Egypt has seen its fair share of foreign influence “from Ottoman in the sixteenth century up to French and British in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”1. Time and again Egypt’s society has been subjected to foreign empires. Egypt was subjected to British occupation from the 19th century into the 20th century. In the early part of the 20th century, Egypt was able to gain its independence from Britain, but not after years of rebellion and protest from the Egyptians.
Great Britain’s influence in Egypt started in the 19th century and gradually increased until “the British occupation of Egypt in 1882”. 2 Great Britain, with the assistance of France would assert economic and political control of Egypt when and where they saw fit. This meant anytime an incident would occur that jeopardized Great Britain’s authority over Egypt, Great Britain would assert its power. Great Britain would do this by intervening directly in the government or by using its overwhelmingly powerful military machine. Due to government mismanagement by Ismail Pasha’s rule of Egypt, “Great Britain and France in 1876 practically assumed joint control of the finances of the distressed country”. 3
1. Lang, Anthony F, From revolutions to constitutions: the case of Egypt. International Affairs 89, no. 2: 345-363 (2013). Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.
2. Baha Abu-Laban, The Journal of Developing Areas, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jan., 1967), pp. 179-198. JSTOR
3. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan., 1915), pp. 202-204. JSTOR
In the following years Great Britain’s influence in Egypt continued to increase as France’s weakened. In 1881 France was unable to assist England when “Britain called upon France to intervene jointly… to...
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...ration and responded with its own.
After the refusal of Great Britain’s declarations, negations between the Nationalists and Britain began. These negations resulted in Egypt getting most of what they wanted. On February 22, 1922 “by unilateral declaration the British Government are to abolish the Protectorate and leave Egypt free to work out the national institutions best suited to the peoples aspirations”. 15 In exchange for the end the occupation of Egypt, Great Britain was allowed to intervene in Egyptian affairs in certain circumstances. One of these circumstances was Great Britain’s ability to intervene if any foreign country threatened Egypt or Britain’s affairs in Egypt. After years of fightint the Egyptian people had finally acquired what they wanted. 15
15. "Free Egypt." Times [London, England] 1 Mar. 1922: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 22 Apr. 2014
The Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798 – Napoleon in Egypt, was written by the Egyptian born scholar and jurist, Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (c. 1753-c.1825) between 1798 and 1801, framing the French occupation of Egypt. Both the Middle East and Europe, during the late 17th century were in a state of redefinition. Although the chronicle had covered only the brief period during first seven months of 36, it serves as a crucial accounting. Clearly illustrated is a paradigmatic shift between a modern culture and an antiquated system with a chronicle of events that swings between something that is merely observational to something written by an emotionally charged spectator. Although the work has been widely accepted, there is still some speculation as to degrees of censorship and possible omissions through various translations.
At the beginning of the Suez Canal crisis many individuals felt hostility towards each other and the main concern was the ownership of the Suez Canal and to who exactly would gain the authority to run it on their own accord. In 1954 Gamal Abdul Nasser came to power in Egypt, he was once formally known as an Egyptian army officer, before becoming a politician. After the attack of the Israelis in Gaza, Egypt to protect Israel from hostility the Egyptians had been putting forward against them; many Egyptians felt hatred for the Egyptian king, this led to a democratic system being built and that was how Nasser came to power in a democratic society in which he was able to play on the hearts of Arab Nationalism. When the cold war began to surface Britain asked Egypt to join an anti-soviet alliance with them in times of need, for Egyptian Suez Canal was in the authority of Britain making Egypt an ally of the United Kingdom. Nasser refused saying t...
Beck, James M. The Evidence in the Case as to The Moral Responsibility for the War. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1915.
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any nation in the world. Written history of Egypt dates back to about 5,000 years, the commencement of civilization. While there is divergence in relation to Early Egyptian times, it is said that Egypt came to be around 3200 B.C., during the reign of a king by the name of Menes and unified the northern and southern cities of Egypt into one government. In 1675 B.C., Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, people from the east, bringing along the very first of chariots and horses ever to come across Egyptian soil. Approximately 175 years later in 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had gotten rid of the Hyksos and driven them out. In 1375 B.C., Amenhotep IV had become the king of Egypt. During his reign he eliminated the worship of Egyptian gods and initiated the idea of only worshipping one god. But after his death, his ideas were retired and old ways were reestablished. Egyptian supremacy then started to decline around 1000 B.C. Between 1000 B.C. and 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled by many such as the Libyans, Assyrians, Ethiopians, and Persians. In 640, Muslims conquered Egypt and founded the city of Cairo in 969 and deemed it as the capital of Egypt. For many centuries Egypt was ruled by Muslim caliphs. A prominent ruler of this period was Saladin, who battled the Christian Crusaders at the conclusion of the twelfth century. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt but was then forced to withdraw in 1801 Turkish and British armed forces. In 1805 Mohamed Ali began ruling Egypt till 1848 and great changed the country in terms of modernization and its military. During Mohamed’s conquest, he borrowed a lot of money from the French and British, which later resulted in Egypt’s coloniza...
Beck, Sanderson. “ Egypt, Sudan and Libya 1700-1950” San.bec. Sanderson Beck. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2011
After their seizure of power, the RCC needed to determine its outlook toward the West in general and the United States in particular. This was due in large part to past circumstances related to Egypt’s pressing need to eliminate past vestiges of imperial domination, thus making a constructive relationship with Great Britain v...
For many years, Third World countries were being exploited by the British. Many of these countries were rich in natural resources, but were unable to make a profit off of it. Instead, the British were living in these countries, owning most of the land, running the laws and government, and making most of the profits from these natural resources. In the case of Egypt, the British took advantage of the Egyptians through Feudalism. Feudalism is a form of colonialism that asserts control over a previously independent region. Under Feudalism, most of the land was owned by wealthy, British landlords. Two percent of the people owned seventy five percent of the land. The rest of the population worked on the land as surfs. Feudalism in Egypt also practiced the Capitulation System. This system exempted non-Egyptians from the Egyptian law. This meant that if a non-Egyptian killed an Egyptian they would not be arrested or held accountable. Feudalism allowed the British to exploit the Egyptian's. Because of Feudalism, the Egyptians lost their culture and their history.
British Involvement in the Partition of Africa in the Late 19th Century as a Product of Economic Interests
There is a point of time in certain a country’s history where they become dominant and more powerful than ever before. During this elongated process a country becomes an empire. The British and the Ottomans were states that succeeded in this process, but becoming an empire such as theirs required vast amounts of political and social maneuvering to expand their boundaries, called imperialism. Imperialism is, “a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force”. By becoming a modern nation enjoying economic prosperity and political stability, the British and the Ottomans created an imperialistic impact over the globe with distinctive motivations and approaches especially during the transition period of gaining ample amount power and influence globally.
to 2650 B.C., changed his name to the more commonly known Zoser. It was Zoser
July 26 – The President of Egypt Gamal Nasser announces the nationalization of the Suez Canal. This is followed by the refusal of funding the Aswan Dam Project by the United States of America and the Britain. They blamed the state of the Egyptian Economy but many believe that it had more to do with Egypt’s decision to recognize China and buy weapons from Czechoslovakia, which at that time was controlled by the Soviet Union.
First of all, imperialism was not something the Egyptians wanted. They witnessed the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and that acted as a wakeup call. They can either keep up with the modernization of the world around them, or be overwhelmed and lost among it (Modern World History, 354). They decided to make new reforms as an attempt towards modernization. One of these attempts was the Suez Canal. It was a waterway that connected the Nile River, Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. The labor costed over 100 million dollars, and it opened in 1869 (Rosenberg). The Suez Canal, along with other reforms, put Egypt in a rough economic state. The British wanted control over the canal because it was the main route to India and its other colonies. Because of the huge debt, Egypt was forced to hand the canal over to Britain. Later, in 1882, Britain gained control to Egypt itself (Modern World History, 355). Thus, Egypt was under new rule and became one of Britain’s many colonies. To sum up, Egypt created many reforms ...
“The roots of all these problems go back to the settlement imposed on the Middle East in 1918-1922”(Field 26). Since before the start of World War I, there was a great Western presence in the area we know today as the Arab world. Britsh and French forces occupied Northern Africa since 1882; British occupied Egypt, at the request of Sultan in Constantinople, and the region we today call the Mahgreb: Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. In addition, to its presence in Egypt, Britain also kept the Gulf states under her protection and held Aden as a colony.
The Nile, is the longest river in the world, and is located in northeastern Africa. Its principal source is Lake Victoria, in east central Africa. The Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, with a total distance of 5584 km. From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6671 km long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km. Not only is the Nile considered a wonder by Herodotus, but by people all over the world, due to its impotance to the growth of a civilization.The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 BC.
An example of a modern nation-state is Egypt. Egypt’s identity is closely tied to its location and their long history. Egyptian’ are and Arabic speaking nation-state with a diverse culture and heritage as a modern nation-state. Their development, over the centuries, saw conflicting beliefs but, most Egyptians today see themselves, their history, culture, and language as specifically Egyptian. Mr. Kamel states that the, “Egypt’s leading roles in Middle Eastern in cultural and political affairs, generally dominates Egypt’s relations with other nations. In turn, this either broadens or limits the scope of choices and opportunities available domestically” (Kamel, 1999).