الأوضاع الاجتماعية للرقيق في مصر في القرن التاسع عشر

Abstract EN

During research on the subject of the social conditions of slaves in Egypt in the nineteenth century, a set of conclusions were reached, which can be explained as follows: 1-Slaves, whether black or white, played a prominent and important role in the history of Egypt during the nineteenth century, as their influence extended in different areas of life.

2-It was known that the rulers and princes of Egypt frequently possessed slaves, especially the slave girls, so their palaces were full of slaves, slave girls, and boys who worked to serve the princesses, and they also took slaves as their guard, and the wealthy of the country followed their approach in this.

3-The measures taken by the rulers of Egypt, whether Muhammad Ali or his first three successors to the heroes of the slave trade, were only nominal measures until Ismail assumed power as he began to take actual steps in that field and his son Khedive Tawfiq followed him, and as soon as he ascended the throne Abbas Helmy II, but the institution of slavery was finished.

4-The campaign to abolish slavery supported by Britain is a turning point in the Egyptian system of slavery.

5-The British-Egyptian treaty of 1877 to eliminate the slave trade came as a result of Britain’s relentless efforts to abolish slavery, and with the help of the Egyptian government, it achieved the first strong basis for the official restrictions imposed on the import of slaves, which led to a decrease in the number of slaves in the following years.

6-The abolition of slavery did not leave a significant impact on Egyptian society in general, as it was mainly restricted to rulers, princes, pashas and wealthy families.

7-The European countries' appeals to abolish slavery extended to Egyptian society, but these effects did not bring positive results except when the rulers of Egypt and the country's notables were convinced of the need to abolish slavery.

Religion.

8-The closure of roads and border crossings to slave traders, as well as the dispatch of campaigns to pursue slavery, had a great impact on eliminating this trade.

9-The establishment of slave manumission offices and the facilities provided to free slaves, especially female slaves, contributed to providing them with job opportunities.

After the establishment of the Cairo House for freed women, many of them submitted to manumission offices to request their release, especially since most of the slaves in Egypt at the end of the nineteenth century were female, which Increase in the number of free slaves.