The catalyst for imperial tenure over Somali…

The catalyst for imperial tenure over Somali territory is Egypt under its ambitious ruler, Khedive Ismail.

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, this Ottoman vassal seeks to carve out for Egypt a swath of territory in the Horn of Africa.

However, the Sudanese anti-Egyptian Mahdist revolt that broke out in 1884 had shattered the khedive's plan for imperial aggrandizement.

The Egyptians needed British help to evacuate their troops marooned in Sudan and on the Somali coast.