A brief review of the circumstances that led to British occupation of Egypt from 1882 to 1956. Events which all began with massive financing that Egypt borrowed from Britain to develop its infrastructure.
The history of Egypt under the British lasted from 1882, when it was occupied by British forces during the Anglo-Egyptian War, and lasted until 1956 after the Suez Canal Crisis.
The last British forces withdrew in accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1954 and by 1956 all troops had been withdrawn from Egypt.
AUTHORITIES CATCH COUNTERFEITERS PLANNING TO EXPORT FAKE OLIVE OIL
Veiled Protectorate (1882-1913)
The first period of British rule during 1882 to 1913 is often called the “veiled protectorate”.
Prior to 1882, Isma’il Pasha ruled Egypt from 1863 to 1879 during a period of massive growth and development.
Isma’il Pasha was an Anglophile and French-educated reformer who was extremely interested in developing Egypt.
The goal of Isma’il Pasha was to make Egypt as technologically advanced as any western European country, this started with the railway system.
Isma’il Pasha strove to modernize Egypt by adding momentum to the railway development project which was already underway from 1852.
British Built Railway
From 1852, Britain kept an increased presence in northern Egypt to maintain the overland trade route to India.
As well as to oversee the construction of the Cairo–Alexandria railway, the first British built railway on foreign soil. source.
During Isma’il Pasha’s rule, Egypt had the densest railroad network the most kilometres of rail per habitable square km of land in the world.
This was the first railway established in the Ottoman Empire as well as Africa and the Middle East.
Isma’il Pasha also built factories, bridges, telegraph lines, harbour works, schools, universities, theatres, the Egyptian National Library, and the Khedivial Opera House.
Isma’il Pasha hired over 100,000 European expats and created a new quarter in the capital city to accommodate them.
The Isma’il Pasha administration remodelled big parts of Cairo and Alexandria on Paris.
He sent Egyptian students to Europe and the US on government scholarships, and even tried to rival European exploration by sending Egyptian explorers deep into the little-known Nile Basin.
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Suez Canal
Shortly thereafter, Isma’il Pasha also partnered with a French company to build the Suez Canal, and borrowed to pay for most of its cost.
French investors financed the construction of the Suez Canal to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869.
The canal offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
Isma’il Pasha borrowed much too much money to pay for these modernization projects, this is what lead to Egypt’s position to be controlled by Britain.
Isma’il Pasha eventually sold Egypt’s shares of the Suez Canal Company to Britain in 1875 in the wake of a financial crisis.
Most of Egypt’s debt at the time was held with British banks and financial institutions, giving by Britain by de facto controlling interest.
At the time, Egypt ended up owing £100 million and had no ability to pay this back since Its annual government revenue was no more than £8 million.
APPLE FIRST TO VIOLATE EUROPE’S NEW DIGITAL LAW
British-Backed Egyptian Government
Britain was now in a position to demand extraterritoriality whereby Brits who committed crimes in Egypt were only subject to British law and British courts.
Then Britain demanded that Isma’il Pasha reduce his monarchical powers, appoint a pro-British Prime Minister named Nubar Pasha and an actual British official as his finance minister, Charles Rivers Wilson.
The British-backed Egyptian government imposed harsh austerity measures on the Egyptian people in order to get Britain’s return on investment.
The people of Egypt began to see that their country was being taken over by foreigners and they were being treated like second class citizens in their own country.
Popular Revolt
The Egyptians staged a courageous popular revolt headed by the patriotic peasant army officer Ahmed ‘Urabi”.
Isma’il Pasha tried to save the situation by meeting some of the demands of the protesters.
In turn Isma’il Pasha even reversed some of the concessions he had made to the British.
Isma’il Pasha even invited ‘Urabi to become his new prime minister, dismissing the British puppet Nubar Pasha.
The British did not approve and In response they threatened and terrified Isma’il Pasha and demanded that he step down and leave Egypt.
The British pushed Pasha’s 27- year-old son Tewfik to be the new ruler since Tawfiq was young and inexperienced and easier for the British to control.
Mohamed Tewfik Pasha, also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.
Under the fragile leadership of Tewfik, Egypt was squeezed by the British more and more.
- The Important Role of DevOps Services in India’s Tech Industry
- Hezbollah Leadership Killed in Israeli Air Strikes
- New Explosions In Lebanon with Different Hezbollah Devices
- Music Mogul Arrested on Federal Charges Including Sex Trafficking
- Second Attempt on Trump’s Life in As Many Months
Colonial Encroachment
Britain finally began seeing that their puppet Tawfiq was hated and that the Egyptian nationalist revolt was continuing unabated.
Egyptians even threatened to expel the British from Egypt, which led to events creating the war.
Egyptians had plans to dislodge themselves from debt slavery and colonial encroachment.
The Brits simply brought a fleet of 50,000 soldiers to Alexandria and seized control of the entire country.
Ironically, the Brits made use of Isma’il Pasha’s very own railways and telegraph lines to facilitate their invasion.
Nubar Pasha was reappointed prime minister while Ahmed ‘Urabi was exiled to British-ruled Sri Lanka.
British occupation
Consequently in April 1882, France and Great Britain sent warships to Alexandria to bolster the Khedive amidst a turbulent climate and protect European lives and property.
In turn, Egyptian nationalists spread fear of invasion throughout the country to bolster Islamic and Arabian revolutionary action.
Tewfik moved to Alexandria for fear of his own safety as army officers led by Ahmed Urabi began to take control of the army.
By the end of the century, most of Egypt was in the hands of nationalists as opposed to European domination.
The new revolutionary government although still under British influence began nationalizing all assets in Egypt to prevent any further colonization.
During British occupation and later control, Egypt developed into a regional commercial and trading destination.
Entrepreneurs including Greeks, Jews, and Armenians began to flow into Egypt.
The number of foreigners in the country rose from 10,000 in the 1840s to around 90,000 in the 1880s, and more than 1.5 million by the 1930s.
Formal Protectorate (1914-1922)
By 1914 Britain declared a Formal Protectorate over Egypt and deposed the Khedive, replacing him with a family member who was made Sultan of Egypt by the British.
In December 1921, the British authorities in Cairo imposed martial law and once again deported important Egyptian Leaders.
Demonstrations again led to violence and growing nationalism and at the suggestion of the High Commissioner, Lord Allenby, the UK unilaterally declared Egyptian independence.
On 28 February 1922, the British abolished the formal protectorate by establishing an independent Kingdom of Egypt.
Sarwat Pasha became prime minister of the newly independent kingdom.
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty
British influence continued to dominate Egypt’s political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms.
Britain retained control of the Canal Zone, Sudan and Egypt’s external protection.
Britain also maintained protection of foreigners along with separate courts for foreigners; the police forces, the army, the railways and the communications.
British troops were stationed in cities and towns to maintain civil society throughout Egypt.
King Fuad died in 1936 and Farouk inherited the throne at the age of sixteen. Alarmed by Italy’s recent invasion of Ethiopia, he signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty.
The treaty required Britain to withdraw all troops from Egypt, except at the Suez Canal which would be re-examined after 20 years in the year 1956.
World War II
During World War II, British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied operations throughout the region.
Egypt was a major battlefield in the North African campaign during the Second World War, being the location of the First and Second Battles of El Alamein.
The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein.
Modern Republic of Egypt
After the war and settling of the area British troops were withdrawn from most of Egypt except for the Suez Canal area by 1947.
However nationalists still held anti-British feelings which continued to grow after the war in Egypt.
In 1952 a coup overthrew the Egyptian monarchy and established the modern Republic of Egypt.
The last British troops left Egypt in June 1956 as per the 1954 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement, returning briefly during the Suez Crisis.
