Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt: An Environmental History (Studies in Environment and History)

382 Pages·2011·2.95 MB·English

by  Alan Mikhail

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NATURE AND EMPIRE IN OTTOMAN EGYPT
InoneofthefirstenvironmentalhistoriesoftheOttomanEmpire,
Alan Mikhail examines relations between the empire and its most
lucrativeprovinceofEgypt.Basedonboththelocalrecordsofvari-
oustownsandvillagesinruralEgyptandtheimperialordersofthe
Ottomanstate,thisbookchartshowchangesinthecontrolofnatu-
ralresourcesfundamentallyalteredthenatureofOttomanimperial
sovereigntyinEgyptandthroughouttheempire.Inrevealinghow
Egyptianpeasantswereabletousetheirknowledgeandexperience
oflocalenvironmentstoforcethehandoftheimperialstate,Nature
andEmpireinOttomanEgypttellsastoryoftheconnectionsofempire
stretchingfromcanalsintheEgyptiancountrysidetothepalacein
Istanbul,fromAnatolian foreststo the shoresof the RedSea, and
fromaplagueflea’sbitetothefortunesofoneofthemostpowerful
statesoftheearlymodernworld.
AlanMikhailisAssistantProfessorintheDepartmentofHistoryat
Yale University. His articles have appeared in journals such as the
InternationalJournalofMiddleEastStudies,theJournaloftheEconomic
and Social History of the Orient, theBulletin of the History of Medicine,
Akhba¯ral-Adab,andWijha¯tNa.zar.

StudiesinEnvironmentandHistory
Editors
DonaldWorster,UniversityofKansas
J.R.McNeill,GeorgetownUniversity
EditorEmeritus
AlfredW.Crosby,UniversityofTexasatAustin
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900–1900,SecondEdition
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RobertHarms GamesAgainstNature:AnEco-CulturalHistoryoftheNunuof
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WarrenDean BrazilandtheStruggleforRubber:AStudyinEnvironmentalHistory
SamuelP.Hays Beauty,Health,andPermanence:EnvironmentalPoliticsinthe
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DonaldWorster TheEndsoftheEarth:PerspectivesonModernEnvironmental
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MichaelWilliams AmericansandTheirForests:AHistoricalGeography
TimothySilver ANewFaceontheCountryside:Indians,Colonists,andSlavesinthe
SouthAtlanticForests,1500–1800
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History
ElinorG.K.Melville APlagueofSheep:EnvironmentalConsequencesoftheConquest
ofMexico
RichardH.Grove GreenImperialism:ColonialExpansion,TropicalIslandEdens
andtheOriginsofEnvironmentalism,1600–1860
MarkElvinandTsui’jungLiu SedimentsofTime:EnvironmentandSocietyin
ChineseHistory
RobertB.Marks Tigers,Rice,Silk,andSilt:EnvironmentandEconomyinLate
ImperialSouthChina
ThomasDunlap NatureandtheEnglishDiaspora
AndrewC.Isenberg TheDestructionoftheBison:AnEnvironmentalHistory
EdmundRussell WarandNature:FightingHumansandInsectswithChemicals
fromWorldWarItoSilentSpring
JudithShapiro Mao’sWarAgainstNature:PoliticsandtheEnvironmentin
RevolutionaryChina
(continuedafterIndex)

ATURE AND MPIRE
N E
IN TTOMAN GYPT
O E
an environmental history
Alan Mikhail
YaleUniversity
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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(cid:2)C AlanMikhail2011
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2011
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
Mikhail,Alan,
NatureandempireinOttomanEgypt:anenvironmentalhistory/AlanMikhail.
p. cm.–(Studiesinenvironmentandhistory)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-00876-2(hardback)
1.Humanecology–Egypt. 2.Humanbeings–Effectofenvironmenton–Egypt.
3.Irrigation–Socialaspects–Egypt. 4.Egypt–History–1517–1882. 5.Technology
andcivilization. I.Title. II.Series.
gf711.m55 2011
304.20962–dc22 2010047013
isbn978-1-107-00876-2Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls
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