Muhammad Ali: Egypt’s Industrial Revolution

By Trevor Getz
During the nineteenth century, Egypt became a major producer of cotton and embarked on a process of building an industrialized economy. However, ultimately Egypt’s industrialization failed, for reasons that are still debated.

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A painting depicting a conversation between Egyptian and European men, overlooking the sea. A few of the men are seated, facing one another; one is smoking a hookah.

In the early 1800s, Egypt connected the enormous Ottoman Empire with the African continent. The Ottoman Empire included parts of modern-day Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Both were huge areas of trade. However, they were both struggling in a rapidly industrializing world.

Map of the Ottoman empire in 1829.
The Ottoman Empire in 1829. By Esemono, public domain.

For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire was at the center of trade in Eurasia. It also was an important center for handmade goods.

Soon, the Ottomans faced competition. Europe had begun industrializing. Europe’s cheaper, machine-made goods became a competition for the Ottoman Empire. This caused a loss of jobs and factories in the empire. Meanwhile, production in much of Africa had fallen. This happened after centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. Africa was seen as a place for collecting materials for European factories, not a place for factories themselves.

Muhammad Ali and Egypt’s industrial expansion

Egypt is an African country. However, at that time it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. In the early 1800s, a new Egyptian ruler wanted to quickly industrialize. His name was Muhammad Ali. Ali had to figure out how to work with the Ottoman leaders, the big European powers and the Egyptian people.

Ali was given control of the Ottoman forces in Egypt at a pretty rough time. Egypt had recently lost a war with France. Eventually, Britain helped to push the French out of Egypt. After the war, Egypt was still technically part of the Ottoman Empire. In reality, Ali made it an independent state. Ali set up a plan to modernize Egypt. He started with the military. He required peasants to enlist and bought modern weapons. By 1831, he was basically Egypt’s ruler.

A painting of several men standing in front of several large sailing ships. Muhammad Ali, depicted in traditional clothing in the color green, is pointing at one of the ships.
This painting, by a European artist, shows Muhammad Ali in traditional Ottoman clothing, doing business involving modern sailing vessels. It is true to his reputation as a reformer and modernizer who still valued his country’s own culture and traditions. By Farouk Misr, public domain.

Some wealthy Egyptian leaders disagreed with modernizing. Ali kept these leaders happy by maintaining many Egyptian traditions. At the same time, he began modernizing Egypt’s economy. Egypt already sold some cotton to British cloth factories. Ali encouraged even more cotton production in Egypt. This changed life for most Egyptian peasants. They were used to resting during the winter. Now, they were forced to spend their winters growing cotton.

A Graph with six columns showing average annual volume of cotton exports in Egypt, 1821-1849.

Ali’s government used this money from cotton production to make factories. These factories made clothing, food and other goods. This would help Egypt make more money. By the late 1840s, it looked like Egypt would eventually become an industrial power. However, Egypt’s economy began to decline soon after. The factories stopped producing. By the 1880s, Egypt was in serious debt to British banks. Egypt was technically independent. In reality, Egypt was being controlled by British banks.

What went wrong? Three explanations…

Bad leadership is one explanation for the failure of the Egyptian economy. Members of Ali’s family took over after his death. Some experts argue they were not very good rulers. They depended too much on cotton for money. They also borrowed money from European banks to support their luxurious lifestyles. These banks used this debt to influence Egypt’s government.

A second explanation for Egypt’s failure was environmental. They didn’t have the coal resources Britain and Europe had. As a result, Egyptian factories ran their machines using animals. This system was more expensive and less efficient than burning coal.

A third explanation has to do with European countries. Some countries may have destroyed the Egyptian industry on purpose. They did not want competition from Egyptian cloth factories. European countries began taxing imports of Egyptian cloth. At the same time, they forbid Egypt from taxing European products. The price of Egyptian cloth went way up. In the end, Egyptian factories just could not match low European prices.

Reform and tradition

Industrialization caused cultural challenges in Egypt. Some looked to modernize and become more like Europeans. Others wanted to return to their Islamic roots. Some Egyptian thinkers believed there was a middle ground between European and Islamic traditions.

One thinker was Rifa’a al-Tahtawi. Al-Tahtawi believed European beliefs about science and the military could work with Islam. However, he thought religion was necessary to properly use science.

Meanwhile, Europeans kept meddling in Egypt. One reason was the Suez Canal. The canal cut across Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. European powers wanted to control the canal because it was a shortcut to their colonies.

Egypt’s leaders could not agree on how to deal with European involvement. They had already lost all their money when the cotton industry fell apart. In 1875, the king sold his portion of the Suez Canal Company to the British. This gave the British control of an important national resource. An unhappy group of Egyptian military officers then took control of Egypt’s government. The British took advantage of this chaotic moment and seized the country. They brought back the king, but only as a puppet ruler they could control.

A drawn map of the Suez Canal, with three close-up images of Suez (a small town) and Kantara (a dock with a large sailing ship).
Artist’s impression of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea (and then the Indian Ocean). By Artmod, public domain.

By 1882, Egypt’s industrialization and independence had come to an end. Egypt did not become an industrialized nation-state until much later. This time, industrialization happened in a much worse way than Muhammad Ali planned.

Trevor Getz

Trevor Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University. He has written or edited eleven books, including the award-winning graphic history Abina and the Important Men, and co-produced several prize-winning documentaries. He is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes.

Image credits

Creative Commons This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:

Cover: Interview with Mehemet Ali in his Palace at Alexandria (May 12th 1839) lithograph published 1849, David Roberts - Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interview_with_Mehemet_Ali_in_his_Palace_at_Alexandria,_by_David_Roberts_and_Louis_Hague.jpg

The Ottoman Empire in 1829. By Esemono, public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_Ottoman_Empire#/media/File:Territorial_changes_of_the_Ottoman_Empire_1829.jpg

This painting, by a European artist, shows Muhammad Ali in traditional Ottoman clothing, doing business involving modern sailing vessels. It is true to his reputation as a reformer and modernizer who still valued his country’s own culture and traditions. By Farouk Misr, public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_of_Egypt#/media/File:Mouhamed_ali_army%26navy.jpg

Rifa’a al-Tahtawi, imam and scientist. Public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifa%27a_al-Tahtawi#/media/File:Tahtawi.jpg

Artist’s impression of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea (and then the Indian Ocean). By Artmod, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal#/media/File:Suez_Canal_1882.JPG


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