Cause:
Since 1840, while Egypt had been virtually independent, Great Britain had been regarded as the special champion of Turkish suzerainty; France as the protector of the Viceroys of Egypt. The construction of the Suez Canal, chiefly engineered by France and Great Britain, made Egypt of new importance, as the direct route to India now lay through the Red Sea. An Anglo-French financial control was established to secure payment of interest on the enormous sums lent to the Khedive Ismail. British influence became paramount, and the British Government gradually assumed the responsibility for good government in Egypt.