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Egypt before Imperialism
One of Egypts primary intrestes was its distance to the east. Napaleon (entered Egypt on his was to India. And fought in the Delta area. But succesfuly occupied Cairo with little fighting.France built the Suez Canal on Egypts land. But when Egypt ran into money problems Britian came in and bought the canal away from Egypt and France. This canal was important because it was now easier for them to get to their colony, India. This started tensions between Britian and Egypt for a long time. -
Robert Stephenson's railroad was completed
The railroad improved the "overland route" between the Port of Alexandria and the Gulf of Suez. The railroad became one of the most important means of transportation in Egypt. -
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Suez Canal was being built
The Suez Canal was a waterway that connects the Medeterrainian Sea and Red Sea. -
Opening of the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranian Sea and the Red Sea and without it ships would have to sail around the tip of Africa to trade with Asian countries. This is one of the reasons that imperialization took place in Egypt. -
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Flooding of the Nile
Flooding of the Nile river caused food shortages and starvation in upper Egypt. -
British troops take control of Egypt
Britians thought it was a good investment to buy the suez canal from Egypt as they went bankrupt. This would ensure easier travel to India. They were stationed in Cairo to protect their interests. -
The signing of the Anglo-French Joint Note
The British and French feared that the Eqyptian nationalists had become to powerful. As a result, they tried to give more power to Tewfik, the leader of Egypt by secretly signing the "Anglo-French Joint Note" pledging to support Tewfik. -
Egypt becomes a British protectorate
With the start of WWI Britian declares Eqypt a protectorate. They stationed more than 100,000 troops in Egypt. Mainly to gaurd the Suez and impose martial law to limit any uprisings. The people were not treated well and had livestock confiscated and were to dig ditches and other low class tasks. Egypt demanded their independence. And a period of fighting took place after WWI. -
Fuad the Ist becomes King of Egypt and Egypt gains its Independence
On February 28, 1922 Britain declared a limited independence for Egypt. A new Egyptian Constitution was created in 1923 and in the 1924 election the Wafdists won a significant majority of seats in Parliament. Britan agreed to defend the country against attack and to defend minorities and foreign interestes. Britian still controlled the Sudan. -
Attack on Israel
Five arab nations, one being Egypt, attacked the new state of Israel. The Arabs wanted to prevent Israel from becoming a Jewish state. The Jewish people wanted to gain control of the land that was given to them by the Partition Plan. Egypt maintained some control over the gaza strip during negotitations. -
People killed in anti British Riot
Egyptians riot with British in Cairo. Britian protecting the Suez Canal and had a presence in Cairo since before World War I. The Eqyptians rebels were growing tired of the Britians. They went after British companies like Barclays Bank and other tourist places in Cairo. King Farouk declared marshall law in the Capital to create some order in the city.
