Ismail Pasha (1830-1895) was the charming but spendthrift pasha and khedive of Egypt during the decade prior to British occupation.

Ismail Pasha was born in Cairo, the grandson of Mohammed Ali and second son of Ibrahim Pasha. He completed their work in that he bought from the Ottoman sultan the right to the new title of khedive, father-to-son inheritance of the new title for his dynasty, administrative and commercial independence, and relaxation of military restrictions imposed upon Egypt by the European powers in 1841. But Ismail accomplished this at tremendous expense--and it was only the beginning of his financial adventures.

Ismail succeeded Mohammed Said as the ruler of Egypt in 1863, when the American Civil War increased the demand for Egyptian cotton and when the expected profits from the soon to be completed Suez Canal made Egypt seem more prosperous than it actually was. In the euphoria of the 1860s...