In that Convention the Ottoman Empire’s import and export duties were fixed, the level of internal duties was drastically reduced and, most importantly, monopolies within all the provinces of the Ottoman Empire were banned. Having effectively stripped the Pasha of his army which formed a significant outlet for his locally produced commodities, forced him to withdraw from Syria, Crete and Arabia, and coerced him to abolish internal monopolies, Britain, it is argued, succeeded in ruining Mehmed Ali’s commercial and industrial enterprises and thus aborted one of the most impressive development projects outside of Europe.

XREF: Connects to earlier highlights about European treaties and firmans dismantling Muhammad Ali's development program, and Britain curbing Mehmed Ali to protect Asian imperial ambitions. SEED: The 1838 Balta Liman treaty's role in aborting a non-European industrialization project offers a compelling case study on how imperial powers deliberately blocked rivals' economic development. Builds on: "Egyptian context explains the gap between plan and execution."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1565