21 - 25 SEPTEMBER 1870
RESOURCES
Map of Ottoman Possessions and the immediate region
Map of Africa as of 17 September
AGENDA
1. Rebuilding and Rejuvenation of France
2. The Bombardment and Massacre of the Native Population of the Zambezi River Basin by the Portuguese Empire
3. Procedures and Protocols of Acquiring Territories in the Dark Continent of Africa
4. Delineating Borders
5. Heightened Militarism and Aggression from the Kingdom of Italy upon the Pontifical States
PARTICIPANTS
Kingdom of Egypt
United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland
United States of America
North German Confederation
Russian Empire
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Spain
Portugese Empire
Kingdom of Sweden
Brazilian Empire
THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT
AL-MAMLAKAH AL-MISRIYYAH
KING ISMA'IL OF EGYPT AND THE SUDAN
Cairo, Cairo Governate
21 September 1870
In the past weeks interest regarding Egypt could be said to have skyrocketed, but to have stated it in such words would be dreadfully missing the impact it had caused. As foreign delegates, reporters, and big names poured into Alexandria and Port Said in the droves, they were greeted by the finest of neo-Mamluk architecture influenced heavily with the French. Truly, downtown Cairo had been modeled after Paris, the City of Lights, itself, and it was expected to be a major administrative and residential hub in coming years.
In the streets the New Army of Egypt, eschewing their Turkish roots and adopting a more Westernised model, flashed glittering sabres in a display of miltary prowess and horseback skills against an enemy suspiciously clad in French and Ottoman uniforms, demonstrating that an Eastern backwater had achieved victory against a Continental Power if not a taste in good uniforms. Their stunts, atop Arabian horses and replicating the nomads of the steppes, wowed audiences from all around.
But Cairo was nothing if not the heir of thr legendary Library of Alexandria in literature. An extensive pet project of incumbent Minister of Education Ali Pasha Mubarak, the Egyptian National Library and Archives was opened for the first time, possessing documentsas old as Roman Aegyptus itself.
And in the museums and hotels, exhibitions and displays publicised the recent discovery of several tombs in the Valley of Kings, as well as the reclamation of Egyptian relics from French museums; the Venus de Milo stood garbed in a modest jilbab. In essence the Alid Dynasty now claimed legitimacy from five thousand years of history of an Egypt that was now free. Premiering too was Giuseppe Verdi's long-awaited and much-acclaimed Aida.
And then the coronation, a sacrosanct ceremony wherein Ismail of Egypt bore the Twin Crown upon his own brow; mandate came from God, who had guided his path to this long awaited moment, before being sworn in in front of his cabinet by accepting the Sword of Muhammad Ali, the very same sword that vanquished Turks all the way to Konya. The festivities would be remembered for years long after, and such a buzz had not been seen since the opening of the Canal.
But his excitement had to be ceased, for the moment. Business was at hand.
Taking a sip to water his throat, Isma'il moved on. "Our first agenda, Royal Highnesses and Honourable Gentlemen; France. The damage wrought upon it by the combined forces in the Franco-German War has proved to be great, much too great a brunt for such a nation to bear. Thousands, if not millions, of francs and livres will have to be invested to give the state a fighting chance.
"Recognising the part Egypt played, as an agent of the Ottoman Empire, in the war, We hereby pledge our support to the Second Empire of France." Isma'il gave it a moment to sink in; the Republic was gone, the Commune damaged beyond repair.
"But what say you, O Royal Highnesses and Honourable Gentlemen? What shall be done for France?"