Egyptian Revolution of 1919 PDF

Name\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Date\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 Introduction ============ The **Egyptian Revolution of 1919** was a countrywide revolution against the British occupation...

Name\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Date\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 Introduction ============ The **Egyptian Revolution of 1919** was a countrywide revolution against the British occupation of Egypt and Sudan. It was carried out by Egyptians from all over the country in the aftermath of World War I and led to Great Britain\'s recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 as the Kingdom of Egypt. Background ========== Following the 1882 'Urabi Revolt and the Anglo-Egyptian war in 1882, British forces occupied the **[Khedivate of Egypt]** -- an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire -- in order to protect their interests in the Suez Canal. When WWI broke out in 1914, the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers against the Allies, which included Great Britain. Egypt, under British occupation, separated from the Ottoman Empire, and Britain declared Egypt a **[protectorate]** of the British Empire. The terms of the protectorate led [Egyptian nationalist](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Egyptian_nationalist)s to believe it was a temporary arrangement that would be changed after the war through agreement with Britain. As WWI raged on, the British poured large numbers of foreign troops into Egypt. They pushed back an Ottoman invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, and they used Egypt as a staging ground for the **Gallipoli campaign**. They also conscripted over one and a half million Egyptians into the Labour Corps to support the British campaign to seize Syria and Palestine from the Ottoman Empire, and they took over buildings, crops, and animals for the use of the army. In this way, Egypt supported Britain with a large contribution to the war effort in the Middle East. In addition, because of Allied promises during the war such as **President Wilson\'s Fourteen Points**, Egyptian political classes prepared for self-government. By the war's end, the Egyptian people demanded their independence from Britain. Events ====== Shortly after the Armistice ending WWI was concluded in Europe, a delegation of Egyptian nationalist activists, led by minister **[Saad Zaghloul]**, made a request to the **British High Commissioner** in Egypt. They wanted to end the British Protectorate in Egypt and Sudan as well as to gain Egyptian representation at the **Paris Peace Conference**, where they hoped to push their case for **self-determination**. Meanwhile, a mass movement for the full independence of Egypt and Sudan was being organized using the tactics of **civil disobedience**. By then, Zaghloul and the **[Wafd Party]**, a new Egyptian political party, had gained massive support among the Egyptian people. Members of the Wafd Party went into towns and villages to collect signatures authorizing the movement\'s leaders to petition for the complete independence of the country. Revolution breaks out ---------------------  Seeing the popular support that the Wafd leaders had, and fearing social unrest, the British in March 1919 arrested Zaghloul and other movement leaders and exiled them to [**Malta**](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malta). This was the spark that ignited a revolutionary uprising. Students at Al-Azhar University walked out and demonstrated the next day, followed by students from secondary and professional schools. Crowds gathered at the rail station and then spread throughout central Cairo. On 10 March, the Al-Azhar students called a general strike. Police were overwhelmed by the numbers on the streets. The British called in the army to set up machine gun posts at key road junctions. On 11 March, lawyers started a strike, joined by clerks from the Ministries of Education and Public Works. On the 12^th^, more than 3,000 demonstrators in the delta city of Tanta tried to storm the rail station. British soldiers fired at the crowd, killing eleven and wounding fifty-one. On 15 March, 10,000 students, workers and professionals marched to Cairo's Abdeen Palace, where thousands more joined them. Protests throughout the country of workers, peasants, street traders, lawyers, students and even Bedouin were taking place. Women in the Revolution ----------------------- Hundreds of Egyptian women from all classes also gathered to protest against the British occupation in an unprecedented way. Led by the wives of the exiled Egyptian nationalist politicians, including Safia Zaghloul and **Huda Sha'arawi**, the women refused to obey British orders to disperse. Egyptian nationalist women played a vital role in organizing strikes and boycotts of British goods. Women took part in railway and telegraph line sabotage and distributed pamphlets banned under martial law, hiding them in shopping baskets and passing them to teachers in different cities. The revolution was a key moment in the history of Egyptian and Islamic feminism. Violence escalates ------------------ Between March 15-31, hundreds and perhaps thousands of Egyptians were killed, numerous villages were burnt down, large landed properties were plundered, and railways were destroyed. Student demonstrations led to strikes by transport workers supported by trade unions, and these turned into a national general strike that paralyzed the country. Rioting broke out in Cairo and other places such as Tanta. In the Egyptian countryside, the revolution was very violent. Peasant resentment against the British, especially because of the hardships during the war, exploded into violent actions. Railway tracks and telegraph lines were sabotaged. British soldiers and civilians were killed, along with Egyptian officials and others who collaborated with the British regime. The British effectively lost control of most of Egypt during this time. By July 25, 1919, another 800 Egyptians were dead, and 1,600 others were wounded.  For several weeks until April, 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. Aftermath ========= The British Government, under **Prime Minister David Lloyd George**, sent a commission of inquiry to Egypt in December to determine the causes of the disorder and to make a recommendation about the political future of the country. Saad Zaghloul was allowed to return to Egypt and to lead a delegation to Paris. The report to Lloyd George, the Cabinet, and King George V recommended that the protectorate status of Egypt should be abandoned. The revolts forced London to issue a unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence on **February 22, 1922**. Britain, however, refused to recognize Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan, or to withdraw its forces from the Suez Canal Zone, and retained the right to defend Egypt against any other foreign influence. British forces would not withdraw from Egypt completely until a new nationalist revolution in 1952. The Wafd Party drafted a new constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary representative system. Saad Zaghloul became the first popularly elected Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924. The Egyptian Revolution was an inspiration for other anti-colonial struggles across Africa and Asia. The events of 1919 in Egypt show how the First World War played a crucial role in affecting the country's history after the war ended. The negative effects of the war on Egypt unleashed powerful forces in Egyptian politics and society that could not be ignored. Reflection 1\. Why did the Egyptians revolt against British occupation in 1919? 2\. Compare and contrast the events and results of the nationalist revolutionary movements in Egypt, Turkey, and Iran following WWI.