„Kraj podobny do starego domu...”. Urzędnicy XIX-wiecznego Egiptu oczami Polaków
„A Country Similar to an Old House…”. Officials of the 19th-Century Egypt According to the Polish People

Author(s): Emil Hoff
Subject(s): 19th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: modernization of Egypt; Muhammad Ali; Poles in Egypt; Egyptian bureaucracy
Summary/Abstract: In the period between Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign and the outbreak of World War I Egypt underwent a rapid modernization. Pashas of Egypt drew inspiration mainly from Europe, however they managed to imitate the West only superficially. In the 19th century, Egypt developed neither the bureaucratic system in the modern meaning of this term nor the political culture. The changes in Egypt were witnessed among others by the Poles arriving there as tourists, emigrants, pilgrims or patients. The Egyptian bureaucracy, became the subject of their numerous descriptions. In this paper, the Polish accounts of the Egyptian officials both at the central and local levels are compiled. They depict the Egyptian administration as an ineffective system generating numerous malpractices. The reasons for that were sought in the rulers’ erroneous policy, in the innate qualities of Egyptians themselves though to be incapable of adopting civic attitudes by their very nature, and also in activities of the Europeans who had made their fortunes and careers on the Nile not caring much for the natives.

• Details
• Contents