“Remind him of his responsibilities”

The dynamism of the consular and mixed courts shows Italo-Levantines and other residents utilizing the plural legal regime to serve their self-interests. Over the course of the century, Italo-Levantines—elite and common—exercised resilient hybridity in divorce, property, inheritance, and debt cases whereby an unintentional form of legal imperialism took root in Egypt. The abuse of extraterritoriality through the consular courts led to the need for legal reform in Egypt. The British capitalized on the crisis to both militarily and financially seize power from the array of local actors who had shattered their influence into too many pieces for a unified challenge.