Cromer's Papers, Khedive Tawfiq

Author's name: Evelyn Baring

Why has Egypt not always been for Egyptians? The records of the past rarely escape the gray grip of forgetfulness - whether intentional or accidental - as a result of faulty memory or incomplete documentation engraved by the wrong or right party, or both, in the minds of time.

In this book, we stand on the parallel bank of history, built by one of the decision-makers of his time, and an eyewitness to many of the events that took place in the country. We hold the lens of the opposite side, so we see the beginning of the rule of Khedive Tawfiq and the difficult material situation the country faced, passing through the Urabi movement and its followers, and the consequences and trials that resulted from it, in which the Englishman appointed himself as witness, opponent and judge, seeing in himself an advantage that the Egyptian lacked.. So what is it?

Evelyn Baring, known in the Middle East as Lord Cromer, was the first Earl of Cromer, a town in the English countryside. Born in 1841 and died in 1917, he served as British Consul General in Egypt in 1879. He was among the international observers who monitored Egypt's financial situation in the late reign of Khedive Ismail in 1876, and later returned to Egypt as British Political Agent from 1883 to 1907. Baring played a significant role in shaping Egyptian political life for over three decades, witnessing the reigns of three of the most prominent rulers of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.