Convention of London (1840)

For other treaties and conventions signed in London, see Treaty of London

Convention of London

Signed	15 July 1840
Location	London
Signatories	United Kingdom Austrian Empire Prussia Russian Empire Ottoman Empire

The Convention of London of 1840 was a treaty with the formal title of Convention for the Pacification of the Levant, signed on 15 July 1840 between the European Great Powers of United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia, Russia on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire on the other.

The treaty summarized recent agreements concerning the Ottoman Empire and its ongoing war with Muhammad Ali's Egypt, brought about by the Great Powers' fear of the destabilizing effect an Ottoman collapse would have on Europe. The signatories offered to Muhammad Ali and his heirs permanent control over Egypt and the Eyalet of Acre (roughly what is now Israel), provided that these territories would remain part of the Ottoman Empire and that he agreed within ten days to withdraw from the rest of Syria and returned to Sultan Abdülmecid I the Ottoman fleet which had defected to Alexandria. Muhammad Ali was also to immediately withdraw its forces from Arabia, the Holy Cities, Crete, the district of Adana, and all of the Ottoman Empire.

The European powers agreed to use all possible means of persuasion to effect this agreement, but Muhammad Ali, backed by France, refused to accept its terms. This led to the Oriental Crisis of 1840 during which British and Austrian forces attacked Acre, defeating his troops late in 1840. Muhammad Ali's forces faced increasing military pressure from Europe and the Ottoman Empire, fought a losing battle against insurgents in its captured territories, and saw the general deterioration of its military from the strain of the recent wars.

Muhammad Ali finally accepted the terms of the Convention and the firmans subsequently issued by the sultan, confirming his rule over Egypt and the Sudan. He withdrew from Syria and Crete and sent back the Ottoman fleet. The London Convention and the firmans were the legal basis for Egypt's status as a privileged Ottoman province. Later Egyptian nationalists cited them to discredit claims for the British occupation.

See also

• History of Ottoman Egypt
• History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty

References

• Goldschmidt, A.; Johnston, R. (2004), Historical Dictionary of Egypt (3rd ed.), American University in Cairo Press, p. 243
• Berger, M. (1960), Military Elite and Social Change: Egypt Since Napoleon, Princeton: Center for International Studies, p. 11
• Rich, N. (1992), Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

External links

• Convention between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia and Turkey for the pacification of the Levant (text of the treaty, published in William Cargill: The Foreign Affairs of Great Britain; Google Books)