Britain opposed Mehmed Ali because his expansion threatened British India and Istanbul influence

Evidence

The present book, while accepting the assumption that Britain did indeed view Mehmed Ali’s activities suspiciously and that her policies as represented and pursued by Lord Palmerston were, in fact, instrumental in curbing Mehmed Ali’s power, does not unproblematically assume that the reason for this hostile stance was its fear of the Pasha’s industrial schemes. Rather, it argues that Mehmed Ali’s imperialist expansion over wide areas of the Ottoman Empire seriously challenged Britain’s more ambitious imperialist designs and was regarded in London and Bombay as a threat to Britain’s possessions in Asia, her communications with India and her influence in Istanbul. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 99

Categorization

• XREF: Core to the reader’s stated goal of understanding British Lords’ performance and responses to Mehmed Ali’s expansion.