10 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



are remembered, for, in France, Egyptian cotton is known by the 

 name of " Jumel " ; in Germany, Switzerland, and in the other coun- 

 tries using Egyptian cotton by the name of " Maco. " The only 

 exceptions are the English-speaking countries, such as England and 

 North America, where the name of " Maco " is almost unknown, and 

 is therefore not used in commercial language. 



A small portion of the Egyptian cotton crop was absorbed by 

 the Egyptian cotton industry, which was introduced likewise by 

 Jumel, but far the greater portion went abroad. The principal 

 customers were Marseilles, England, Trieste, Leghorn, and Genoa. 

 Under Mohammed Ali the profitable cotton traffic was a State 

 monopoly, and was the chief source of income for his great military 

 expenditure. He sold cotton to Europe at the commencement by 

 employing alternately a small number of Alexandrian merchants, 

 among whom all kinds of unscrupulous influences made themselves 

 felt. In 1835 public auction sales were introduced, and the cotton 

 sold to the highest bidder. When in 1836 to 1837, on account of the 

 cotton crisis, the stocks began to accumulate in Alexandria consider- 

 ably, the Pasha began to sell his cotton direct to Europe, and in these 

 transactions he fixed a minimum price of 16 Talleri, but this arbitrary 

 system came suddenly to an end. In 1838 the Pasha returned to his 

 old practice of making private settlements with several favourites. 



The cultivation of cotton during that time did not develop, 

 because the fellah, owing to the monopoly, could not make a profit 

 on it, and consequently he took for cotton cultivation only the poorest 

 soil, and just enough to comply with the Government regulations. It 

 took 10 years before the crop reached again the figures of 1824, and 

 the rapidly falling prices, which were on an average fluctuating 

 between 614 piasters in 1834 and 120 piasters per kantar is 1845 

 resulted for the fellaheen a still smaller profit. The quality of the Jumel 

 cotton was considerably on the decline as early as 1840. It had 

 been continually crossed, and a special Egyptian kind, which was 

 quite different from the original Jumel, had come into existence. The 

 personal interest of the fellaheen was never appealed to in this great 

 economic system, and the Pasha had to limit the cultivation of cotton 

 on those acres which he could control through his officials. In 1842 

 the State monopoly on agricultural products was abolished, but this 

 did not cause any noteworthy extension, and, during the last year of 

 the invalided Mohammed Ali 's actual reign, 1843, the cotton exports 

 came to only 261,000 kantars, thus showing a very slight increase 

 during 20 years, especially after the surprisingly quick development 

 at the commencement. 



Under Abbas Pasha (1848 to 1854) the fellaheen found time to 

 produce certain quantities of cotton in excess of the taxed quantities, 

 which were used for the free commerce, and were bought in the 

 interior by agents of Greek, French and other foreign merchants in 

 Alexandria. Cotton cultivation increased correspondingly, and in 

 1852 670,000 kantars, the largest Egyptian export before the Ameri- 

 can Civil War, were reached. Sixty per cent, of this went to Eng- 

 land, which country had received its first Egyptian crop in 1824. 

 Most of the remainder of the crop went to France and Austria. 



Under Said Pasha (1854 to 1863) cotton cultivation received a 

 new impulse, because of the payment of the taxes which had, until 



