Transcript Document

Greeks had been present in
the Ottoman province of
Egypt for centuries.
Mohammed Ali, vizier and
then semi-autonomous
ruler of Egypt from 1805 to
1848, endeavoured to
westernize the country.
Actively encouraged
Greeks to settle in Egypt.
Prominent among the early
settlers were the Tossizza
brothers and Etienne
Zizinia.
The Millet-I Rum
The Greeks of Egypt were,
as everywhere else in the
Ottoman Empire, were
governed by the leader of
the Orthodox Church. In
Egypt, they were under the
immediate jurisdiction of
the Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Millet-I Rum in Egypt
was dominated numerically
by Arab Orthodox,
especially Syrians.
To the Egyptians, the
Greeks were the “Roumi”
people.
Ismail Pasha Khedive became
the new vizier.
1855: Greece became a
Capitulatory Power. Greek
citizens in Egypt would
henceforth be covered by the
laws of Capitulation: under the
legal jurisdiction the Greek
Consulate; exempt from
Ottoman laws; no taxes, etc.
Greeks from kingdom began to
migrate; Ottoman Greeks in
Egypt obtained Greek
citizenship.
Greeks quickly became the
dominant merchant
community.
The American Civil War, 1861-1864.
Egyptian cotton filled the void.
Prices soared and huge profits were to be
made.
Because of the extensive Greek diaspora
commercial network, Greek merchants
were ideally poised to dominate the
cotton trade.
Key merchant families, like the Benakis,
the Rodochanacis, and the Averoffs
began to accumulate huge fortunes.
Greeks played key roles at
every stage of the
process.
1. Provided loans to Egypt
peasant farmers.
2. Transportation for farms
to ginning factories.
4. Greeks owned 75% of
all cotton gins by 1900.
5. 25% of all exported
cotton went through Greek
owned brokerage houses.
6. 30% of other brokerage
houses were run by
Greeks.
Ioannis Sakellaridis developed a new
strain of cotton, the “Sakel”. It quickly
became the most sought after cotton in the
world.
The Evangelismos
Cathedral of Alexandria.
When Greece became a
Capitulatory Power in 1885
a power struggled ensued
between Athens and
Constantinople over who
controlled the Greeks of
Egypt.
Secular Greek communities
established in Alexandria
and Cairo; recognized by
the Patriarchate in 1863.
Orthodox Arabs still in the
Millet, but not in the
Communities.
1876: Sultan declared Egypt to be bankrupt. Consortium of
European, mainly British, financiers take control of its finances.
1875: Establishment of Mixed Courts makes even more
attractive to foreign merchants.
1882: after months of rioting, British troops invade. Though still
a possession of the Ottoman Sultan, Britain ruled Egypt.
British, French and other western merchants houses take over
the economy.
Even though Greeks were not the leading merchants any more,
they still experienced a Golden Age of prosperity under British
rule.
Construction
on the Suez
Canal began in
1858, and
many Greeks
islanders
migrated as
construction
workers
After the canal was
opened, Greeks,
because of the naval
experience, were hired
to operate it.
The opening of the Suez Canal
expanded even further the
export economy of Egypt, and
Greeks in the cotton trade grew
even richer.
Emmanuel Benaki
The rich and famous: this is the scene of the announcement of the
engagement of two of richest Greek families, the Benaki and the
Choremi in 1888. The Greek community was strictly endogamous.
Giorgios Averoff is another
prime example of the
Alexandrian elite. He
migrated from Ottoman
Epiros during the 1850s.
Became a Greek citizen but
spent most of his life in
Egypt. Amassed a vast
fortune in the cotton
industry. He was one the
ones who answered the call
of Trikoupis. He moved
between Athens and
Alexandria and supported
public works in both cities,
including paying for the
Olympic Stadium for the
1896 games.
Greeks became
prominent in
numerous other
industries,
tanning, food
production, and
others.
Nestor Gianaclis: the King
of the Egyptian Cigarette.
Developed a vast and
lucrative industrial and
commercial empire. His
products were known
around the world.
As well owning
numerous
cigarette
factories,
Gianaclis also
founded Egypt’s
first winery.
The majority of the
Greeks in Egypt what
“Middle Class”–
especially shopkeepers, small
vendors and clerks.
See the chart.
"The Greek to the ordinary [Egyptian] man in the street was
that Dimitri or Apostoli who arrived in the village a poor man,
opened a small grocery and within a few years became the
owner of a large commercial enterprise and extensive
properties." , Mahmoud Abul-Fath in “Al-Ahram” newspaper,
October 12, 1924.
The Greek Bourgeoisie at Play.
1914: The British Protectorate.
Status of non-Greek citizen
Greeks- 1913- 1918.
Emergence of Egyptian
nationalism.
1919: anti-Greek riots in Cairo
and Alexandria.
1922: the double dilemma:
Lausanne and Declaration of
Independence.
Egypt became an
independent
Constitutional Monarchy
under King Fu’ad I.
Britain still “overseeing”
power.
Beginning the process of
Egyptianization.
The Greeks, like all
“resident aliens” lost their
political rights.
Non-Greek citizen Greeks
became Egyptians.
The Communities were
stripped of their legal
status.
1937: Treat of Montreaux:
abolition of Capitulations
and Mixed Courts.
Greeks were either Egyptians
or “foreigners” who needed
visa, permits, etc.
Arabic began to be required
in the Greek schools.
“Al-Yunani Al-Mutamassir”
[“The Egyptianized Greek”]
newspaper began to be
published.
Greek leftists (see the article
by Gorman) and students
began to support the
Egyptian anti-imperial cause.
After WWII,
Egyptians grew
disillusioned
with the
monarchy over
its failure to
achieve full
independence
from Britain.
Black Saturday:
January 26, 1952.
Anti-foreigners
rioting.
July 17, 1952: The
Free Corps coup.
Gamal Abdel-Nasser became
leader of Egypt.
Independence,
nationalization, and socialism.
1956: The Suez Crisis: Egypt
fights Britain, France and
Israel. Seizes and nationalizes
the canal. Britons and French
expelled and foreign property
confiscated.
Over the course of 1961 and
1962, Nasser enacted the full
confiscation of foreign
property. Greeks left en
masse, many migrating to
Canada.
No cultural figure better
captures the liminal aspect
of the Greeks of Egypt.
Cosmopolitan, mulitilingual, and uncertain of
his own cultural identity,
his poetry truly captures
the essence of diaspora.