ABSTRACT
Understanding the nature and consequences of the transformation of agricultural technology and rural social structure in the nineteenth century requires an overview of the preceding social system. After a sketch of Mamluk and Ottoman social structure and trade patterns, this chapter describes the basin system of irrigated agriculture. It traces the transformation of both in the nineteenth century before the British intervention and occupation in 1882. The focus is upon changes in the irrigation system, the emergence of private property in land, the origin of the principal social classes, and the emergent forms of land and labor exploitation. Egypt had two principal functions in the Ottoman Imperial system. First, it supplied foodstuffs to Istanbul, the Holy Places of Arabia, Rumelia, Anatolia, and Syria. Second, Egypt was the focal point of an extensive transit trade between Africa, Arabia, and the rest of Asia on the one hand, and the Mediterranean countries on the other.
