Egyptian Expedition

Anglo-Egyptian War (1882)
Part of the Urabi Revolt
Date July–September 1882 Location Egypt Result British victory; ‘Urabi sentenced to death (later commuted to exile) Territorial changes British occupation of Egypt
Belligerents
British Empire  United Kingdom British India Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Khedive Tewfik Pasha Co-belligerent(s): France	Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi
Commanders and leaders
Garnet Wolseley Beauchamp Seymour Tewfik Pasha	Ahmed ‘Urabi Mahmoud Fehmy Mahmoud Sami El Baroudi
Strength
40,560 regulars	Unconfirmed number of regulars

Co-belligerent(s):

The Anglo-Egyptian War (Arabic: الاحتلال البريطاني لمصر‎‎ al-āḥalāl al-Brīṭānnī al-Miṣr) 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, at the expense of the French.

In 1878, an Egyptian army officer, Ahmed ‘Urabi (then known in English as Arabi Pasha), mutinied and initiated a coup against Tewfik Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, because of grievances over disparities in pay between Egyptians and Europeans, as well as other concerns. In January 1882 the British and French governments sent a "Joint Note" to the Egyptian government, declaring their recognition of the Khedive's 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 and ‘Urabi's army began fortifying the town. The French flotilla demurred from direct hostilities but, an ultimatum to cease the arming of the town having been refused, the British warships began a 10½-hour bombardment of Alexandria on 11 July 1882.

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.

In their 1961 essay Africa and the Victorians, Ronald Robinson and John Gallagher argue that the British invasion was ordered in order to quell the perceived anarchy of the ‘Urabi Revolt, as well as to protect British control over the Suez Canal in order to maintain its shipping route to the Indian Ocean.

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