We handled in our previous article the Suez Canal, its excavation through slave labor in harsh circumstances, which caused the death of thousands of Egyptians, then its inauguration on 16th November, 1869 C.E., in a legendary celebration, witnessed by emperors and kings of the world. No sooner was the Suez Canal opened than Britain began to seize the opportunity to impose control over the Canal; in light of the financial crisis facing Egypt, Britain managed to purchase the shares of Egypt in the Canal, only to commence intervening in Egyptian affairs, culminating in the British occupation of 1882 C.E. Then we were subjected to the Astana Agreement, drafted in 1888 C.E.
British Occupation
In 1878 C.E., Khedive Ismail Pasha issued a decree to form a council of overseers – the Cabinet – handing them the reigns of power, calling them the “European Ministry”, inclusive of two European ministers. That Cabinet did not strive to reform the country, but on the contrary, they stifled Egypt with further debts. Then Britain wished to remove Khedive Ismail from office, and so managed through the assistance of France, appointing instead his son Mohammed Tawfiq.
Britain sought to impose further control over Egypt, thus isolating France from the Suez Canal, then distancing the Ottoman government from the Egyptian crisis, following which they turned their attention to weakening the Egyptian military. No sooner had they taken firm control of Egypt and the Suez Canal, than they targeted dispersing the Egyptian military, abolishing the marine navy, the commercial navy, and the marine arsenal, sealing off all military schools, leaving only one in Al-Qobba, canceling as well free education, prohibiting the formation of any new schools, and replacing Egyptian teachers with British ones.
Then the British Foreign Minister presented a project to the Egyptian government, to have the exclusivity contract extended for another 40 years, in return for a sum of money to be paid by the privileged company to the Egyptian government, besides a certain share of the profits. However, the leader Mohammed Farid managed to obtain a copy of the bill, and published it in the Al-Lewaa’ Newspaper in October, 1909 C.E. Thus was sparked a campaign of patriotic movements to rally Egyptians against approving the bill, since granting this exclusivity would mean the Canal only returns to Egypt in 2008 C.E. Heading the patriotic movement at the time was the National Party, when leader Mustapha Kamel announced in his final speech the formation of the party in October 1907 C.E. He demanded this bill be presented to the General Assembly to gauge their opinion. The General Assembly was held on 9th February, 1910 C.E. to discuss the bill, which collapsed after the assassination of Botros Ghali Pasha, Egypt’s Prime Minister, at the hands of Ibrahim Nassef Al-Wardani, who considered him a traitor to the country. However, Botros Ghali’s final words while being treated from the gunshot wounds, were: “The Lord knows that I’ve never harmed my country, and have reluctantly accepted the Sudan Agreement, as I had no power to reject it. They attribute the “Denshway accident” to me, when it never had anything to do with me, nor I with it. And God knows I’ve never hurt my country.” The British documents which were released indicated that he’d negotiated with the British regarding lightening the Denshway sentences. In 1919 C.E., the Egyptian revolution broke out, led by Saad Zaghloul to demand freedom and independence, which caused the British government to issue a statement on 28th February, 1922 C.E., as follows:
- Canceling British “protection” of Egypt, acknowledging Egypt as an independent state with its own sovereignty
- Abolishing martial law
- Preparing the country for a constitutional parliamentary life, through instilling a Constitution for the country, and voting in members of a dual parliament [the two Houses]
With four reservations:
- Securing British transport in Egypt
- Defending Egypt in the face of any attack
- Protecting foreign interests and minorities
- Sudan would continue as before
Many have considered that this independence was merely nominal, not achieving true liberty. But Fuad held celebrations upon Egypt’s obtaining its independence, taking on the title “king”. Delegations from foreign countries flocked to offer their congratulations on Egypt’s Declaration of Independence. The Egyptian people did not participate, however, due to the banishment of Saad Zaghloul to the island of Seychelles, along with his comrades. They were released and headed back to Egypt in September, 1923 C.E., after the first Egyptian Constitution was issued.
With the increasing patriotic demand, following the second World War, for British forces to leave, the 1936 Agreement was signed.
1936 Agreement
The agreement was between Britain and Egypt, following King Farouk’s rise to the throne, and the appointment of a Guardianship Committee over him, due to his young age. With the ongoing conflict between Britain, the Wafd Party and other national fronts, Britain was compelled to enter into negotiations led by Sir Miles Lampson, the British High Commissioner, and his aides with the Egyptian Negotiation Commission, with the stipulation that negotiations take place between all parties to ascertain their unanimous approval. All parties joined in, except for the National Party, which rejected any negotiations prior to Britain’s forces retreating. So negotiations commenced in Cairo at the Zaafarana Palace in March, ending in London with the Agreement in place on 26th August, 1936 C.E.
Agreement’s Clauses
- Moving military forces from Egyptian cities to the area of the Suez Canal, with British soldiers to remain in Sudan, without any conditions or bonds.
- Limiting British forces in Egypt to no more than 10 thousand soldiers, and 400 pilots, along with the required staff for administrative and technical work, during times of peace only. As for times of war, England had the right to increase them, so this limit would be unacknowledged.
- British forces would not move to the new areas, until after Egypt built battalions according to state-of-the-art systems.
- British forces would remain in Alexandria for 8 years from the time the agreement is signed.
- British Air Forces would remain in their camp in the Canal area, and have the right to hover in Egyptian skies, with Egyptian planes having the same rights.
- In case of war, the Egyptian government would adhere to offering all facilities and assistance to British forces and the British would have the right to use the ports of Egypt, along with her airports and transport roads.
- After 20 years of implementing the agreement, the two sides would investigate whether the presence of British forces is necessary, because the Egyptian military would have become capable of free navigation in the Suez Canal, and its safety, so if any conflict arose between them, it could be presented before the “League of Nations”.
- Egypt had the right to cancel foreign privileges and had the freedom to sign political agreements with foreign countries, as long as they did not conflict with the agreement.
- Canceling all agreements and documents that conflict with the rulings of this agreement, including the 28th February announcement with its four reservations.
- Sending the Egyptian Military to Sudan, and acknowledging joint management with Britain.
- Freedom of holding political agreements with foreign countries, as long as they do not conflict with this agreement.
- Exchange of ambassadors with Great Britain.
Thus it was that Britain obtained the right to form military bases in the Canal area to protect it and for the safe passage of ships through it; that is, the rights to defend the Canal went to Britain. So it came to pass that Egypt was estranged from the Canal. Along with compelling Egypt to offer assistance in case of war, financial burdens increased, hampering the speed with which an Egyptian military was being prepped to defend it, leading to a demand by the Cabinet of Al-Nahhas Pasha in 1950 C.E. to embark on fresh negotiations with the British government, which lasted 9 months due to Britain’s hard stance, thereby causing Al-Nahhas Pasha to announce a break in negotiations and abolishing the 1936 Agreement and the two Sudan agreements. When Parliament approved this, the alliance between Britain and Egypt was canceled, and the presence of British forces in the Canal area was considered military occupation, so a struggle ensued culminating in the July revolution of 1952 C.E.
23rd July Revolution, 1952
The 23rd July Revolution of 1952 C.E. erupted to restore Egypt to Egyptians. It was followed by the Independence Agreement of 1954 C.E., so Egypt celebrated the departure of the last British soldier from the Canal in 1956 C.E. After the revolution, a Greek man called Adrian Daninos offered President Gamal Abd Al-Nasser a project to build the High Dam, to expand the agricultural land of Egypt, protect the country from flooding, and generate electricity needed to erect industrial projects in the country. Following analysis of the project, Egypt headed to Washington, London and the World Bank to assist her in financing the project. However, the United States and London offered conditions that would re-enable them to intervene in Egypt’s financial affairs, and direct its economy and policies throughout the period of construction, estimated at ten years. Abd Al-Nasser refused these conditions. Due to Egypt’s firm stance, following the Soviet offer, the West agreed to finance the High Dam project in December,1955 C.E.; at the same time, there was a deal being formulated to ensure the financing was in return for peace with Israel. However, this didn’t take place as the deal fell through, which led the United States and Britain to renege their offer. So much so, John Foster Dallas, US Secretary of State, had summoned the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington, to inform him that the Administration in Washington had withdrawn its offer to present financial aid to participate in the loans of the High Dam construction project. Meanwhile, the rejection speech had been leaked to the press before arriving officially to the Egyptian government. In England, the following day, Sir Harold Caccia, permanent Deputy of the British Foreign Ministry, summoned the Egyptian Ambassador in Britain, to inform him that Britain too had decided to withdraw its offer to Egypt to complete financing of loans for the High Dam construction project.
Of spectacular Egypt, words never end…!
General Bishop & President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
