The ambitions of British policy

The Nile was and still is Egypt's, but it was a difficult path in the face of the Egyptian Kingdom. We see that the Mahdist era has ended with the victory of the Egyptian and British forces in Omdurman.

This is the text of a letter from Boutros Pasha Ghali, Egyptian Foreign Minister, to Lord Cromer, dated October 1898, in response to his memorandum regarding the Fashoda crisis:

"The government of His Highness [the Khedive] has been absent from your Excellency's attention, while at times the occupation of the Sudan provinces, from which the Mahdists withdrew, is a matter of great importance. The Nile Valley, for which Egypt has made great sacrifices in the past.

The Fashoda issue is now the subject of discussion between England and France. The Egyptian government asks you to assist us with your good mediation to Lord Salisbury, so that Egypt's indisputable rights may be recognized. And that the British government, which withdrew its troops at the time of the Mahdist uprising, will be compensated.