Abu Qir, Battle of (1798)

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ABU QIR, BATTLE OF (1798)

Naval battle in which the English destroyed the French fleet in Egyptian waters.

Abu Qir is a bay located between the Rosetta branch of the Nile River and Alexandria, Egypt. After capturing the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea in April 1798, the fleet of Napoléon, then commander of the army of France, avoided the swifter fleet of Britain, commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson. After French troops landed in Alexandria on 1 July 1798, the French fleet took shelter in Abu Qir bay. On 1 August, Nelson's fleet located and destroyed the French fleet.

Bibliography


Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988.

David Waldner

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