The first article covered how cotton of ancient times in Pakistan to Egypt was produced and how Europe helped Egypt get the finances they need to modernize their country. Now I would like to go further into this interesting research.
This cotton crop of Egypt created interest to all of Europe because Europe wanted to possess Egypt and turn Egypt into a one crop colonial country as a resource to European manufacturing.
During this time in the 1800’s, Mohammed Ali controlled tremendous sums of money that was gained from the sale of cotton to Europe. Toward the end of 1847, the aged Mohammed’s previous sharp mind gave away and was no longer capable to administer the government. In September 1848, His successor, Ibrahim was acknowledged ruler but he died in November of the same year.
The American Civil War started in 1861 which diminished the supply of cotton in America for a period of time. As a result, Egypt became the U.S.A.’s supplier of cotton. The price of exporting cotton in 1862 was an average of $16 million dollars and quickly increased to $56 million dollars.
In 1863, Mohammad Ali’s grandson,Ismail, took over the leadership of Egypt. He reigned from 1863 to 1879. He earned an excellent education in France which enabled him to lead his country. He was a renowned traveler throughout Europe. His desire was that Cairo would rival modern Paris. He created what was known as “The Paris on the Nile”. As cotton exports increased, he spent Egyptian money without restraint. He opened another resource for Egypt with Egyptian currency that Europe longed for. Ismail built the Suez Canal which aided in a faster route for exporting the cotton.
After the Civil War in America, Egypt’s cotton production failed as U.S. recovered and re-entered the cotton manufacturing market. It was not cotton that failed Egypt but the promise of tremendous wealth through Egypt’s colonization by Europe. Ismail borrowed so much money from the European banks whose terms were unfair that Egypt could not pay back the debt to the European banks. In 1876, Britain and France repossessed Egypt because of these loans and Egypt came under European control. They told Ismail to leave Egypt and he did.
Although cotton did change Egypt and thus permitting it to flow into the modern world, it was still being controlled by Europe until 1952.
Even today, cotton is a major cash crop of Egypt and will be in the future years to come. Egyptian cotton is superior in quality to other cotton worldwide due to the long fiber cotton that is softer and stronger. The demand was so great that the Egyptians could hardly buy products made from their own cotton cloth.
Currently, manufacturing in Egypt has developed tremendously the past 30 years. Many textile factories opened throughout Egypt and Mahla, a city south of Cairo which is well known for specialized factories producing the finest cotton in all of Egypt. Other industrial sites opened up in other cities located on the Cairo-Alexandria Highway. This production has enabled Egypt to supply the finest cotton on the market today. Throughout Egypt, there are many shops selling Egyptian cotton clothing. Many of the districts in Egypt are well-known for the largest selection and variety of cotton products.
It is important to carefully look for pure cotton products and not the blended fibers. Pure cotton will be more expensive than the blended fiber cotton. One of the items Egypt manufactures is called a Coverta which is actually a cotton blanket. They are made of cotton blended with heavy fibers that keeps the body warm. They are affordably prices as well. Another wonderful product of cotton is the cotton shower robes for either gender that are extremely soft and made of pure Egyptian cotton made in Syria. Also; table cloths, napkins, table mats are popular items. Today, Egyptian cotton sheets are extremely popular in the western world because of its superior quality and softness. Egyptian cotton sheets and other products such as towels, bath robes, and table cloths are available outside of Egypt, worldwide. It should be noted that the shower robes and cotton towels are supplied at the most luxurious hotels.
In conclusion of this article, I hope you have received more information on Egyptian cotton with a better understanding of Egypt’s and Europe’s role in the production of cotton and how it is superior to all other cotton.