Why Was Egypt an Early and Attractive Target for European

Why was Egypt an early and attractive target for European takeover in the age of imperialism?

A) The Egyptian state was weak, and Europeans felt there would be no resistance to their imperial expansion.
B) Egypt was a backward, unindustrialized country, so it provided a clean slate for Europeans to imprint their values.
C) Egypt's modernizing rulers had already built a thriving commercial and manufacturing center, and Egypt provided a convenient stopping point on the way to Asia.
D) Occupying Egypt gave Europeans easy access to the interior of central Africa, especially down the Nile corridor and through the Sudan.