ABSTRACT
During the 19th century, Spain was a minor force in the community of nations. Internal political problems and the grave situation of Spanish colonies overseas occupied the attention of the monarchy and government. In the 1800s in Spain, Egypt was considered to be a geographically distant place. The first person in Spain to be concerned with the study of Ancient Egypt was an unknown scholar, Eduard Toda i Gell, who arrived in Egypt in 1884 as the Spanish Consul in Cairo. Toda became interested in ancient Egyptian culture and began to learn Egyptian. He also travelled in Upper Egypt and participated in several archaeological projects. The voyage of the war frigate Arapiles' reflects Spain's low-level of interest in and involvement with Egypt, both ancient and modern. Spain was unable to participate in the international power struggle that determined the European control of Near Eastern territories during the 19th century.
