From the egyptian expedition 1798-1801 to the war amidst population

Abstract

The French expedition in Egypt (1795-1801) provides more than picturesque images and exoticism to the Napoleonic gesture. It is less dated than many other campaigns of the time, and provides food for thought to those who want to know how the influence or the global approach can, indeed, back a military campaign. General Bonaparte  measured  the  cultural  difference  between  his  force  and the local populations. He clearly identified the risk of a war against them, a war he knew he could not win. So he found levers of influence to reach to the Muslims and left nothing undone to reconcile the religious ideas. This campaign is not purely military; it is a comprehensive operation in which administrative, cultural and  economical  issues  are  critical.  Bonaparte  perfectly  handled  men’s vanity and the power of perceived strength; he cautiously turned around the incidents that could have triggered the war with the  populations  that  he  feared.  Taking  advantage  of  the  unique  autonomy  he  enjoyed  there,  Bonaparte  showed  true  colors  in  Egypt, those of a politician fitted with limitless ambition, and who relied  on  his  superior  situation  awareness  and  understanding  of  the human nature in order to prevail not only by the force of arms.