British policy in 1832 was silence rather than hostility toward Mehmed Ali

Evidence

Although John Barker, the British Consul-General during the Syrian campaign, “was always opposed” to the Pasha’s policy towards the Sultan, the “British Cabinet did not declare its policy, and Mr. Barker did not receive from home any instructions favorable to Meh’med Ali’s projects.” Mehmed Ali knew that the messages he was receiving from Barker were the Consul’s own personal opinions and Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, who was later adamant in upholding the principle of preserving the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, was completely silent on the issue of his struggle with the Sultan. “There is not a single word either to Constantinople and Alexandria or to the British ambassadors at Paris, Vienna, and St. Petersburg; hardly any observation can be noticed during 1832 on despatches coming from these centers and touching on the subject of the Syrian war.” The hostility that Palmerston felt towards Mehmed Ali developed later and, as will be shown in chapter 7 below, had other causes. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 254 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Throughout this study the army that the Pasha founded and indeed his entire regime are put in a wider Ottoman context. Chapter 7 closes then with an account of what the career of Mehmed Ali might look like if placed in this larger context, and specifically seeks to view Mehmed Ali’s encounter with Palmerston from that Ottoman perspective. The aim of this final chapter, then, is not to restore Mehmed Ali to center stage by closing the book with him, but to offer one last challenge to the nationalist account of the Great Pasha and of Great Britain’s hostility towards him. In contrast to the nationalist view according to which Mehmed Ali’s efforts were frustrated by Great Britain, this final chapter argues that the Pasha’s career was a highly successful one: he fought for hereditary rule for himself and for his sons who were to follow him, and this is precisely what he managed to accomplish. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 127 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: British policy toward the Levant crisis stayed opaque even to its own consul; British hostility to Mehmed Ali came from his military expansion, not his domestic reforms.; British press in 1844 spoke warmly of Mehmed Ali despite past wars. (+3 more)

Related

• Palmerston stayed publicly silent on the Syrian war during 1832, hiding his later hostility (similarity 0.90)
• Palmerston stayed silent on Egypt’s Syrian war until hostility developed later (similarity 0.87)
• British hostility to Mehmed Ali came from his military expansion, not his domestic reforms. (similarity 0.85)
• Britain opposed Mehmed Ali over his Ottoman expansion, not his industries (similarity 0.84)
• Palmerston initially stayed silent during the first Syrian crisis. (similarity 0.84)
• Mehmed Ali secured hereditary rule for his dynasty despite British opposition (similarity 0.84)
• Egypt’s refugee dispute with Acre was only a pretext for the Syrian invasion. (similarity 0.83)
• Britain opposed Ali because his expansion risked Russian interference in its Asian possessions (similarity 0.81)
• Britain opposed Mehmed Ali because his expansion threatened British India and Istanbul influence (similarity 0.80)
• Britain defended Ottoman integrity chiefly to block Russian expansion (similarity 0.80)
• Fear of Russian influence, not trade loss, drove Palmerston against Mehmed Ali (similarity 0.79)
• British refusal of naval aid pushed the Sultan into a Russian alliance in 1833 (similarity 0.79)
• Fear of Russian expansion, not lost Mediterranean markets, drove Palmerston’s opposition to Mehmed Ali (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Palmerston stayed publicly silent on the Syrian war during 1832, hiding his later hostility #corroborates (0.80) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 254
• Mehmed Ali secured hereditary rule for his dynasty despite British opposition #qualifies (0.40) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 127