Cromer, Evelyn Baring, 1st earl of
Cromer, Evelyn Baring, 1st earl of
(ēv`lĭn bâr`ĭng krō`mər), 1841–1917, British administrator in Egypt. Appointed (1877) first British commissioner of the Egyptian public debt office, he directed investigations by France and England into the bankrupt administration of Ismail PashaIsmail Pasha, 1830–95, ruler of Egypt (1863–79), son of Ibrahim Pasha. He succeeded his uncle Said Pasha as ruler. Ismail used the Egyptian cotton crop, enormously enhanced in value by the American Civil War, to obtain credits for grandiose schemes, including
..... Click the link for more information. . After the deposition of Ismail and accession of Tewfik PashaTewfik Pasha
(Muhammad Tewfik) , 1852–92, khedive of Egypt (1879–92). He acceded to office when his father, Ismail Pasha, was deposed. In 1880, Tewfik accepted joint French-British control over the nation's finances.
..... Click the link for more information. , Baring became (1879) British controller general in Egypt. He was (1880–83) finance minister in India and returned to Egypt after Arabi Pasha's nationalist revolt to become British agent and consul general in 1883. Until his resignation in 1907, Baring (created Baron Cromer in 1892 and earl in 1901) was the virtual ruler of Egypt. Faced with the Mahdist rebellion in Sudan, he recommended Egyptian withdrawal and only reluctantly agreed to the appointment of Charles George GordonGordon, Charles George,
1833–85, British soldier and administrator. He served in the Crimean War, went to China in the expedition of 1860, taking part in the capture of Beijing, and in 1863 took over the command of F. T.
..... Click the link for more information. to arrange the evacuation. He reformed Egyptian finances, administration, and education; improved the railroads; and developed methods of agriculture and irrigation. After the reconquest (1896–98) of Sudan, he devised the Anglo-Egyptian system of government. Cromer was a Greek scholar and wrote books on imperial and Egyptian affairs.
Bibliography
See study by J. Marlowe (1970).