THE publication of the latest translation in English of the Memoirs of Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), the Last Khedive of Egypt, comes at an auspicious time. His reign (1892-1914) at the turn of the 20th century was wrecked with problems similar to those we are witnessing now. Super powers are still fighting for world supremacy, a more subtle form of colonialism driven by purely economic prerogatives is prevalent, religion is used and misused for political reasons and double-standard policies are thriving. What has changed is the universal and gradual loss of moral landmarks. In an ever-increasing consumer society, people are respected, loved and envied for their material possessions and no longer for their human and moral qualities.
These memoirs are both touching and informative. They throw a new light on Egypt’s complex history, highlighting the Khedive’s unbearably difficult position. They also show a man who never failed in his duties. Abbas Hilmi II always put the interests of Egypt and his love for the country above his own: Until the very end his thoughts and actions were guided by a true nobleness of heart.
Thanks to the efforts of the Khedive’s grandson, Prince Abbas Hilmi, the complete archives of Abbas Hilmi II have been preserved: “My grandfather was extremely well organized. All his papers were kept in a meticulous order in huge filing cabinets. He even kept his personal correspondence with his doctor. At the time of his death in Geneva during World War II, these voluminous filing cabinets were transferred to a bank and stacked in a room under the care of my aunt, the Khedive’s sister. When she died in the early 1970s, I inherited all these archives. I decided then to set up the Mohamed Ali Foundation in London and loaned these archives to the University of Durham where they have been preserved ever since in an impeccable condition. My grandfather wrote his memoirs both in French and in Arabic but the Arabic version was lost. Only one chapter is left. Fearing that something might happen to the Arabic version, my grandfather’s secretary hid the manuscript so well, we never found it,” explains Prince Abbas Hilmi.
Historians have not only neglected the reign of Abbas Hilmi II but he, himself, is mostly known through the works written by his enemies. In her excellent introduction, Amira Sonbol explains that Abbas Hilmi addresses his memoirs to the Egyptian people “telling them what he had hoped to accomplish for Egypt, what he did accomplish, and where his failures lay. He wanted to explain his actions and those of his father, and thereby regain the place due to him in Egypt’s history”.
In his memoirs, Abbas Hilmi II tells us that his love for Egypt inspired his efforts to serve Egypt and restore its independence and that prosperity should never be weakened or wrecked by self-interest.
He admits that his reign began too early, he was only 17: “One must really love one’s country to understand what it is to govern without experience under the tutelage of a foreign occupation”.
His rule also ended too soon. At the age of 40, he went into exile. According to his grandson, Abbas Hilmi II was expecting to be exiled and he had prepared his exit in every way. He was extremely clever and became wealthy through his own doing. He turned huge swamps in Egypt and Turkey into rich arable land. At this point, Prince Abbas Hilmi tells a funny anecdote: “My grandfather decided to build a Swiss style villa to house the administrative offices of his agricultural estate in Turkey and a railway station in King Mariout on the outskirts of Alexandria in Egypt. When the plans were finalized, the person in charge mixed the papers and the railway station was built by mistake in the midst of fields in Turkey and a quaint railway station looking like a Swiss chalet was constructed in King Mariout,” says Prince Abbas Hilmi roaring with laughter.
In the course of his exile, Abbas Hilmi II gradually lost his wealth. Turkey’s ruler felt it was too much power for one man and confiscated all his wealth. The impressive mansion he had built in Istanbul, the bank he had set up, the hotels he had built, the swampland he had cultivated, everything was taken away from him. In 1929, he also lost the fortune he had invested in the stock market and finally “his beloved yacht the Nimet-Allah was requisitioned by the German Army during World War II, and it was eventually destroyed by the Allies. “He loved this boat and spent so much time on it, he practically lived on it,” explains Prince Abbas Hilmi.
Khedive Abbas Hilmi II is recognized now as a leading Egyptian nationalist. Until the end of his life he strongly believed that as long as England occupied Egypt, it could never be ruled by a democratic regime. As the last Khedive and the seventh member of the Muhammad Ali dynasty to rule Egypt, he inherited with his predecessors a complex political situation. In his memoirs he writes about the foreign influences in Egypt as well as the gradual Anglicization of Egypt and recalls how Muhammad Ali once said that: “The big fish eats the small fish, and England needs my country to provide Malta and Gibraltar with wheat. Sooner or later England will seize Egypt.”
This premonition became a reality in 1882 when according to Abbas Hilmi II: “England never conquered Egypt; it simply took it”.
He is credited for undertaking the creation of the Egyptian University and most of the existing museums in Cairo were set up during his rule. However, these and other political achievements are largely ignored by historians.
These memories give us a ruler’s inside view of a tumultuous period of history but the reader is left craving for more. Abbas Hilmi II led an eventful life, which can easily form the basis for a regal biography.
And one might only wish that with this new version of his memoirs in English, we will not have to wait too long.
