Palmerston decided by September 1832 that Russia, not France, was the chief threat
Evidence
Palmerston made up his mind as early as September 1832 that if the Sultan is beat his empire may tumble to pieces, and the way in which the fragments may be disposed of may essentially affect the balance of power in Europe; Russia would profit by the scramble, to a degree which might be highly inconvenient to her neighbors. It is true that if we repel Mehemet’s advances & the French receive them, and he should hold his ground, French influence will gain strength in Egypt, but after all perhaps that would not do us any great harm till we went to war with France, and then our naval superiority would bring us back the friendship of Mehemet who would not like his navy to be sent to an English port. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1537
Categorization
Category: Connection Points
Related
- Palmerston weighed French influence in Egypt against Ottoman survival when choosing sides. (similarity 0.84)
- Fear of Russian influence, not trade loss, drove Palmerston against Mehmed Ali (similarity 0.80)
- Palmerston saw Mehmed Ali’s monopolies as the lever to cripple his army (similarity 0.78)
- Britain feared for its Asian markets, not Mediterranean ones, on Egypt (similarity 0.78)