ABSTRACT
The consolidation of British power in the Near East, resulted in checking Russian penetration into Armenia and Afghanistan and in ousting French influence from Egypt, was accomplished by the Cyprus convention, the Second Afghan War, and the military occupation of Egypt. The Cyprus convention was a defensive alliance between Great Britain and Turkey with respect to the Asiatic provinces of Turkey. Following the Cyprus convention, Great Britain had to compensate France for the extension of British power in the Mediterranean. This was done by an agreement between Salisbury and Waddington, who represented France at the Congress of Berlin, that Great Britain's occupation of Cyprus would be accepted by France and France would be given a free hand in Tunisia. The British authorities assured the khedive that they wanted only to restore order by means of making secure an Egyptian government under the control of the khedive.
