John Ninet (1815-1895), or the Swiss farmer, as he was nicknamed,
is a controversial figure and a face of many masks. From the time he
was brought to Egypt during the era of Muhammad Ali to advance
agriculture, in 1839, until his departure from it, in 1882, this Swiss
writer became the spokesman for the Egyptian peasant and even the
defender of the entire Nile State in the face of Europe.Thanks to his
stay in Egypt, which lasted nearly 42 years, Ninet was able to
chronicle the economic life in the country from the time of
Muhammad Ali Pasha until the Urabi revolution.
