Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

Donate

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Email
  • RSS
  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2023 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Egypt

Subjects not Subjected

Juan Cole 09/12/2007

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email
0 Shares

At the Napoleon’s Egypt blog, several letters are available on the early days of the occupation, some of them by members of the team of scientists Bonaparte brought with him. Excerpt:

‘ The port of Alexandria is divided into two very beautiful bays (with no great depth of water), separated by a dike or causeway near 1200 yards in length, and reaching to the Pharos, that is to say, to the site of that ancient and magnificent edifice, from whence vessels were discovered at the distance of thirty or forty leagues. . .

I shall say nothing more of this city; except that is inhabitants, though vanquished, are not in a state of complete subjection, nor likely to be so for a long time to come. We must use policy here, for we are not strong enough to do otherwise(7). For the rest, we respect their religion, their manners, and above all, their women; these last, it must be confessed, are not mightily engaging. In short, they are a hideous, and abominable race.’
‘

Filed Under: Egypt

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter and have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.

Twitter

Follow Juan Cole @jricole or Informed Comment @infcomment on Twitter

Facebook



Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2023 All Rights Reserved

Posting....