The Aspect of Water Supplies in the British Policy towards Egypt and Sudan: the Role of the Nile in Relations between Great Britain and France at the End of the 19th Century

The goal of this article is to analyse the “blue thread” of the need to secure supplies of water for Egypt, which pervades the British imperial policy and also impacts international relations from the end of the 1880s, particularly in relation to France. This article works with Terje Tveds theory about the importance of the irrigation water for British interests in Egypt and about the motivation of British to invade Sudan when Egypt reached its water limits. Another problem which is discussed in this article is the possible role of Nile waters in the Fashoda Incident (1898) which is frequently considered as a symbol of British-French competition in North-East Africa and also the French plans on the Nile in general.