Mehmed Ali staged a theatrical reception to humble the British consul
Evidence
On 25 November 1826 Mehmed Ali Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Egypt, received in his palace Mr. John Barker in order to accept his credentials as the new British Consul in Alexandria. In a sign of deference, the Pasha stood up to greet the new consul, but ignored the official papers containing his credentials that he had in his hand. After a brief discussion of Mr. Barker’s predecessor who, the Pasha said, never contradicted “his will, or dispute [d] his opinions,” the Pasha then embarked upon a monolog that lasted for more than half an hour in which he told his British visitor a story about his childhood in Albania. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 42
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: Concrete episode illustrating the reader’s goal of understanding Egyptian-Ottoman-British diplomatic relations.
Related
- Mehmed Ali signaled defiant independence from both Ottoman and British power at first meeting (similarity 0.87)
- Mehmed Ali used a personal autobiography to convey diplomatic intimidation toward Britain (similarity 0.83)
- Mehmed Ali signaled equal disregard for British and Ottoman sovereign power (similarity 0.82)
- Mehmed Ali openly disparaged the Ottoman viziers and Sultan to the British consul (similarity 0.81)
- Mehmed Ali staged interviews with European visitors to shape his foreign image (similarity 0.78)