Imagined empires : a history of revolt in Egypt / Zeinab Abul-Magd.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abul-Magd, Zeinab, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elite (Social sciences).

History.

Colonial influence.

Revolutions.

Government, Resistance to.

Working class--Political activity.

Peasants--Political activity.

Peasants.

Egypt--Politics and government.

Egypt.

Politics and government.

Peasants--Political activity--Egypt--History.

Working class--Political activity--Egypt--History.

Working class.

Government, Resistance to--Egypt--History.

Revolutions--Egypt--History.

Imperialism--History.

Imperialism.

Egypt--Colonial influence.

Elite (Social sciences)--Egypt--History.

Physical Description:

vii, 201 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2013.

Summary:

Through a microhistory of Oina, a small province in Upper Egypt, this book investigates how five world empires attempted to assume hegemony and brought about environmental crises in the region over the last five centuries. Imagined Empires charts modes of subaltern rebellion in Egypt's south against the destructive policies of colonial intruders and collaborating local elites. Zeinab Abul-Magd vividly narrates stories of banditry, sabotage, flight, and massive popular uprisings to challenge myths of imperial competence. Revealing forms of protest against "imagined; empires," the book shows how such imperial efforts failed in achieving their professed goals and caused environmental destruction in Qina Province. As the book deconstructs myths about early modern and modern world hegemons, it reveals that imperial modernity and its market economy altered existing systems of landownefship, irrigation, and trade with devastating results, including outbreaks of plague and cholera. The book also deconstructs myths in Egyptian historiography, highlighting the problems of a Cairo-centered idea of the Egyptian nation-state. The book covers the informal and formal empires of the Ottomans, the French, Muhammad Air, and the British. It alludes to the U.S. and its failed market economy in Upper Egypt, which partially spurred Qina's participation in the 2011 revolution. Imagined Empires is a timely addition to Middle Eastern and world history. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Imagined Empires, Real Rebels

Ottomans, Plague, and Revolt (1500-1800)

French, Plague Encore, and Jihad (1798-1801)

The Pasha's Settlers, Bulls, and Bandits (1805-1848)

A "Communist" Revolution (1848-1882)

Rebellion in the Time of Cholera (1882-1950)

Epilogue: America : Last Imagined Empire?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780520275522

0520275527

9780520275539

0520275535

OCLC:

828143784