Expert: Aupmanyav - 7/15/2009

Question
Please can We ask you a few questions about:
1-The reasons of French expedition on Egypt.
2-The reasons of its failure.
3-And,its scientific results.

Answer
Dear Khaled,

Let me state at the first instance that I am not a middle-east history expert. My knowledge principly extends to history of the sub-continent. But I have tried to find out the answers to your questions mainly through the Wikipedia account at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Egypt_(1798).

Reasons: Napoleon and France were competitors in empire building. Napoleon wanted to hamper British trade and access to India and later wanted to enlarge his influence in India through kings inimical to the British, at that time Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

Reasons for failure: On August 1, 1798, the British fleet found these battleships anchored in a strong defensive position in the Bay of Abukir. The French believed that they were open to attack only on one side, the other side being protected by the shore. However, during the Battle of the Nile the arriving British fleet under Horatio Nelson managed to slip half of their ships in between the land and the French line, thus attacking from both sides. All but two of the French vessels were captured or destroyed. Napoleon became land-bound.

Napoleon left for France in August 1799 and became the first Counsel and later the emperor of France. Napoleon remained interested in middle-east and later developed friendships with the Ottoman emperor Selim III and the Persian emperor Fath Ali Shah. This was because of his interest in checkmating the British and later the Russians.

Science Expedition: That did not amount to much except for the work of Joseph Fourier for his work on heat transfer. It was mainly to impress the Egyptians and minimise the influence of British. However, the French found the 'Rosetta Stone' which made it possible to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.

I hope this summary is useful to you. Otherwise, you may contact some other expert. With best regards,

Yours sincerely,

Aupmanyav