Starter:

Watch the first two minutes of this video as an introduction to Nasser and the context of his rule:

What was the context of Nasser’s ‘revolution’ in Egypt?

‘After two and a half thousand years of taking orders successively from Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Kurdish, Turkish, French and British pro-consuls, the people of Egypt were at long last to regain their national statehood.’ 

Anthony Nutting. Nasser. 1972.

Starter: What can you learn from these maps regarding the significance of the Suez Canal?

Before 1882 Egypt was nominally under the control of the Ottoman Empire, though day to day running was through the Muhammad Ali dynasty. It was granted the status of an autonomous vassal state or Khedivate in 1867, a status which was to remain in place until 1914.

The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869. Other rapid infrastructural changes also emerged at this point – railroads, telegraphs, harbours, schools and land irrigation projects were built and a dramatic expansion of the export economy began.

However, this modernisation of Egypt meant that Egypt was in debt to European banks. In 1875 Ismail was forced to sell Egypt’s share in the canal to the British government. As the rest of the shares were owned by the French, European influence was strong in the country.

As the country faced economic collapse in 1876, European financiers took control of the Suez Canal in return for writing off debt and advised the regime to cut spending on the Egyptian military.  In response there was a large military demonstration in September 1881 which demanded the removal of the prime minister and for the Khedive Tewfiq to rule by decree.  As the crisis threatened European property and interests, the British and French sent warships to Alexandria in April 1882.   There was widespread fear of a foreign invasion and Egyptian army officers moved to take control; Anglo-French actions had fuelled Islamic and nationalist sentiments.  By June, a new revolutionary government was in control and began to nationalise key assets.  Concerned about the Suez Canal, a combined Anglo-Indian-French force invaded to seize control of the canal.  In September this combined force defeated Egyptian forces at Tel El Kebir and put Tawfiq back in power.

From now on the British were now ostensibly in control and this was to contribute to growing nationalism and the events of 1952 (see below)

1. What were the long-term economic factors that led to the emergence of an authoritarian state in Egypt?

Despite the modernisation that had taken place in Egypt in the 19th Century, the gap between rich and poor in Egypt was extreme and the majority of the population lived in poverty. The cost of modernisation meant onerous taxation on ordinary people which caused popular discontent

However, it was mainly the upper and middle classes in Egypt that benefitted from the reforms and stark economic inequality continued.  In agriculture,  just 6% of landowners owned 65% of land.  The annual wage in Egyptian pounds for a farmer was £22 and a landless seasonal labourer was just £7.  Peasants would migrate to the cities in an attempt to escape the grinding poverty, but due to a lack of housing and work, they lived in sprawling overcrowded slums along with the city workers.  Indeed, conditions for urban workers were appalling.  Trade unions were either controlled by the government or banned, and workers had no tangible rights.  British imperial policies exacerbated these economic issues in Egypt which then was significantly impacted by the global Great Depression of the 1930s. Indeed, Historian Robert Stephens suggests that in the first half of the 20th century conditions in Egypt were comparable to pre-revolutionary France.

Short-term economic factors

During the Second World War there was an increased demand for Egyptian goods which led to some improvement in wages.  However, after 1945 the economy slumped and unemployment increased.  The government was plunged into debt again, with a balance of payments deficit of £38 million and a budget deficit of £81 million by 1952.   Part of the reason King Farouk presented himself as ‘king of all the Arabs’ was to distract from domestic economic issues.

Task One

On 16 March 1919 several hundred Egyptian women protested against the British occupation. Led by the wives of the exiled Egyptian nationalist politicians, Safia Zaghlul, Mana Fahmi Wissa and Huda Sha‘rawi. The women refused to comply with British orders to disperse.

Following the protests by his supporters Zaglul was permitted to attend the Paris Peace conference. However, in Paris the British were not sympathetic to Zaghlul’s demands and unrest continued in Egypt.   In November 1919 the Milner Commission was sent by Britain to redress the crisis.  Lord Milner proposed that a Treaty of Alliance be signed to replace the protectorate.  British foreign minister Lord Curzon agreed for an Egyptian mission to come to London in June 1920, led by Zaghlul and Adli Pasha.  An agreement was concluded in August 1920.  However, the agreement broke-down in 1921 as Adli Pasha would not agree to continued British control of the Suez Canal.  Britain then imposed martial law when protests erupted.

Nevertheless, in February 1922, the British recognised Egypt as a sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy.  The new king was crowned King Fuad and a new constitution was created in 1923.  This gave the King the power to appoint a prime minister, dismiss ministers and to dissolve parliament.  But, Egyptian independence was curtailed by four specific provisions: Britain would retain control of ‘imperial communications’ which essentially meant it retained control of the Suez canal; Britain could retain troops in Egypt as it was given the right to defend it against an invasion; Britain had the right to defend the rights of minorities and foreigners in Egypt; Britain could determine the status of Sudan.  These conditions were unacceptable to nationalists and further revealed the continued weakness of the government.

Although the Wafd independence movement grew after 1922, its influence in Egypt was limited as the King suspended the constitution and ruled by decree with the backing of the British high commissioner.  There then developed three key power blocs – the King, the Wafdists and the British.  Into this mix, in 1928, a new party began to gain momentum, the Muslim Brotherhood.  Founded by the Sheikh of the al-Azhar university of Cairo, Hassan el-Banna, its ideology was nationalist and Islamic.  The Muslim Brotherhood advocated the restoration of a Caliphate in Cairo and the waging of a jihad or holy war against British influence.

King Fuad died in 1936 and was succeeded by his nephew Farouk.  The death of Fuad had led to demands for a return of government in line with the constitution of 1923, and the Wafd party won the Egyptian elections. 

Treaty of Alliance 1936

At the same time, the situation in Europe became increasingly tense and unstable [with the rise of Hitler in 1933 and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1936]; the British decided to negotiate with the Wafdists.  The Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, or the ‘Treaty of Alliance’,  gave Egypt the right to become a member of the League of Nations and to station its troops in the Sudan; Britain was permitted to retain 10,000 troops in the Canal zone for 20 years. 

Nationalists were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty as it allowed the continuation of the British ‘occupation’ of Egypt.  The Wafd party was criticised for failing to negotiate an end to British influence and there were protests against the treaty.  Among the student protesters was a young Gamal Abdel Nasser.  Support for the anti-British stance of the Muslim Brotherhood was strengthened.

Short-term factors

In the post-war period, the Egyptian government called for negotiations for the revision of the 1936 treaty and the evacuation of all remaining British forces.  The king and his supporters also called for unification with the Sudan.  Britain was not receptive and cited the invasion of Egypt by the Axis powers in 1940 as a key example of why the terms of the treaty were necessary.  Large scale demonstrations by nationalists at the Abbas bridge in Cairo in 1946 led to 170 casualties when the police attempted to disperse the crowds.  It was within the context of these domestic tensions that negotiations began between Britain and the prime minister Ismail Sidky Pasha.  Although it was agreed that British forces were to be withdrawn to the Suez Canal in 1947, nationalist and specifically anti-British sentiments continued to increase.

Task One

ATL: Self-management skills

3. What were the social divisions that fostered the emergence of authoritarianism in Egypt?

Task One

ATL: Research skills

4. How did the impact of war lead to the emergence of Gamal Abdul Nasser’s authoritarian state?

‘[Nasser was] not so much a soldier who went into politics as a politician who went into the army.’

Robert Stephens

There were three key wars which fostered the rise of an authoritarian state in Egypt.  In the long-term, the First and Second World Wars had a dramatic impact on the country, but in the short-term the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 created the conditions for Nasser and the Free Officer’s coup of 1952. 

Task one: First World War

ATL: Thinking and self-management skills:

The Second World War in Europe broke out in September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.  The war spread to North Africa in 1940 when Mussolini’s Italy attacked British forces in Egypt.  In accordance with the 1936 treaty, Egypt provided facilities for the British.  Indeed, Egypt became the base for all British operations in North Africa during the war.  The Italian assault was repelled, however the Germans sent reinforcement which forced the British back to El Alamein.  After an intense turning point battle at El Alamein beginning in 1942, the German siege was finally broken in 1943.  During the conflict many Egyptian nationalists supported the Axis powers in the hope that Germany would finally offer full independence to Egypt and remove British influence.  Most nationalists believed that Britain would be defeated.

In 1940 the British pressurised the king to appoint a more pro-British government and remove the prime minister Ali Mahir.  Sir Miles Lampson, the British high commissioner, put pressure on King Farouk in 1942, as the Germans were moving to invade, to appoint the pro-British Wafdist al-Nahhas Pasha as prime minister.  The government had protested that his appointment, in what became known as the Abdin Palace coup or the 4 February incident, undermined Egyptian independence.   The Wafd party then won a landslide victory in the March 1942 elections.  However, British interventions had led to the perception of the Wafd Party as mere puppets and had humiliated the King.  Egyptian military leaders were appalled (including the young officer Nasser) and General Mohammed Naguib requested permission from the King to resign.

King Farouk was hostile to al-Nahhas whom he dismissed from office in October 1944.  His replacement, Ahmed Mahir, acceptable to the British, was assassinated in February 1945. 

The Free Officers movement

As a youth, Gamal Abdul Nasser had ambitions to join the army which had only become possible as the 1936 treaty had allowed for the expansion of the military under its own Egyptian officers.  Nasser quickly rose up through the ranks and became involved in the Free Officers Movement in 1942.  This organisation wanted King Farouk to be more independent of the British.  Its stance was targeted at gaining widespread support from the military and the pro-monarchist public. 

The movement had a Six Point Plan:

1. Eliminate colonialism and the Egyptian ‘traitors’ who supported it
2. End the domination of power by the wealthy
3. End feudalism
4. Establish an equal society
5. Develop a powerful army
6. Establish democracy and free elections

The first point seemed to echo with the position of both the US and the Soviet Union who, after 1945, both stated opposition to imperialism and the ideological concepts underpinning  it.  The notion of empire and colonial influence was further undermined by the founding of the United Nations in 1945 as it emphasised human rights, freedom and self-determination. 

When the Second World War ended in Europe and north Africa in May 1945, Egypt was deeply unstable.  The Wafd party had lost popular support and political opponents then promoted nationalism and called for the revision of the 1936 treaty with Britain.  Demands were for the end of British control in the Sudan and the removal of all remaining troops in Egypt.  Politics in Egypt was becoming more radical and the Muslim Brotherhood became a mass militant organisation.  There were increasing numbers of demonstrations in Cairo which became more violent.  Internal tensions hampered the government’s progress in its two key foreign policy aims – to revise the Anglo-Egyptian treaty and to support the Arabs in Palestine.  Attempts to negotiate with the British with regards to the former ambition broke down in 1946 as Britain would not rule out independence for the Sudan.  The Egyptian government also lost the case after it referred it to the United Nations in July 1947.  In the same year an Egyptian communist group was founded, the Democratic Movement for National Liberation [DMNL].

Task One

ATL: Thinking skills

The Arab-Israeli War 1948

In 1947, the British mandate over Palestine was handed to the United Nations.  The future of Palestine was discussed at the UN from November 1947 and it was decided that the territory would be divided into an Arab state and a Jewish state with UN control over the holy city of Jerusalem.   The UN plan, resolution 181, also called for Britain to allow substantial Jewish migration to the Jewish state by 1 February, 1948; the British had withdrawn by May 1948.

On 14 May, 1948, the head of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel.  This proclamation led, almost immediately, to conflict with the Arab League.   The Arab League was established in 1945 and it was comprised of six states: Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon

During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 the Egyptian army was badly led by officers and commanders that often held positions not due to merit but due to familial connections. It was also poorly equipped.  The war was a disaster for Egypt which was forced to retreat.  But the conflict had given Nasser his first real experience of war. As an anti-imperialist he believed that the Arabs had been defeated because of decisions made by the US, France and Britain – choosing to support Israel – rather than on the battlefield.   The war had radicalised the Free Officers Movement which aimed to ‘liberate Egypt’ and it now determined on a plot to seize power in a military coup..

2. What were the short term factors leading to the establishment of an authoritarian state?

Political tension and violence grew in Egypt and when attempts were made to suppress the organisation, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood assassinated the prime minister in 1948.  Just two months later the leader of the Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna was murdered.  The Wafd party won the 1950 election, however, political tension continued.  The Free Officers Movement had many aims in common with the Wafdists, but wanted tangible action. The Free Officers were outraged by the Tripartite Agreement between the US, Britain and France, which had been agreed after peace talks to prevent another Arab-Israeli war.  The agreement committed its members to defend the armistice line and to ban arm sales to Egypt.

In October 1951, after failing to negotiate the removal of British troops, the prime minister abrogated the 1936 treaty.  Britain proposed an alternative to the treaty – the Middle East defence organisation [MEDO] – but this was rejected by the Egyptian government as it proposed a four power occupation of the canal zone by US, French, Turkish and British forces instead of the removal of British troops.

The government then pursued a policy of ‘non-cooperation’ with the British and a boycott on the use of Egyptian labour in the Canal zone.  Guerrilla attacks by ‘liberation commandos’ on British troops led to retaliation. General Erskine, stationed in Ismailia, ordered tanks to fire on the headquarters of the local police he suspected of supporting the assaults; this was to lead to Black Saturday.

Task One

ATL: Thinking skills

Despite the violence of Black Saturday, the British ambassador did not call in the troops for fear of escalating the situation.  The King, concerned that his own army had become unreliable, also was slow to react. 

As you will have seen from the video Black Saturday was 'the starting gun' of the revolution. Historian Robert Stephens suggests that the army had now become the most important political player in Egypt.  The confidence of the Free Officers had been bolstered by the outcome of an election on 6 January 1952 for the president and committee of the army officer’s club in Cairo; the Free Officers' chosen candidate, General Mohammad Naguib, defeated the King’s candidate.

Although the king dismissed his prime minister, there followed three prime ministers who failed to stabilise the political crisis.  In preparation for the coup, General Muhammad Naguib was brought into the Free Officers movement as a credible and well known figurehead.  Attempts were made to suppress the movement but these failed too and on the 22 July 1952 the coup was executed.

On 23 July the Free Officers took control of the Military General Headquarters and arrested the royalist chief of staff and other commanders.  The air force of the Free Officers circled in the sky over Cairo.  At 7.30 am a radio broadcast justifying the coup of the ‘Blessed Movement’ was made by Free Officer Anwar Sadat.

Task Two

ATL: Thinking skills

There followed cheering and celebrations on the streets of the capital.  The king accepted the request for his abdication in favour of his infant son and left Egypt for exile in Europe.  A Regency Council was established to govern until the child was older, but the Revolutionary Command Council [RCC] of the Free Officers movement had the real power and control.

Task One

ATL – Thinking and self-management skills

What was the role of Nasser’s leadership and the ideology of the Free Officers in facilitating the overthrow of King Farouk?

The Free Officers movement developed through the 1940s but became a key force in Egypt under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser.  Nasser had served in the Sudan during the Second World War and had assisted in the establishment of the secret revolutionary group – the Free Officers movement.  He was wounded in action when serving as a major in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.  Nasser was a charismatic leader who could command both loyalty and respect from his men.  He set up a coordinating committee in 1949, and became its head in 1950.  As Nasser had come from a modest background he could promote his understanding of the middle and working classes.  It was Nasser that contacted the Muslim Brotherhood and the communist Democratic Movement for National Liberation to gain their backing for the coup.  Nasser then led 89 Free Officers in the army coup that deposed King Farouk on 23 July 1952.  The new government that was formed, under the figurehead leadership of General Naguib, was a Nasser-led Revolutionary Command Council [RCC].  In 1954, Nasser removed Naguib and declared himself prime minister of Egypt.

Task One

ATL – Thinking and communication skills

How did Nasser establish personal control?

At the outset, Naguib had been made prime minister and Nasser his deputy.  The new regime then acted quickly on its agenda; on 9 September the Agrarian Reform Law was implemented which seized European owned property [which mainly impacted British assets].  The RCC also set out its land reform program.  On 9 December the RCC abrogated the 1923 constitution and in January 1953 the RCC declared a 3-year transition period of its rule.  A provisional constitution was drawn up to provide a legal cover of legitimacy.  Headed by Nasser, the Liberation Rally, a political organisation, was set up to mobilise pubic support.  The RCC proclaimed Egypt a republic on 18 June – abolishing the monarchy and Naguib became president.  A ‘revolutionary tribunal’ was established which would put on trial politicians of the old regime. 

Task One

ATL: Self-management and Thinking skills