Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-cnmwb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T23:02:23.392Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Origins of the Ethiopian–Egyptian Border Problem in the Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2009

Extract

It is thought that the conquest of the Sudan by Muhammad Ali was motivated primarily by the legendary gold of the Sudan and by the need for manpower for the newly formed Nizam-I-Jadid (the new army). Because of Egypt's involvements in Syria and Arabia in the 1830s, the need for more funds and manpower for the army had increased considerably. The most promising areas for minerals, trade, and slave hunting bordered on the Ethiopian plateau. Those areas were inhabited by a mixed Hamitic and Negroid population, many of whom were Muslims and pagans. These people, although in many cases they did not realize it, were considered by some of the Ethiopian border lords to be their subjects, since the Ethiopian concept of a border was not that of a dividing line but of undefined areas stretching into their neighbours' lands.

The situation in Ethiopia in the first half of the nineteenth century was generally conducive to an Egyptian conquest. The internal wars which had been gaining momentum ever since the middle of the eighteenth century expedited the fragmentation of the country, weakened most of the important provincial rulers, and exhausted the population. The revival of Islam in the beginning of the nineteenth century had an immediate impact upon Ethiopia. Islam was spread in the interior by the trading caravans monopolized by Muslim merchants, and found many followers among the Galla tribes of Ethiopia. Moreover, the actual rulers of the country were the Galla chiefs who had been the guardians of the puppet emperors in Gondar since the end of the eighteenth century; and as they feared the growing pressure of Tigrean and Amhara Christian lords, they were ready, if necessary, to invite the Egyptians to enter Ethiopia. However, the reappearance of European powers in the Red Sea at the beginning of the nineteenth century not only facilitated the acquisition of quantities of firearms by Tigrean and Amhara lords, but above all curbed the expansionist tendencies of Egypt in the direction of Ethiopia. Thus, until the middle of the nineteenth century Egypt had only limited objectives in Ethiopia, namely to establish its authority over the mineral-rich areas on the slopes of the Ethiopian plateau and to control the caravan routes and the outlets of the seemingly rich Ethiopian trade. Nevertheless, the ground was prepared for the clash between Egypt and Ethiopia in the period of Khedive Ismail.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1967

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 When Muhammad ‘Ali tried in 1811 to buy a frigate in Bombay for service in the Red Sea, his application was rejected by the British government on the grounds that ‘It would be very dangerous policy to allow the Turkish influence to revive in this part of the world.’ The British authorities feared that contacts would be built between the Turks and the strong Muslim kingdoms in India. (Public Records Office, Foreign Office 1/1, 197.)Google Scholar

2 Burckhardt, J. L., Travels in Nubia (London, 1819), 434–8;Google ScholarMinistère des Affaires Etrangères, Correspondance Commerciale, Mokha, vol. 1710–1829, 44;Google ScholarSa¯mī, Amīn, Taqwīm al-Nīl, II (Cairo, 1927), 252;Google ScholarRuppell, Edward, Reise in Abyssinien I (Frankfurt am Main, 1838) 188.Google Scholar

3 India Office Archive, Bombay Proceedings, Range Series 385, vol. 20 (1901), para. 7, 2 Jan. 1822; 4098, 27 June 1823; 4225, 17 Jan. 1823.Google Scholar

4 The new modern army organized by Muhammad 'Ali on European lines.Google Scholar

5 Sabri, Mustafa, L'Empire égyptien sous Mehemed Ali (Paris 1930), 66–7.Google ScholarWaddington, G., Journal of a Visit to Some Parts of Ethiopia (London, 1822), 91. India Office Archive, Bombay Proceedings, Range series 385, vol. 20, 2 Jan. 1822, 1901, para. 7; vol. 25, 17 July 1822, 27 July 1822, 4098, 4225; vol. 27, 8 September 1822, 5580–5583. According to Sabri, (op. cit. 66–7) Ismail, Muhammad ‘Ali's son, carried with him Salt's book on Ethiopia.Google Scholar

6 I. O. Range series 384, vol. 14, Salt 29 Apr. 1816;Google ScholarSabri, op. cit. 66–7;Google ScholarWaddington, G., op. cit. 91.Google Scholar

7 Later one of Wūbé's daughters was given to Nimr's son in marriage. See Hoskins, G. A., Travels in Ethiopia (London, 1835), 92.Google Scholar

8 Robinson, E. A., ‘Nimr the last king of Shendi’, Sudan Notes and Records, VIII, 113;Google ScholarCumming, D. C., ‘The History of Kassala and the province of Taka’, Sudan Notes and Records, xx, 11;Google ScholarDeherain, H., Le Soudan égyptien sous Mehemed Ali (Paris, 1898), 107;Google ScholarMorié, L. J., Histoire de l'Ethiopie (Paris, 1904), 442–3.Google Scholar

9 The letter was written by Coffin at the instructions of Seb'agadis. (F.O. 1/2, Adowa, 24 Apr. 1827.)Google Scholar

10 Ruppell, E., op. cit. I, 212–13.Google Scholar

11 F.O. 1/2, Adowa, 24 Apr. 1827.Google Scholar

12 Ruppell, op. cit. 1, 189.Google Scholar

13 Tagher, J., ‘Muhammad Ali et les Anglais’, Cahiers d'histoire égyptienne (1948–1949), 471–3;Google ScholarDouin, G., La Mission Du Baron Boislecomte à l'Egypte et la Syrie en 1833 (Cairo, 1927), 159.Google Scholar

14 F.O. 1/2, 19 Nov. 1829, 38–9, draft letter to treasury, 28 Dec. 1830, o; F.O. 1/2, 85 For samples of Valentia's letters to F.O. see F.O. 1/2, 38–40, November 1929.Google Scholar

15 Cattaui, R., Le Règne de Muhammed Ali, 1, no. 119 (Paris, 1931), 140, Bokti, Cairo 16 Nov. 1827;Google ScholarTa'rīkh Mūlūk al-Sūda¯n, ed. Shibeika, Mekki (Khartoum 1947/1247 H), 26. For an English translation of this latter work (probably from another MS.), seeGoogle ScholarMacMichael, H. A., History of the Arabs in the Sudan (Cambridge, 1922).Google Scholar

16 Ta'rīkh Mulūk, 29.Google Scholar

17 Combes, E., Voyage en Egypte et Nubie, etc. II (Paris, 1846), 176;Google ScholarRobinson, E. A., ‘Nimr the last king of Shendi’, Sudan Notes and Records, VIII, 115;Google ScholarTa'rikh Mulūk, 29–30.Google Scholar

18 F.O. 78/214 Barker 21 July 1832;Google ScholarDouin, G., La Première Guerre de Syrie (Cairo, 1831), 37–8.Google Scholar

19 F.O. 78/231, Barker, 18 Feb. 1832;Google ScholarHoskins, G. A., Travels in Ethiopia (London, 1835), 91, 7 Mar. 1833;Google ScholarDouin, G., La Mission…, 152, 3 July 1833.Google Scholar

20 F.O. 1/3, 5, Campbell I July 1833, 10 Oct. 1833;Google ScholarMinistère des Affaires Etrangères, Correspondance Politique Egypte, Alexandrie et le Caire, vol. 1832–1833, 216,Google ScholarAlexandrie, 30 June 1833;Google ScholarDouin, La Mission…, 155, 3 July 1833.Google Scholar

21 Cumming, D. C., loc. cit.; Ta'rīkh Mulūk, 29–30.Google Scholar

22 Werne, F., African Wanderings II (London, 1852), 178.Google Scholar

23 Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Correspondance Politique Egypte, Massoauh, 1840–1853, 118;Google ScholarCombes, E., op. cit. II, 350.Google Scholar

24 Combes, op. cit. II, 173;Google ScholarWerne, op. cit. II, 187.Google Scholar

25 Robinson, ‘Nimr’, 114.Google ScholarCombes, E. and Tamisier, M., Voyage en Abyssinse, III (Paris, 1838), 346.Google Scholar

26 The Armenian merchant Bethlehem, mentioned by most travellers in northern Ethiopia in the 1830s and 1840s.Google Scholar

27 The head of the Ethiopian Church. Always obtained in the past from the Coptic Church of Egypt against certain payments.Google Scholar

28 F.O. 78/343, Isenberg to Campbell, 279;Google ScholarCombes, op. cit. II, 176;Google ScholarCombes, Abyssinie, 1, 251–2.Google Scholar

29 Followers or allies of Nimr among the 'Arab’ refugee tribes living in the peripheral areas of the Ethiopean plateau.Google Scholar

30 Irregular infantry, mainly Albanians.Google Scholar

31 Combes, Abyssinie, III, 346;Google ScholarTa'rīkh Mulūk, 30–1;Google ScholarRobinson, ‘Nimr’, 114Google ScholarRobinson, A. E., ‘The Egyptian—Abyssinian War of 1874–1876’, Journal of the African Society, XXVI (1926/1927), 264. Robinson mistakenly claims that Gondar was attacked.Google Scholar

32 Ta'rīkh Mulūk, 30;Google ScholarRobinson, ‘Nimr’, 114;Google ScholarBudge, E. A. Wallis, The Egyptian Sudan, etc., II (London), 213.Google Scholar

33 F.O. 78/319, no. 17, Campbell, 10 Apr. 37.Google Scholar

34 Bowrin, J., Report on Egypt and Candia (London, 1840), 83, 110.Google Scholar

35 F.O. 78/319, no. 17, 10 Apr. 1837;Google ScholarSammarco, A, Il Viaggio di Mohammed Ali al Sudan (Cairo, 1929), introduction, i–v.Google Scholar

36 F.O. 78/359, no. 17, Campbell, 10 April 1837, no. 44, 5 Aug. 1837;Google ScholarF.O. 78/320, Campbell to Palmerston, Alexandria, 5 Aug. 1837;Google ScholarHamont, P.N., Egypte sous Méhémet Ali (Paris, 1834), 536.Google Scholar

37 Robinson, ‘Nimr’, 115;Google ScholarF.O. 78/320, extract from a report of the vice-consulate in Cairo, 21 Sept. 1837.Google ScholarMengin, F., Histoire sommaire d'Egypte, etc. (Paris, 1838), 97.Google Scholar

38 Estimates range between 6,000 and 20,000.Google Scholar

39 d'Abbadie, Amauld, Douze ans en Haute Ethiopie (Paris, 1868), 312;Google ScholarMengin, F.. Histoire sommaire d'Egypte, etc. (Paris, 1838), 9798;Google ScholarTa'rīkh M'ulūk, 31;Google ScholarF.O. 1/3, 13–15, 23 Oct. 1837; F.O. 78/320, 2 Oct. 1837;Google ScholarThe Royal Chronicles of Abyssinia, ed. Blundell, H. Weld (Cambridge, 1922), 490.Google Scholar

40 Ta'rīkh Mulūk, 31. It was also rumoured that the refugee Arab tribes were plotting with the Ethiopians to drive the Egyptians out of the Sudan.Google Scholar

41 F.O. 78/343, Isenberg to Campbell (1838), 277;Google ScholarRobinson, ‘Nimr’, 115.Google Scholar

42 Comprising a number of irregular units, an infantry regiment (the 8th) and a cavalry regiment. See Tagher, J., ‘Mohammed Ali et les Anglais’, Cahiers d'Histoire Egyptienne, 477, footnote 3, Consul, Cochelet 6 Nov. 1837;Google ScholarF.O. 78/320, enclosure to Campbell's dispatch, 2 Oct. 1837; Robinson, ‘Nimr’, 115. According to Mengin (Histoire sommaire, 98) Ahmed Pasha was given the means to organize another regiment in the Sudan, thus bringing his corps to 8,000, excluding artillerymen.Google Scholar

43 Ta'rīkh Mulūk, 32, footnote, 1; F.O. 78/320, extract of report of vice-consulate in Cairo, 21 Sept. 1837;Google ScholarRobinson, ‘Nimr’, 115;Google ScholarBowring, J., op. cit. 88.Google Scholar

44 A. E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, vol. VI, 1837–1838, 7 Oct. 1837, 140;Google ScholarF.O. 1/3, 7, Alexandria, Oct. 1837.Google Scholar

45 The 1st, 8th, 9th, 16th, and 21st infantry regiments under generals Ahmed Bey, Mustafa Bey, Ayub Bey, Mehmez Bey and Khalil Bey respectively. A cavalry regiment under Firhad Bey and 2,000–3,000 irregular cavalry under general Ismail Bey. A. E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, VI, 239–247, attached to Alexandrie, 26 Feb. 1838.Google ScholarSee also Robinson ‘Nimr’;, 117;Google ScholarWeygand, M., Histoire militaire de Mohammed Ali et des ses fils, 1 (Paris, 1839), 144.Google Scholar

46 The names of the proposed Ethiopian delegates are given by Isenberg. F.O. 78/343, 275;Google ScholarIbid., 276–7. Soon after, Isenberg and his friends were ordered to leave the country.

47 F.O. 1/3, 29 Arnauld d'Abbie, Douze ans, 553.Google Scholar

48 France Nouvelle Acquisition, Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, Antoine d'Abbadie, Vol. 21301, para. 130. 46.Google Scholar

49 See below, n. 66.Google Scholar

50 Duchesne, A., Le Consul Blondeel en Abyssinie (Bruxelles, 1953), 537.Google Scholar

51 Douze ans, 402–403, 553. The Royal Chronicler writes only that the Franks said to Mohammad 'Ali: ‘If the Christians are molested we shall no longer be friends with you.’ With such language they forced the Turks to abandon war against the city of Gondar (Weld Blundell, 490).Google Scholar

52 F.O. 78/320, no. 55, Campbell to Palmerston, 2 Oct. 1837.Google Scholar

53 Cairo 1946, 60. Umar Tūsūn, al-Jaysh al-Mişrī al-barī wa'l bahri. F.O. 78/214, Barker, 21 July 1832;Google ScholarF.O. 78/235, Barker, 18 Feb. 1833;Google ScholarVoyage de Duc de Raguse, IV (Paris, 1835), 229.Google Scholar

54 F.O. 78/285, Sloane, Alexandria, 22 Mar. 1836;Google ScholarBowring, 83.Google Scholar

55 Hamont, P. N., Egypte sous Méhémet Ali (Paris, 1843), 539;Google ScholarF.O. 78/319, no. 17, Campbell 10 April 37;Google ScholarSammarco, op. cit. 30.Google Scholar

56 Werne, F., Expedition to Discover the Sources of the White Nile, I (London, 1849), 43. Before departing, Muhammad ‘Ali wrote to all rulers, including those of the Galla, that he did not intend to disturb their tranquillity but that he would bring peace and friendship. A. E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, VIII (1839), 16 Feb. 1839.Google Scholar

57 Weme, , African Wanderings, II, 161;Google ScholarCorr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, xv, 92,Google ScholarAlexandrie, 23 May 1842.Google ScholarMinistère des Affaires étrangerès, Bruxelles, Archives Dos. 2024, Blondeel report annexe I, Alexandrie 6 Jan. 1839, 7.Google Scholar

58 Robinson, ‘Nimr’, 116;Google ScholarDuchesne, op. cit. 166;Google ScholarLejean, G., Théodor II (Paris, 1865), 21;Google ScholarStern, H. A., Wanderings Among the Falashas (London, 1862), 65;Google ScholarParkyns, Mansfield, Life in Abyssinia, II (London, 1853), 318.Google Scholar

59 Werne, African Wanderings, I, 8; II, 261.Google Scholar

60 India Office, Bombay Secret Proceedings, Lantern Gallery, 190, no. 2404, Krapf, 6 June 1842.Google Scholar

61 ‘It is generally supposed that Mohammad ‘Ali contemplates the conquest of Abyssinia’, reported Captain Harris. India Office Archive, Bombay Secret Proceedings, Lantern Gallery (L.G.), vol. 189, no. 2031, pars. 22, October 1841. When Consul Blondeel passed Arkiko in April 1841, the naib of Arkiko told him of an Egyptian plan to conquer Ethiopia in which the naib was supposed to participate. A.E.B. Dos. 2024, Blondeel report, annexe 1, Alexandrie June 1839; annexe 26, Arkiko, 5 April 1841, 3–4. See also: L.G. vol. 189, no. 1846 B, Krapf, 3 Oct. 1841; vol. 190, no. 2327, Christopher, 6 July 1842; vol. 196, Christopher, 2 Oct. 1842, India Office Archive, Letters from Aden (L.F.A.), vol. 1843, 23, Cruttenden, 28 Dec. 1842. A. E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, vol. xv, 114, Alexandrie, 7 Aug. 1842.Google Scholar

62 Coulbeaux, J. B., Histoire politique et religieuse d'Abyssinie (Paris, 1839), 397.Google Scholar

63 F.O. 78/343, 299, Isenberg to Campbell, 1838–1839.Google Scholar

64 al-Majīd, Abd ‘A¯bidīn, Bayn al-Habasha wa'-’ Arab (Cairo), 199201;Google ScholarBlundell, Weld, Royal Chronicles, 488.Google Scholar

65 Douze ans, 42.Google Scholar

66 France Nouvelle Acquisition, Antoine d'Abbadie, 21301, 46, para. 130. Ahmade died in 1838/9, but his son Imam Liban was just as fanatically a Muslim as his father.Google Scholar

67 Douze ans, 558.Google Scholar

68 L.G., vol. 189, nO. 1846 B.Google Scholar

69 A.E.B. Dos. 2024, Annexe 37, 23 July 1841. According to Blondeel, Ras Ali told him in June 1841 that Muhammad ‘Ali answered ';Ne craignez rien, vos amis seront mes amis, et vos ennemis seront mes ennemis.’Google Scholar

70 A.E.B. Dos. 2024, Doc. 120, no. 9, Khartoum 20 June 1842.Google Scholar

71 A.E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et Ie Caire, XV, 114.Google Scholar

72 Robinson, ‘Nimr’, 116;Google ScholarDuchesne, op cit., 166;Google ScholarLejean, G., op cit. 21;Google ScholarStern, H. A., op cit. 65Google ScholarParkyns, Mansfield; op cit. II, 318.Google Scholar

73 L.G. vol. 190. no. 2060, I, Harris 31 Jan. 1842.Google Scholar

74 A.E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Massouah, 18401853, 538.Google Scholar

75 Duchesne, op cit. 174.Google Scholar

76 A.E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, XV, 92, 23 May 1842. In 1843 the missionary Jacobis wrote from Tigre that the much awaited Egyptian attack on Abyssinia did not come. The people and the authorities were convinced that they have nothing to fear ‘because of French intervention’ (A.E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Massoauh, 18401853, 94). Consul Blondeel reported that the whole area of Galabat was in rebellion at the end of 1841 (A.E.B. Dos 2024, Doc 120, no. 9, Khartoum, zo June 1842). When Blondeel reached Khartoum he found out that Ahmad Pasha was in the area of Taka at the head of his army.Google Scholar

77 A.E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Alexandrie et le Caire, xv, 216–17, 24 Jan. 1843.Google Scholar

78 Even the missionaries Jacobis and Schimper, who were continuously agitating for French support to Wūbé, reported in July 1845 that there was no imminent danger to Ethiopia from the direction of Sennar (A. E. Corr. Pol. Egy. Massoauh, 18401853), 138.Google Scholar

79 Morié, L. J., Histoire de I'Ethiopie, II, 362;Google ScholarTrémaux, P., Egypte et Ethiopie, (Paris, 1861), 9799Google ScholarBlank, H., A Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia (London, 1868), 3;Google ScholarStern, H. A., The Captive Missionaries (London, 5869), 89;Google ScholarLejean, op. cit. 23–24.Google Scholar

80 F.O. 1/4, 126, Plowden, 7 Nov. 1847; F.O. 1/5, 229, Plowden 17 Sept. 1848, A.E. Corr. Pol. Massouah, 172 Degoutin 15 March 1847; 175 Degoutin 1 Apr. 1847; 182 Degoutin 15 July 1847; Plowden Travels, 356.Google Scholar

81 A.E. Corr. Pol. Massouah, 205 Degoutin 6 Jan. 1849; F.O. 1/5, 249 Haines 28 Jan. 1849; 285 Plowden 27 Jan. 1849.Google Scholar

82 Douze ans, 89. See also my article ‘The Emergence and consolidation of the monarchies of Enarea and Jimma in the first half of the nineteenth century’,Google ScholarJournal of African History, VI, no. 2 (1965), 211.Google Scholar