Convention pour l'Evacuation de l'Egypte,

EVACUATING NAPOLEON'S TROOPS FROM EGYPT: THE TREATY OF EL-ARISH

passée entre les citoyens DESAIX, Général de division, et POUSSIELGUE, Administrateur général des finances, plénipotentiaires de Général en Chef KLEBER.

First edition. Folio. Single sheet folded to make 4pp. Lightly spotted and toned, tissue repairs to fold. Housed in a quarter calf slipcase & chemise. [Cairo, "Au Quartier- général de Ssalehhyéh, le 8 pluviôse an 8 de la République", J.-J. Marcel (?)],

A rare Cairo imprint: the Treaty of El-Arish, stipulating the evacuation of Napoleon's troops from Egypt.

 

Offering proof of his desire "d'arrêter l'effusion de sang", General Kleber signed the Treaty of El-Arish which marked the conclusion of the French occupation of Egypt. The convention was made between Kleber and Mustafa Rachid as at this time Egypt was still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire.

 

The twenty-two articles in this convention confirm that the French will withdraw "avec armes, baggages et effets" to Alexandria, Rosette and Abou-Qry before embarking on ships to take them back to France. A three-month armistice would be observed to allow for the evacuation to occur in peace, and a timetable is established for the withdrawal from Qattyéh, Ssalahhyéh, Manourah, Belbeys, the delta and finally Cairo. The western bank of the Nile would remain in French hands until the evacuation, which would take no longer than forty-five days, was complete.

 

So as to expedite French withdrawal, Turkish troops were required to maintain a distance from the French and Kleber guaranteed that his troops would not create any disturbances in the process. Partly to safeguard this, he would receive stores of meat, rice, barley and straw. Importantly, the restitution of goods and properties of local Egyptians (or equivalent reimbursement) would begin as soon as the French were gone. To further expedite the withdrawal, French ships were to have free passage and, to prevent the spread of the plague to Europe, no one suffering any illness was permitted to embark.

 

The evacuation did not proceed as planned as both Great Britain and Russia rejected the treaty. Another two years would pass before the Treaty of Paris would be signed. However, when the French did evacuate they essentially adhered to the terms of this treaty.  Of additional interest, the Treaty of Paris was not printed in Egypt.

 

"The French occupation of Egypt in 1798 is a turning point in the history of modern Egypt. It was the first direct contact of Egypt with the West after the Crusades" (Haq). Among the many innovations the French brought with them - and Egyptian scientists learned much from observing French chemistry experiments - was the printing press, which marked the introduction of a sophisticated movable type plus Arabic script.

 

However, just as Napoleon brought this method of printing into Cairo, so too with the evacuation of the French did he take it away. It wasn't until 1822, by the order of viceroy Mehemet Ali that a press was re-established in Egypt.  

 

OCLC locates copies at BnF and Genva.

 

Haq, M., "Impact of the West on Modern Egyptian Thought: Early Impressions" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 40 (1979), p.979.

Stock Code: 247336