Mehmed Ali staged performances for European visitors to shape his image

Evidence

As much as Mehmed Ali wanted to impress upon his visitor that he was an independent ruler, technically and legally he was only a vali of an Ottoman province, which meant that he had the right to receive consuls (and not ambassadors) of European countries but was denied the right to appoint political representatives to their capitals. Keen on improving his image in Europe, however, and interested in affecting public opinion there, the Pasha was left with few tools to do so. One such tool, though, was the interviews he was in the habit of giving to European visitors some of whom, he was well aware, would proceed to write and publish their accounts of their encounters with him. As such, the coup de théâtre that Barker was audience to in his first interview with Mehmed Ali, far from being strange or atypical, was a “very characteristic anecdote” and it was not entered upon accidentally or unintentionally. Rather, it constituted part of a repertoire of stories and performances that were meticulously performed to influence the views of these European visitors. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 45

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how provincial rulers used European public opinion as leverage, echoing themes of image management in communication and empire studies. — connects to: Mehmed Ali’s restless eyes became his signature trait to European visitors — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 56