Mehmed Ali sought a personal empire, not Egyptian independence.

Evidence

It would be erroneous therefore to argue that when the Pasha decided to officially ask for independence from the Ottoman Empire in May 1838 he was acting on behalf of the Egyptian population and expressing their sentiments, sentiments that made them see themselves as different and distinct from other subjects of the Ottoman Sultan. What prompted the Pasha to make this bold move, rather, was his desire to secure his efforts in Egypt to his family and his sons after him. As John Campbell, the British Consul-General in 1838, said “he cannot… ever permit all [the] establishments [that he founded in Egypt over thirty years] to revert to the Porte and be lost at his death, and that he should have the pang of feeling that all his labours should merely have been for the Porte which would allow them to go to ruin, whilst his own family and children would be exposed to want and perhaps even to be put to death.” These were the reasons he put to the British government for his asking for independence from the Ottoman Empire. There is nothing here or elsewhere in the contemporary documents to show that he had any illusions about the nature of his struggle with the Sultan. That struggle was a dynastic one and it was conceived of as such by him and his contemporaries. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1551

It argued that the Pasha did not aim to achieve independence for “Egypt,” but intended to carve out a small empire for himself and for his children after him. It also argued that Great Britain, who is usually taken to have opposed Mehmed Ali ferociously and to have “prevented Egypt from reaping the fruits of her military victories” was not antagonistic to the Pasha’s “reform” policies in Egypt, but was against his empire-building efforts that she saw as challenging and endangering her own possessions in Asia. In addition, it argued that neither the Pasha himself nor his senior military commanders and top advisors including his own son, Ibrahim Pasha, ever thought of this whole exercise as being aimed at achieving the independence of Egypt from Ottoman rule, if by “Egypt” we mean a clearly identified nation-state. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1667

Instead, this book, by concentrating on his army, the key institution around which all his reforms were centered, challenged the nationalist version of Egyptian history that sees in Mehmed Ali a proto-nationalist leader. It argued that the Pasha did not aim to achieve independence for “Egypt,” but intended to carve out a small empire for himself and for his children after him. It also argued that Great Britain, who is usually taken to have opposed Mehmed Ali ferociously and to have “prevented Egypt from reaping the fruits of her military victories” was not antagonistic to the Pasha’s “reform” policies in Egypt, but was against his empire-building efforts that she saw as challenging and endangering her own possessions in Asia. In addition, it argued that neither the Pasha himself nor his senior military commanders and top advisors including his own son, Ibrahim Pasha, ever thought of this whole exercise as being aimed at achieving the independence of Egypt from Ottoman rule, if by “Egypt” we mean a clearly identified nation-state. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1686

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to histories of nationalism as a late-19th-century import; his dynasty-first motivation foreshadows the ‘nation’ claim the 1882 Urabi revolt later made. — connects to: Muhammad Ali sought independent empire, exceeding prior Ottoman governors’ ambitions.; Muhammad Ali sought Egyptian independence from the Ottomans rather than mere provincial expansion; Nepotism was essential, not aberrant, in Mehmed Ali’s army (+14 more)
• QUESTION: At what point did the Egyptian population’s sense of separate identity emerge, if Mehmed Ali’s independence bid was purely dynastic?
• SEED: Potential essay angle: how archival selection by a ruler shapes a century of subsequent historiography before being questioned.
• corroborated: 4 independent passages support this claim — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1551; Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1667; Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1686

Broader Connections

• Mehmed Ali did not seek independence from the Ottomans until 1838 #corroborates (0.80) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 257
• Mehmed Ali framed his conquests as Ottoman reform, not rebellion, until 1838 #corroborates (0.80) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 261
• Mehmed Ali hoped to gain Syria while remaining a pardoned Ottoman vassal #corroborates (0.75)
• Mehmed Ali’s ambivalence toward the Sultan stemmed from his imperial ambitions #expands (0.70)
• Britain opposed Mehmed Ali over his Ottoman expansion, not his industries #expands (0.60) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1686