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Why did the Directory send Napoleon on an expedition to Egypt in 1798?
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French Revolutionary wars
Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole, 17 November 1796, oil on canvas by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796; in the Versailles Museum.
The Directory authorized Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798 expedition to Egypt primarily as a strategic maneuver to undermine Great Britain. By occupying Egypt, the French aimed to disrupt British trade routes in the Levant and threaten British interests in India.12
This plan was proposed by Napoleon after he concluded that a direct invasion of the British Isles was not feasible without French command of the sea. Beyond the strategic military objectives, the Directory was also motivated by a desire to remove the ambitious and popular young general from the political scene in France.3