HISTORY OF EGYPT
British occupation: AD 1882-1914
The dominant figure during the years of the British occupation
of Egypt is Evelyn Baring, a member of a long-established
British family of bankers. He first serves in Egypt from 1877 to
1880 as the British member of the commission responsible for
coping with the Egyptian debt. After the defeat of Arabi Pasha
in 1882, Baring returns as consul general - in effect in charge
of the British administration.
Over the next quarter-century Baring (or Lord Cromer, as he is
from 1892) places the Egyptian finances on a sound footing
and oversees all internal affairs - including the withdrawal from
Sudan after Gordon's death in 1885 and the return under
Kitchener in 1898.
Cromer's authoritarian attitudes and his tendency to work only
with Egypt's traditional ruling class (he learns Turkish but not
Arabic) put him at odds with the continuing demands of the
Egyptian nationalists. By 1907 the British government, in an
attempt to liberalize the administration, replaces him with an
Arabic-speaking consul general, Eldon Gorst.
But it is events on a wider stage than local nationalism which
bring about the next change in Egypt's political status. The
khedive's sovereign, the Ottoman sultan, is from November
1914 at war with Britain. In December Britain declares that
'the suzerainty of Turkey is terminated', and that Egypt is now
to be 'a British protectorate'.
Eight years to independence: AD 1914-1922
At the moment when Britain makes Egypt a protectorate, the
khedive (now Abbas II) is away in Constantinople. Being
closely linked to the Turkish enemy, he is replaced on the
throne by his uncle, Husayn Kamil. Three years later Husayn
dies and is succeeded by a younger brother, Fuad.
Egypt is not directly involved in World War I but the defeat of
the Axis powers, including Turkey, leads to immediate hopes of
independence - particularly after France and Britain declare
their commitment in November 1918 to the self-determination
of the various peoples liberated from the Ottoman empire.
On 13 November 1918, within two days of the signing of the
armistice, a political party is formed in Cairo by Saad Zaghlul.
It is named Wafd, short for Al-Wafd al-Misri and meaning the
Egyptian Delegation. The name reveals the immediate purpose
- to send to the coming peace conference delegates who will
voice the demand of the Egyptian people for independence.
This is more than has been envisaged by Britain, which
ensures that there is no Egyptian presence at the talks. When
the leaders of Wafd react angrily in Cairo, martial law is
introduced. Zaghlul and several colleagues are arrested in
March 1919 and are deported to Malta. The result is uproar in
Egypt, with demonstrations against foreigners in general and
the British in particular.
During the next three years the situation remains tense, while
it becomes increasingly evident that the nationalist policies of
Wafd are shared by a large majority in Egypt. In 1922 Britain
proposes immediate independence, with various strings
attached. British troops are to remain in Egypt to protect
imperial interests (meaning in particular the Suez canal). And
the Sudan is left out of any settlement.
Fuad, the sultan, accepts these terms. In March 1922 he
becomes Fuad I, king of an independent Egypt. He already has
an heir to his throne, the two-year-old prince Farouk.
Throne and Wafd: AD 1922-1939
A constitution providing for parliamentary government is
introduced in 1923. Elections in the following year sweep Wafd
into power with Zaghlul as prime minister. One of the party's
main principles, the demand for the merging of Egypt and the
Sudan, guarantees friction with the British government. And its
commitment to constitutional government puts it at
loggerheads with the king. Whatever the details of his new
constitution, Fuad instinctively inclines to more absolute royal
powers.
The issue of the Sudan comes to a head in 1924, when riots
and violence by Sudanese nationalists prompt the British
government to use force majeure in a unilateral solution.
Egyptian forces are evicted from the Sudan.
A compromise on the Sudan is not found until 1936. During
the intervening twelve years the struggle between Wafd and
the king continues. Zaghlul dies in 1927 but he is followed at
the head of the party by an almost equally forceful leader,
Mustafa al-Nahas Pasha.
The conflict between the king and Nahas Pasha (who is
determined to curb the royal powers) lasts until the death of
Fuad in 1936. It includes one lengthy period (1928-34) when
Fuad tears up the constitution of 1923 and rules by decree.
Relations are hardly any easier after the young prince Farouk
succeeds to the throne.
Early in the new reign Nahas Pasha leads a delegation to
London and signs an Anglo-Egyptian treaty which goes some
way to easing the tensions between the two countries - at any
rate on the topic of the British troops stationed in Egypt and
much resented by Wafd.
It is agreed that the number of these troops will be steadily
scaled down while Egypt strengthens its own defensive forces,
and that they will eventually be limited to the region of the
Suez canal. Nothing is settled on the long-term future of the
Sudan, but the treaty at least enables Egypt to resume its
shared responsibilities after a gap of twelve years.
Wars and revolution: AD 1939-1952
In the run-up to World War II the Italian aggression on either
side of Egypt and the Sudan, in Libya and Ethiopia, gives a
new sense of unity to British and Egyptian interests. Egypt
remains neutral throughout the war, but the British forces -
previously so unwelcome - now have the important task of
driving back the Italians from both borders.
This responsibility becomes very much greater from 1941,
when Rommel and his Afrika Corps join the Italians in a
determined drive east towards Egypt. By June 1942 they are
within forty miles of Alexandria and seem likely to reach Cairo
and the Suez canal, until they are at last held at El Alamein.
When the field of combat moves north out of Africa in 1943,
Egyptian attention begins to focus more locally on Arab affairs.
Arab hackles are raised by the summary treatment dealt out to
Lebanese nationalists by the French in 1943, while Zionist
demands on Palestine are also seen as cause for alarm.
One result is the conference of Arab nations held in Cairo in
March 1945. Under the presidency of Nahas Pasha, this results
in the formation of the Arab League. Three years later the
League has a full-scale war on its hands, as its members
attempt to nip the state of Israel in the bud in the Arab-Israeli
war of 1948.
These postwar years are also a time of increasing anti-British
turmoil within Egypt. The relaxation of wartime restrictions in
1945 is followed by a rush of heightened resentment at the
continuing presence of British troops on Egyptian soil.
To this there is added a religious and terrorist element in the
activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, responsible in December
1948 for the assassination of both the Egyptian prime minister
(Nokrashi Pasha) and the chief of the Cairo city police. Acts of
violence against British forces become increasingly common,
until an encounter between British troops and rebels at the
police headquarters in Ismailia, in January 1952, results in
forty-six Egyptian deaths.
The response, on the following day, is widespread rioting in
Cairo and the destruction of numerous buildings and
businesses owned by foreigners. There are a few British
deaths.
For the next few months Farouk and his government attempt,
unsuccessfully, to cope with a deteriorating situation. But the
pleasure-loving king, widely regarded as a playboy, is soon
deprived of these responsibilities. On the night of 22 July 1952
a group of officers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, seizes power in
a bloodless coup. Farouk, forced to abdicate, sails into exile on
his luxury yacht. He is succeeded by his nine-month-old son as
Ahmed Fuad II. But the council of regency soon dispenses with
the need for an infant monarch.
Nasser and the Aswan dam: AD 1952-1956
The group which has toppled Farouk is a small secret
organization, the Free Officers, founded by Nasser with Anwar
el-Sadat and others in the Egyptian army in the 1940s. Their aim
is to rid Egypt not only of the monarchy but also of the hated
British presence.
After the coup of 1952 Nasser wields the real power behind the
scenes. But the government is headed at first by Mohammed
Naguib, who becomes president when Egypt is declared a
republic in June 1953. Meanwhile political parties have been
banned. In 1954 after a brief power struggle (Naguib has a
greater following than his colleagues realize), Nasser takes open
control.
He intends to create a non-aligned socialist state occupying a
position of leadership in the Arab and Muslim world. But the
proximity of Israel makes non-alignment difficult. Israel's
western allies are reluctant to sell arms to Egypt (the EgyptianIsraeli border in Gaza is a dangerous flashpoint), so in 1955
Nasser arranges for a supply of eastern-bloc weapons from
Czechoslovakia.
At the same time Nasser is greatly increasing Egypt's trade with
the communist nations (China is by now the main market for
Egyptian cotton). Nasser considers these economic links
compatible with non-alignment. But soon they jeopardize the
great domestic undertaking which he is above all determined to
achieve.
Nasser's pet project is the construction of a high dam at Aswan,
to form a massive lake (inevitably Lake Nasser) some 300 miles
in length. The dam will control the annual flooding of the Nile,
crucial to Egypt's agriculture, as well as generating vast amounts
of electricity.
Early in 1956 Nasser seems able to demonstrate that nonalignment is viable. He secures the offer of loans from the USA
and Britain to finance the Aswan dam. But in July of this year the
USA withdraws its offer, shortly followed by Britain. Nasser's
response is prompt. Within days he declares that the Suez canal
is nationalized. Income from the canal will fund his dam - and
there is soon Soviet finance on offer, to offset the rebuff from
the west.
The Suez Crisis: AD 1956
Nasser's seizing of the Suez Canal, in July 1956, is made possible
by the success of an agreement which he has negotiated two
years earlier with Britain. This has provided for the withdrawal
over twenty months of all British troops from the canal zone,
thus removing the last cause of Egyptian resentment against
British imperialism.
Any cause for resentment is now on the British side. The 99-year
lease granted to the Suez Canal Company still has twelve years
to run, and Nasser is not proposing to pay compensation. In the
short term there is little that can be done about this by Britain
or France (the other main shareholder in the company) except
make forceful protests at the United Nations.
During the autumn of 1956 Britain and France build up their
forces in the Mediterranean, but the tension escalates abruptly
on October 29 when Israeli troops move into the Sinai
peninsula, a province of Egypt. Their pretext is provocation from
the Egyptians in successive border incidents. But the Suez Canal
lies in the path of the invading Israelis, making the issue of
immediate international urgency.
Britain and France issue an ultimatum to both Israel and Egypt,
ordering each to withdraw ten miles from the canal. It is a
somewhat one-sided demand. Israel as yet has hardly any
troops near the canal, of which Egypt is in full possession. The
Israelis accept the ultimatum. Egypt disregards it.
The British and the French, in defiance of the wishes of the UN
security council and general assembly, begin bombing Egyptian
airfields. On November 5 they land marines and paratroops near
Port Said. Egyptian forces on the canal (now blocked with
sunken vessels) are soon at a disadvantage. But the occupation
is still incomplete when international outrage causes Britain and
France, along with Israel and Egypt, to accept a ceasefire at
midnight on November 6.
Within weeks UN forces arrive. The French and British withdraw
after a disastrous fiasco. Israel gains nothing. Nasser has lost his
air force (soon replaced by the USSR), but he has secured his
ownership of the canal and has gained immeasurably in local
prestige.