If the Ottoman Empire collapses, the Russians will control all of the outlets
from the Black Sea, and become an important Mediterranean power.
The British and French don't want that.
So the British and French actually intervene
to defeat the forces of the Egyptians and protect the Ottoman Empire.
There is an important naval battle here.
And the effect of this is to give the Ottoman Empire a second wind
with this European support.
But my larger point is simply that the Islamic world is adapting in this
situation, and there are some definite sources of strength.
Egypt, though the 1850s and 1860s,
actually remains a relatively robust power.
In fact the Egyptians working with the French government,
but also with some British support, work on completing the historic Suez Canal
that will link the Mediterranean directly with the Red Sea.
And dramatically ease the movement of steamships between Europe and
India and the rest of Asia.
This is an enormous event in the globalization of the world.
And here is an illustration in which people are celebrating the opening of
the Suez Canal.
You see all the flags that are flying, those are Egyptian flags.
And the Ottoman Empire comes out of all this turbulence determined to embark on
a period of reform.
This period of reform is usually just referred to by the expression Tanzimat.
In the 1850s, 1860s, there are a number of liberal reforms, changing
the administration of justice, moving towards the creation of a constitution.
Indeed, by the beginning of the 1870s,
the Ottoman Empire has even created a Parliament, extending civil rights.
And giving more of its many ethnic communities a voice in the overall
governance of the empire, under Sultan Abdul Hamid.