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ruled (1854 - 1863) |
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Said, Mohamed Ali's son, succeeded his nephew Abbas
as a viceroy .
Unlike Abbas, Said continued the modernization policies of his father.
In the first year of his rule, the new Ottoman
legal code was finally implemented. Said also continued to support
the Ottomans in the Crimean War with Egyptian troops.
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Ferdinand
De Lesseps, French Engineer, who introduced the idea of Suez
Canal
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In the next year, Said had the new railway between Cairo
and Alexandria
completed and began further extensions in the railway project.
Said pursed efforts to Egyptianize the government so he replaced the
Turkish language with Arabic in the administration.
He was also responsible for the reforms of land laws and the establishment
of the first bank in Egypt.
In 1856, Said gave Ferdinand de Lesseps the
Suez Canal
concession.
The concession was unfavorable to Egypt. The Egyptian side was required
to provide workers and diggers of whom more than 100 thousands died.
Said had to secure a foreign loan in order to finance his share in
the canal. This increased the Egyptian national debt.
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An
imaginary scene of De Lesseps offering his Canal plan to the
Khedive |
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In 1857, other concessions were given to establish the telegram system
and a Nile steamship company.
In 1858, the full railway line connecting between Cairo, Alexandria
and Suez
was opened.
Said died in 1863 and was succeeded by his other nephew Ismail,
son of his brother Tusun.
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