Jean Eïd (1819–1878): From Levantine Dragoman to Godfather of a Belgian-Egyptian Dynasty

Abstract

Abstract As a young, but ambitious state that aspired to acquire a respected position in the nineteenth-century European concert, one of the institutions Belgium relied on was its diplomatic corps. Whereas the capitals of Europe quickly became the new home of career diplomats, Belgium gradually developed a consular apparatus that was staffed by locally recruited agents in more faraway areas. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the position of dragoman, who served as translator to the diplomatic representatives, was especially relevant in a setting where language barriers hindered the expansion of Belgium’s diplomatic and commercial interests. This essay unravels the history of the Belgian dragomanate in Egypt and focusses on one dragoman in particular: Jean Eïd. Addressing his term in Belgian service from the perspective of subalternity, I will demonstrate how the social, professional and legal status of these actors who roamed the increasingly entangled Levantine sphere in this period, is particularly challenging to grasp, while also recognizing the potential his position had for the next generations that succeeded him.