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Egypt and the Struggle for a National Identity

Modern Middle East

Fall 2002

An Overview

� England and the British government were interested in Egypt because of the Canal.

� Another element was Egypt position in the Arab World.

� There was just something about Egypt.

� If you have you must �rate� as an imperial power.

� Egypt has had a history of being everyone�s doormat and the average Egyptian disliked their status.

� The Egyptian public sought a national identity.

Background

� From 1841 until 1914, Egypt was supposed to be an independent province of the Ottoman Empire.

� But Egypt was occupied by Britain after 1882.

� All key decisions concerning Egypt were made either in London or by the British Agency in Cairo.

� The Egyptian ministers listened and obeyed their British advisers.

� For the most part, Egypt was a British protectorate.

The Ottoman Declaration of War

� Egypt was crucial to the British because of the LOCs.

� Especially with Australia, New Zealand, and India.

� Britain�s seizure of Egypt was no more legal than say Germany�s occupation of Belgium.

� The Khedive was barred from returning from Istanbul.

� The British deposed Khedive Abbas and replaced him with Husayn Kamil (1914-17).

� Now called �Sultan.�

�Britain�s Moment in the Middle East�

� This was not a relationship built on love.

� Instead it was very one-sided.

� The British held all the cards.

� In time, the British Protectorate ended in 1922.

� This was done unilaterally.

The Reserved Points

� While Egypt was nominally independent.

� London kept tight control in Cairo by the �reserved points.�

� These were the conditions set for Egypt�s marginal independence.

� While the British unilaterally abrogate the Protectorate, they did not surrender their influence in 1922.

The Four Reserved Points

� Security of Communications.

� Control of Defense.

� Protection of foreigners.

� Future of the Sudan.

Why did the British Stay in Egypt?

� London decided to stay in Egypt for not the love of the Egyptians.

� But because of the proximity to India and the Middle Eastern oil fields.

Perceptions of the Both Sides

� The British did not like the Egyptians at all.

� Often viewing the Egyptians as �Wogs,� who often marketed risqu� postcards in the bazaar.

� On the other hand, the Egyptians viewed the British as cold and heartless.

� In many cases, the Egyptians preferred either the Americans or the French.

� Not necessarily the Germans or the Russians.

The British Administration

� The British Administration drastically declined.

� Key members of the British authority either returned home or entered military service.

� Instead, Egypt became an armed camp as troops from Britain and the Commonwealth in mass.

� The administrators were less concerned to Egyptian feelings.

� The British were concerned with the Dardenelles and Palestine.

Impact of the War on Egypt

� Overcrowding in Alexandria and Cairo.

� Food shortages.

� Inflation.

� Forced food requisitions.

� Labor requisitions.

� All to support the British war effort.

Some British Proposals for Reform

� A British plan called for the creation of a bicameral legislature.

� With a powerful upper house composed of government ministers.

� Representatives from Britain and foreign interests would also have a voice there.

� This would have ended the the infamous �Capitulations.�

� No patriotic Egyptian could have agreed since it would strengthen the hand of the British.

Being Blindsided by Events

� The British never thought that they would face a rise in Egyptian nationalism.

� Because the National Party in Egypt had declined.

� Which was dominated by large landowners.

� Yet from this group would emerge a new brand of Egyptian leadership.

Sa�d Zaghlul

� He was follower of Ahmed Lutfi al-Sayyid of the National Party.

� He was a vice president of the Legislative Assembly.

� Son of a prosperous peasant.

� He received a university education.

� Shortly after the British arrived he was arrested for attempting to kill the Khedive in 1882.

� After his release from prison, he went to France and studied law.

� Worked with the British agent in Egypt, Lord Cromer, and became Minister of Education.

Hitting the Glass Ceiling

� Lord Cromer thought that Sa�d would go far.

� And he did.

� But he made enemies.

� Such as Khedive Abbas and Lord Kitchener.

� So he left the government in 1912.

� The British later wished that they continued to co-opt him.

� He then worked closely with the Egypt monarchy to weaken the British.

Peace and Discrediting Egyptian Nationalists

� On November 13, 1918, Sa�d meet with the British High Commissioner, Reginald Wingate.

� He told Wingate that the intended to go to London with a small delegation to visit London and seek Egyptian independence.

� Wingate cautioned patience.

� Instead, Sa�d created a delegation (Wafd) to go and argue with the British government.

� The Foreign office wouldn�t even listen to them.

You Can�t Keep a Guy on the Nile Once You�ve Seen Paris

� Instead, Sa�d announced he would head a six-man delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.

� This was the start of the Wafd, and championed the Egyptian cause.

� He did enlisted the aid of the remaining supporters of the Nationalist Party.

� To help, copies of Sa�d�s petition was circulated in Egypt.

� It told the Egyptians, those who could read, that the Wafd represented them.

� Demanding complete independence and the end to the British protectorate.

What did this Mean?

� End of the protectorate.

� And the removal of all foreign troops from the Sudan.

Impact on Egypt

� The Egypt government resigned.

� The British exiled Sa�d and his his friends and supporters to Malta.

� Soon, the movement to support the Wafd turned into a popular revolution.

� This was the largest in Egyptian history to date.

The Revolution

� Doctors

� Lawyers

� Teachers

� Government Workers

� Transportation workers

� All went on strike.

� Then riots broke out throughout Egypt.

� All social classes protested British rule.

� Muslim Imams and Coptic Priests gave sermons in each other�s place of worship.

Impact of the Rioting

� Wingate was recalled.

� Replaced by General Edward Allenby.

� Sa�d was released from exile.

� And the Wafd went to Paris.

What did the U.S. Do?

� What would the U.S. do?

� Didn�t Wilson champion the lot of those subjected peoples?

� Wilson refused to meet with the Wafd delegation.

� And recognized the British Protectorate over Egypt.

The Lord Milner Commission

� The British hoped to solve this dilemma by an investigation by Lord Milner.

� The Wafd and the Egyptian public would not cooperate.

� A general boycott took place.

� British soldiers and Egyptian officials were attacked.

� Unofficial meetings were held with Sa�d, but nothing happened.

� The Wafd thought that the British, in the need to protect their lines of communication, would never all the Egyptians to rule themselves.

The Endgame

� When no results were in the offing.

� Allenby took the bull by the horns.

� He forced London to unilaterally give up the Protectorate on February 28, 1922.

� The British reserved certain rights until and Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was reached.

� This became the �Four Reserved Points.�

The Reserved Points

� Protection of Britain�s Imperial Communications.

� Egypt�s defense against foreign aggression.

� Protection of foreign interests and minorities in Egypt.

� Control of the Sudan.

Egypt�s Democratic Experiment

� Sultan Faud, now became King Faud.

� Egypt accepted half a loaf.

� Egyptian lawyers developed a constitution modeled after Belgium.

� Allenby was now the British High Commissioner and encouraged this experiment.

� This encouraged nationalist drives in Iran and Palestine too.

� King Faud then had Sa�d create a government composed of Wafdist ministers.

Half-a- Loaf was Not Enough

� The half a loaf was not enough for the extreme nationalists who even wounded Sa�d.

� The British commander of the Egyptian Army, Sir Lee Stack, was assassinated on Nov. 30, 1922.

� The British demand an indemnity, punishment of the criminals, and an end to the violence.

� As well as the withdrawal of all Egyptian forces from the Sudan.

� The Wafd refused and resigned.

� Faud then created a caretaker government.

The Power Triangle in Egypt