Khedivate of Egypt

The Khedivate of Egypt was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire ruled by the descendants of Muhammad Ali. In 1867 Sultan Abdülaziz granted Muhammad Ali's grandson Isma'il Pasha the title of khedive, together with near-total control of internal affairs and a privileged diplomatic position. Isma'il continued the modernising programme begun by his grandfather: railways, telegraphs, schools and the Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, transformed Egypt's infrastructure and its place in world trade. These projects were financed by heavy foreign borrowing, and when cotton prices fell the state faced bankruptcy. Britain and France imposed financial supervision, and the resulting political crisis led to the nationalist revolt of Ahmed Urabi. In 1882 a British fleet bombarded Alexandria and a British army occupied the country, beginning a prolonged military presence. Egypt remained formally Ottoman until 1914, when Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire and converted the khedivate into a British protectorate, with a sultan replacing the khedive.