Editing Abbas II of Egypt (section)

==Reign==

Abbas II succeeded his father, [[Tewfik Pasha]], as [[Khedive]] of Egypt and Sudan on 8 January 1892.  He was still in college in [[Vienna]] when he assumed the throne of the [[Khedivate of Egypt]] upon the sudden death of his father. He was barely of age according to Egyptian law; normally eighteen in cases of succession to the throne.<ref name=eb1911/> For some time he did not willingly cooperate with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]], whose army had [[Anglo-Egyptian War|occupied Egypt in 1882]].<ref name=EB/> As he was young and eager to exercise his new power, he resented the interference of the British Agent and Consul General in Cairo, [[Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer|Sir Evelyn Baring]], later created the [[Earl of Cromer]].<ref name=Colliers/> Lord Cromer initially supported Abbas but the new Khedive's nationalist agenda and association with the [[National Party (Egypt)|anti-colonial nationalist movements in Egypt]] put him in direct conflict with British colonial officers, and Cromer later interceded on behalf of [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] (British commander in the Sudan) in an ongoing dispute with Abbas about Egyptian sovereignty and influence in that territory.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |page=41}}</ref>

At the outset of his reign, Khedive Abbas II surrounded himself with a coterie of European advisers who opposed the British occupation of Egypt and Sudan and encouraged the young khedive to challenge Cromer by replacing his ailing prime minister with an Egyptian nationalist.<ref name=EB/> At Cromer's behest, [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|Lord Rosebery]], the British [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]], sent Abbas II a letter stating that the Khedive was obliged to consult the British consul on such issues as cabinet appointments. In January 1894 Abbas II made an inspection tour of Sudanese and Egyptian frontier troops stationed near the southern border, the [[Mahdist State|Mahdists]] being at the time still in control of the Sudan. At [[Wadi Halfa]] the Khedive made public remarks disparaging the Egyptian army units commanded by British officers.<ref name=EB/> The British ''[[Sirdar]]'' of the Egyptian Army, the then [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Sir Herbert H. Kitchener]], immediately threatened to resign. Kitchener further insisted on the dismissal of a nationalist under-secretary of war appointed by Abbas II and that an apology be made for the Khedive's criticism of the army and its officers.<ref>{{cite book|first=J.B.|last=Tauris|pages=62–63|title=Kitchener Hero and Anti-Hero|isbn=1-85532-516-0|date=17 July 1995}}</ref>

By 1899 he had come to accept British counsels.<ref name=Col/> Also in 1899, British diplomat [[Alfred Mitchell-Innes]] was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Finance in Egypt, and in 1900 Abbas II paid a second visit to Britain, during which he said he thought the British had done good work in Egypt, and declared himself ready to cooperate with the British officials administering Egypt and Sudan. He gave his formal approval for the establishment of a sound system of justice for Egyptian nationals, a significant reduction in taxation, increased affordable and sound education, the inauguration of the substantial irrigation works such as the [[Aswan Low Dam]] and the [[Assiut Barrage]], and the [[Anglo-Egyptian invasion of Sudan 1896-99|reconquest of Sudan]].<ref name=Colliers/> He displayed more interest in [[agriculture]] than in statecraft. His farm of cattle and horses at [[Qubbah]], near Cairo, was a model for [[agricultural science]] in Egypt, and he created a similar establishment at [[Montaza Palace|Muntazah]], just east of [[Alexandria]]. He married the Princess [[Ikbal Hanem]] and had several children. [[Prince Muhammad Abdul Moneim|Muhammad Abdul Moneim]], the heir-apparent, was born on 20 February 1899. {{Citation needed|date=April 2012}}<!--For all the information in the paragraph-->

[[File:Abbas II and George V aboard HMS Medina 1911.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Abbas II with King George V in 1911]]

Although Abbas II no longer ''publicly'' opposed the British, he secretly created, supported and sustained the Egyptian nationalist movement, which came to be led by [[Mustafa Kamil Pasha]]. He also funded the anti-British newspaper [[Al-Mu'ayyad (newspaper)|Al-Mu'ayyad]].<ref name=EB/> As Kamil's thrust was increasingly aimed at winning popular support for a nationalist political party, Khedive Abbas publicly distanced himself from the Nationalists and was labeled as being against Islam by said nationalists.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 13, 1902 |title=The Pan-islamic Movement |work=The Times, London |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=971a887b-dd87-45ba-b540-2f92c3d2009f&hitCount=2004&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=431&docId=GALE%7CCS85912173&docType=Article&sort=Pub+Date+Forward+Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&pageNum=22&contentSet=GALE%7CCS85912173&searchId=R4&userGroupName=tall85761&inPS=true |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref> The western world would characterize him as a revolutionary against peace, although his main goal was to gain independence for Morocco. Their demand for a constitutional government in 1906 was rebuffed by Abbas II, and the following year he formed the [[National Party (Egypt)|National Party]], led by Mustafa Kamil Pasha, to counter the [[Umma Party (Egypt)|Ummah Party]] of the Egyptian moderates.<ref name=EB/><ref name=stear>{{harvnb|Stearns|2001|p=545}}</ref> However, in general, he had no real political power. When the Egyptian Army was sent to fight [[Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi]] in [[Sudan]] in 1896, he only found out about it because the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] [[Archduke Francis Ferdinand]] was in Egypt and told him after being informed of it by a [[British Army]] officer.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|1968|p=207}}</ref>

His relations with Cromer's successor, Sir [[Eldon Gorst]], however, were excellent, and they co-operated in appointing the cabinets headed by [[Boutros Ghali|Butrus Ghali]] in 1908 and [[Muhammad Said Pasha|Muhammad Sa'id]] in 1910 and in checking the power of the National Party. The appointment of Kitchener to succeed Gorst in 1912 displeased Abbas II, and relations between the Khedive and the British deteriorated. Kitchener, who exiled or imprisoned the leaders of the National Party,<ref name=EB/> often complained about "that wicked little Khedive" and wanted to depose him.

On 25 July 1914, at the onset of [[World War I]], Abbas II was in [[Constantinople]] and was wounded in his hands and cheeks during a failed assassination attempt. On 5 November 1914 when Great Britain declared war on the [[Ottoman Empire]], he was accused of deserting Egypt by not promptly returning home. The British also believed that he was plotting against their rule,<ref name=Colliers/> as he had attempted to appeal to Egyptians and Sudanese to support the [[Central Powers]] against the British. So when the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in World War I, the United Kingdom declared Egypt a [[Sultanate of Egypt|Sultanate]] under British [[protectorate|protection]] on 18 December 1914 and deposed Abbas II.<ref name=EB/><ref>{{harvnb|Magnusson|Goring|1990|p=1}}</ref>
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage mss 1190.jpg|thumb|right|Painting commemorating Abbas II's 1909 [[Hajj]] pilgrimage, including his portrait on the left]]
During the war, Abbas II sought support from the Ottomans, including proposing to lead an attack on the [[Suez Canal]]. He was replaced by the British by his uncle [[Hussein Kamel of Egypt|Hussein Kamel]] from 1914 to 1917, with the title of [[Sultan of Egypt]].<ref name="EB" /><ref name="stear" /> Hussein Kamel issued a series of restrictive orders to strip Abbas II of property in Egypt and Sudan and forbade contributions to him. These also barred Abbas from entering Egyptian territory and stripped him of the right to sue in Egyptian courts. This did not prevent his progeny, however, from exercising their rights. Abbas II finally accepted the new order on 12 May 1931 and formally abdicated. He retired to [[Switzerland]], where he wrote ''The Anglo-Egyptian Settlement'' (1930).<ref name="Col">{{harvnb|Lagassé|2000|p=2}}</ref> He died at [[Geneva]] on 19 December 1944, aged 70,<ref name="Colliers" /> 30 years to the day after the end of his reign as Khedive.{{refn|group = nb|name=death}}