424 Urabi revolt, Egypt Between Vatican I and Vatican II, ultramontanism was effectively synonymous with orthodox Catholicism Today the victory is so complete that the term has largely fallen out of usage Further reading: Klaus Schatz, S J Papal Primacy: From Its Origins to the Present Collegeville, MN: Michael Glazier Book; The Liturgical Press, 1996; von Arx, Jefery Varieties of Ultramontanism Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1997 Mark F Whitters Urabi revolt in Egypt The Urabi revolt was a nationalist-led movement that led to the British occupation of Egypt in 1882 When Ismail was forced to step down as khedive, Tewfik, a weak pro-British ruler, replaced him in 1879 Under the Caisse de la Dette, government revenues went to repay the enormous debts Ismail’s overly ambitious building schemes had incurred This resulted in economic hardships, particularly in the agricultural sector where most Egyptians worked as peasant, or fellaheen, farmers Cutbacks in military expenditures led to public discontent in the army that fueled nationalist sentiments Secret nationalist societies were also formed In 1880 army officers led by Ahmed Urabi drew up a petition listing their grievances, particularly failures to pay their salaries in a timely fashion The officers also forestalled their possible arrest on the orders of Tewfik by storming the war ministry In 1881 Urabi accompanied with a large group of demonstrators gathered outside Abdin Palace in Cairo, where Urabi presented the demands to Tewfik Flanked by the English financial controller, Tewfik met with Urabi and agreed to the demands that included the writing of a new constitution A negotiated settlement was reached through the intermediary efforts of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, an English aristocrat and traveler A new constitution and parliament were duly formed To Tewfik’s displeasure, the parliament demanded control over Egypt’s finances, and Urabi was made defense minister In London, British officials felt it was time to formalize British control in Egypt Riots in Alexandra caused widespread panic among the Europeans living in the city and resulted in a number of deaths in 1882 The British used the riots as an excuse to move ships into Alexandria’s harbor They then demanded that Urabi, who was in actual control of the government, to halt all military preparations When Urabi predictably refused, the British bombarded the city and landed troops The British defeated the Egyptian army in a surprise attack at the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir and within a day had occupied Cairo Urabi surrendered and was subsequently tried for treason Blunt, who opposed the British occupation, arranged for Urabi’s defense by English counsel, but the verdict was a foregone conclusion Fearing that Urabi might become a martyr to the nationalist cause if he were executed, the British arranged for his exile to Ceylon Urabi was permitted to return in 1901 to Egypt, where he lived in virtual anonymity until his death in 1911 After some debate, the British government decided to retain its control over the Egypt, and the British were to remain a major political and military power in Egypt until a military-led revolution in 1952 See also British occupation of Egypt Further reading: Berdine, Michael D The Accidental Tourist, Wildrid Scawen Blunt, and the British Invasion of Egypt in 1882 London: Routledge, 2005; Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1922; Cole, Juan R I Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East: Social and Cultural Origins of Egypt’s ‘Urabi Movement Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993; Rowlatt, Mary Founders of Modern Egypt London: Asia Publishing House, 1962 Janice J Terry Uruguay, creation of Uruguay is a buffer state sandwiched between the two giants of South America—Argentina and Brazil During the colonial period, Spain and Portugal fought over control of the area, and their former respective colonies, Argentina and Brazil, later took over the quarrel The first Spaniard in what is now Uruguay was Juan Díaz de Solís, when he explored the Río de la Plata His death at the hands of Indians set the stage for a twocentury-long struggle after the western shore of Buenos Aires across the estuary was settled in 1580; Uruguay did not receive permanent settlements For a time some Jesuits attempted religious missions and faced opposition from the Charruas, the fierce tribe who occupied the area that became Uruguay The native population was not subdued and was instead essentially eliminated