As early as the mid-1830s, when John Bowring visited Egypt, the resentment of Egyptians, in the full sense of the term, against their Turkish-speaking rulers was starting to become obvious, mainly in the army. "An Arab soldier of the last generation was wholly at the mercy of his Turkish officer; it is so no longer . . . [T]he whole character of the population is undergoing a silent but obvious change. The Egyptian element is gradually replacing the Turkish . . . " By the late 1870s this "Egyptian element" had acquired enough self-consciousness such that it "dared to acknowledge its own existence," and to express itself in open rebellion. The 'Urābī Revolution of 1881–2, in addition to being a revolution by various sectors of the urban and rural population against European dual control, was also a revolt of these estranged Arabic-speaking fellah officers against their Turkish-speaking superiors.

XREF: Builds directly on loc 1306 ('Ethnic Turkish officer dominance fueled the Arab fellahin officers' revolt') and loc 1328 ('Ethnic quotas barred Egyptians from senior military ranks'), now giving the chronological and political payoff. Pays off: "Ibrahim reconsidered universal conscription to preserve experienced soldiers."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1368