed by a period of famine, known as the Great Hunger, the followers of Bokeros movement were poorly armed with spears and arrows, sometimes poisoned. However, they were numerous and believed that they could not be harmed because the Germans bullets would turn to water and they marched from their villages wearing millet stalks around their foreheads
36.
First Moroccan Crisis
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The First Moroccan Crisis was an international crisis between March 1905 and May 1906 over the status of Morocco. The crisis worsened German relations with both France and the United Kingdom, and helped enhance the new Anglo-French Entente, on March 31,1905, Kaiser William II of Germany landed at Tangier, Morocco and conferred with representatives of Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco. The Kaiser proceeded to tour the city on the back of a white horse, the Kaiser declared he had come to support the sovereignty of the Sultan—a statement which amounted to a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco. The Sultan subsequently rejected a set of French-proposed governmental reforms and issued invitations to major powers to a conference which would advise him on necessary reforms. Germany sought a conference where the French could be called to account before other European powers. The French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé, took a defiant line, count Bernhard von Bülow, the German Chancellor, threatened war over the issue. The French cancelled all leave and Germany threatened to sign a defensive alliance with the Sultan. French Premier Maurice Rouvier refused to risk war with Germany over the issue, Delcassé resigned, as the French government would no longer support his policy. On July 1, France agreed to attend the conference, the crisis continued to the eve of the conference at Algeciras, with Germany calling up reserve units and France moving troops to the German border. The Algeciras Conference was called to settle the dispute, lasting from January 16 to April 7,1906, of the 13 nations present, the German representatives found that their only supporter was Austria-Hungary. A German attempt at compromise was rejected by all but Austria-Hungary, France had firm support from Britain, Russia, Italy, Spain, and the United States. The Germans decided to accept a compromise agreement on March 31,1906 that was signed on May 31,1906. France agreed to control of the Moroccan police, but otherwise retained effective control of Moroccan political and financial affairs. The First Moroccan Crisis also showed that the Entente Cordiale was strong, the crisis can be seen as a reason for the Anglo-Russian Entente and the Anglo-Franco-Spanish Pact of Cartagena being signed the following year. Kaiser Wilhelm II was angry at being humiliated and was determined not to back down again, esthus, Raymond A. Theodore Roosevelt and the International Rivalries pp 66–111. Gifford, Prosser, and Alison Smith, eds, Britain and Germany in Africa, imperial rivalry and colonial rule ch 7 Perdicaris incident
37.
Bambatha Rebellion
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The Bambatha rebellion was a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in Natal, South Africa, in 1906. The revolt was led by Bambatha kaMancinza, leader of the clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley. In the years following the Anglo-Boer War British employers in Natal had difficulty recruiting black farm workers because of increased competition from the mines of the Witwatersrand. The colonial authorities introduced a £1 poll tax in addition to the hut tax to pressure Zulu men to enter the labour market. Bambatha, who ruled about 5,500 people living in about 1,100 households, was one of the chiefs who resisted the introduction and collection of the new tax. The government of Natal sent police officers to collect the tax from recalcitrant districts, in the resulting introduction of martial law, Bambatha fled north to consult King Dinuzulu, who gave tacit support to Bambatha and invited him and his family to stay at the royal homestead. Bambatha returned to the Mpanza Valley to discover that the Natal government had deposed him as chief and he gathered together a small force of supporters and began launching a series of guerrilla attacks, using the Nkandla forest as a base. Following a series of successes, colonial troops under the command of Colonel Duncan McKenzie set out on an expedition in late April 1906. Once they succeeded in getting face to face with and surrounding the rebels at Mome Gorge, as the sun rose, colonial soldiers opened fire with machine guns and cannon, on rebels mostly armed only with traditional assegais, knobkerries and cowhide shields. Bambatha was killed and beheaded during the battle, however, many of his supporters believed that he was still alive, Bambathas main ally, the 95-year-old Zulu aristocrat Inkosi Sigananda Shezi of the amaCube clan was captured by the colonial troops and died a few days later. Between 3,000 and 4,000 Zulus were killed during the revolt, more than 7,000 were imprisoned, and 4,000 flogged. King Dinizulu was arrested and sentenced to four years imprisonment for treason, the war cost the Natal government GB£883,576. Gandhi actively encouraged the British to recruit Indians and he argued that Indians should support the war efforts in order to legitimise their claims to full citizenship. The British, however, refused to commission Indians as army officers, nonetheless, they accepted Gandhis offer to let a detachment of Indians volunteer as a stretcher bearer corps to treat wounded British soldiers. This corps of 21 was commanded by Gandhi, later in 1927 he wrote of the event as No war but a man hunt. In 2006, the anniversary of the rebellion was commemorated in a ceremony which declared Chief Bambatha a national hero of post-Apartheid South Africa. Also, his picture appeared on a stamp and a street was renamed in his honor. According to speeches in the ceremony, the body had not really been Bambathas
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Agadir Crisis
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The Agadir Crisis or Second Moroccan Crisis was an international crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in April 1911. Germany reacted by sending the gunboat SMS Panther to the Moroccan port of Agadir on 1 July 1911, frances pre-eminence in Morocco had been upheld by the 1906 Algeciras Conference, following the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905–06. Anglo-German tensions were high at this time, partly due to a race between Imperial Germany and Great Britain, including German efforts to build a fleet two thirds the size of Britains. Germanys move was aimed at testing the relationship between Britain and France, and possibly intimidating Britain into an alliance with Germany, Germany was also enforcing compensation claims, for acceptance of effective French control of Morocco. In 1911, a rebellion broke out in Morocco against the Sultan, by early April, the Sultan was besieged in his palace in Fez. The French prepared to send troops to put down the rebellion, under the pretext of protecting European lives and property. On 8 June, the Spanish army occupied Larache, and three days later Ksar-el-Kebir, on 1 July, the German gunboat SMS Panther arrived at the port of Agadir, under the pretext of protecting German trade interests. The larger Bremen-class cruiser SMS Berlin arrived days later, replacing the gunboat, a German civilian, Hermann Wilberg, seventy miles to the north, journeyed south to be rescued only to arrive three days after the Panther. There was a reaction from the French and the British. The British government attempted to restrain France from adopting hasty measures and to dissuade her from sending troops to Fez, in April, British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey wrote what the French contemplate doing is not wise, but we cannot under our agreement interfere. He felt that his hands were tied and that he had to support France, the British became worried by Panthers arrival in Morocco. The Royal Navy had a base in Gibraltar, in the south of Spain. They believed the Germans meant to turn Agadir into a base on the Atlantic. Britain sent battleships to Morocco, in case war broke out, as in the First Moroccan Crisis, British support of France showed the strength of the Entente Cordiale. In the midst of crisis, Germany was hit by financial turmoil. The stock market plunged by 30 percent in a single day, the Reichsbank lost a fifth of its gold reserves in one month. It was rumored this crisis had been orchestrated by the French finance minister, faced with the possibility of being driven off the gold standard, the Kaiser backed down and let the French take over most of Morocco. The speech was interpreted by Germany as a warning that she could not impose a settlement on France
39.
French conquest of Morocco
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The French conquest of Morocco took place in 1911 in the aftermath of the Agadir Crisis, when Moroccan forces besieged the French-occupied city of Fez. On 30 March 1912, Sultan Abdelhafid signed the Treaty of Fez, formally ceding Moroccan sovereignty to France, on 17 April 1912, Moroccan infantrymen mutinied in the French garrison in Fez. The Moroccans were unable to take the city and were defeated by a French relief force, in late May 1912, Moroccan forces unsuccessfully attacked the enhanced French garrison at Fez. The last aftermath of the conquest of Morocco occurred in 1933–34, French protectorate in Morocco Spanish protectorate in Morocco France–Morocco relations French Algeria French Tunisia Bidwell, Robin. Morocco under Colonial Rule, French Administration of Tribal Areas 1912–1956, burke, E. Pan-Islam and Moroccan resistance to French colonial penetration, 1900–1912
40.
Italo-Turkish War
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The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from September 29,1911, to October 18,1912. As a result of conflict, Italy captured the Ottoman Tripolitania Vilayet, of which the main sub-provinces were Fezzan, Cyrenaica. These territories together formed what became known as Italian Libya, during the conflict, Italian forces also occupied the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Although minor, the war was a significant precursor of the First World War as it sparked nationalism in the Balkan states, seeing how easily the Italians had defeated the weakened Ottomans, the members of the Balkan League attacked the Ottoman Empire before the war with Italy had ended. The Italo-Turkish War saw numerous changes, notably the airplane. The Turks, lacking anti-aircraft weapons, were the first to shoot down an aeroplane by rifle fire, when Italian diplomats hinted about possible opposition by their government, the French replied that Tripoli would have been a counterpart for Italy. In 1902, Italy and France had signed a treaty which accorded freedom of intervention in Tripolitania. However, the Italian government did little to realize the opportunity and knowledge of Libyan territory, the Italian press began a large-scale lobbying campaign in favour of an invasion of Libya at the end of March 1911. It was fancifully depicted as rich in minerals, well-watered, also, the population was described as hostile to the Ottoman Empire and friendly to the Italians, the future invasion was going to be little more than a military walk, according to them. The Socialist party had strong influence over public opinion, however, it was in opposition and also divided on the issue. It acted ineffectively against a military intervention, the future fascist leader Benito Mussolini – at this time still a left-wing Socialist – took a prominent anti-war position. A similar opposition was expressed in Parliament by Gaetano Salvemini and Leone Caetani, an ultimatum was presented to the Ottoman government led by the Committee of Union and Progress party on the night of 26–27 September. Through Austrian intermediation, the Ottomans replied with the proposal of transferring control of Libya without war and this suggestion was comparable to the situation in Egypt, which was under formal Ottoman suzerainty, but was actually controlled by the United Kingdom. Giolitti refused, and war was declared on September 29,1911, despite the time it had had to prepare the invasion, the Italian Royal Army was largely unprepared when the war broke out. The Italian fleet appeared off Tripoli in the evening of September 28, the city was conquered by 1,500 sailors, much to the enthusiasm of the interventionist minority in Italy. Another proposal for a settlement was rejected by the Italians. The Turks did not have an army in Trablusgarp. Many of the Ottoman officers had to travel there by their own means, often secretly, through Egypt, the Ottoman navy was too weak to transport troops by sea
Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi
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