Egypt

33.5: Egypt

33.5.1: Egypt’s First Revolution

The Egyptian revolution of 1919 was a countrywide revolution against the British occupation of Egypt and Sudan carried out in the wake of the British-ordered exile of revolutionary leader Saad Zaghlul and other members of the Wafd Party in 1919.

Learning Objective

Describe the events of Egypt’s First Revolution

Key Points

  • Although the Ottoman Empire retained nominal sovereignty over Egypt, the political connection between the two countries was largely severed by the seizure of power by Muhammad Ali in 1805 and re-enforced by the British occupation of Egypt in 1882.
  • On December 14, 1914, the Khedivate of Egypt was elevated to a separate sultanate and declared a British protectorate, thus terminating definitively the legal fiction of Ottoman sovereignty over Egypt.
  • Over the course of the war, dissatisfaction with the British occupation spread among all social classes, and by war’s end the Egyptian people demanded their independence.
  • After World War I, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the Egyptian nationalist movement to a majority at the local Legislative Assembly.
  • When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, Egyptians and Sudanese from all walks of life rose up against the British, leading the British government to conclude that the protectorate status of Egypt was not satisfactory and should be abandoned.
  • The revolution led to Britain’s recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 and the implementation of a new constitution in 1923.

Key Terms

Khedivate of Egypt
An autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces, which brought an end to the short-lived French occupation of Lower Egypt.
Saad Zaghlul
An Egyptian revolutionary and statesman who led Egypt’s nationalist Wafd Party. In 1919 he led an official Egyptian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference demanding that the United Kingdom formally recognize the independence and unity of Egypt and Sudan, and was exiled by the British government in response. He served as Egypt’s first Prime Minister from January 26, 1924, to November 24, 1924, after independence from Britain.

Background: British Protectorate

Although the Ottoman Empire retained nominal sovereignty over Egypt, the political connection between the two countries was largely severed by the seizure of power by Muhammad Ali in 1805 and re-enforced by the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. From 1883 to 1914, though the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan remained the official ruler of the country, ultimate power was exercised by the British Consul-General.

When the Caucasus Campaign of World War I broke out between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared martial law in Egypt and announced that it would shoulder the entire burden of the war. On December 14, 1914, the Khedivate of Egypt was elevated to a separate sultanate and declared a British protectorate, thus terminating definitively the legal fiction of Ottoman sovereignty over Egypt. The terms of the protectorate led Egyptian nationalists to believe it was a temporary arrangement that would be changed after the war through bilateral agreement with Britain.

Prior to the war, nationalist agitation was limited to the educated elite. Over the course of the war, however, dissatisfaction with the British occupation spread among all social classes. This was the result of Egypt’s increasing involvement in the war, despite Britain’s promise to shoulder the entire burden of the war. The British poured masses of foreign troops into Egypt, conscripted over one and a half million Egyptians into the Labour Corps, and requisitioned buildings, crops, and animals for the use of the army. In addition, because of allied promises during the war (such as President Wilson’s Fourteen Points), Egyptian political classes prepared for self-government. By war’s end the Egyptian people demanded their independence.

Events of the 1919 Revolution

Shortly after the First World War armistice of November 11 concluded in Europe, a delegation of Egyptian nationalist activists led by Saad Zaghlul made a request to High Commissioner Reginald Wingate to end the British Protectorate in Egypt and Sudan and gain Egyptian representation at the next peace conference in Paris.

Meanwhile, a mass movement for the full independence of Egypt and Sudan was being organized at a grassroots level using the tactics of civil disobedience. By then, Zaghlul and the Wafd Party enjoyed massive support among the Egyptian people. Wafdist emissaries went into towns and villages to collect signatures authorizing the movement’s leaders to petition for the complete independence of the country.

Seeing the popular support that the Wafd leaders enjoyed and fearing social unrest, the British proceeded to arrest Zaghlul and two other movement leaders on March 8, 1919 and exiled them to Malta. In the course of widespread disturbances between March 15 and 31, at least 800 Egyptians were killed, numerous villages were burnt down, large-landed properties plundered, and railways destroyed.

For several weeks, demonstrations and strikes across Egypt by students, elite, civil servants, merchants, peasants, workers, and religious leaders became such a daily occurrence that normal life was brought to a halt. This mass movement was characterized by the participation of both men and women and by spanning the religious divide between Muslim and Christian Egyptians. The uprising in the Egyptian countryside was more violent, involving attacks on British military installations, civilian facilities, and personnel. By July 25, 1919, 800 Egyptians were dead and 1,600 others were wounded.

The British government sent a commission of inquiry, known as the “Milner Mission,” to Egypt in December 1919 to determine the causes of the disorder and make a recommendation about the political future of the country. Lord Milner’s report, published in February 1921, recommended that the protectorate status of Egypt was unsatisfactory and should be abandoned. The revolts forced London to issue a unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence on February 22, 1922.

Image of Egyptian women wearing black dresses, black head covers, and white veils over their faces, carrying an Egyptian glad, demonstrating against British occupation during the revolution of 1919.

Egyptian Revolution of 1919: Egyptian women demonstrating during the revolution of 1919.

Aftermath

Although the British government offered to recognize Egypt as an independent sovereign state, this was only upon certain conditions. The following matters were reserved to the discretion of the British government: the security of the communications of the British Empire in Egypt, the defense of Egypt against foreign aggression, and the protection of foreign interests in Egypt and the Sudan.

The Wafd Party drafted a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Egyptian independence at this stage was nominal as British forces continued to be physically present on Egyptian soil. Moreover, Britain’s recognition of Egyptian independence directly excluded Sudan, which continued to be administered as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium. Saad Zaghlul became the first popularly elected Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924.

Attributions