BRITISH COLONIZATION

OF EGYPT
When and why did Egypt get colonized by British forces?

It started after the Anglo-Egyptian war at 1882 and ended after the Suez crisis in 1956 when the last
British forces withdraw from Egypt according to the agreement at 1954.
The first period of British rule (1882–1914) is often called the "veiled protectorate". During
this time the Khedivate of Egypt remained an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire,
and the British occupation had no legal basis but constituted a de facto protectorate over
the country. Egypt was thus not part of the British Empire. This state of affairs lasted until
1914 when the Ottoman Empire joined the First World War on the side of the Central
Powers and Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt. The ruling khedive was deposed
and his successor, Hussein Kamel, compelled to declare himself Sultan of
Egypt independent of the Ottomans in December 1914.
The formal protectorate over Egypt outlasted the war for only a short period. It was brought
to an end when the British government issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian
Independence on 28 February 1922. Shortly afterwards, Sultan Fuad I declared
himself King of Egypt, but the British occupation continued, in accordance with several
reserve clauses in the declaration of independence. The situation was normalised in
the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which granted Britain the right to station troops in Egypt
for the defence of the Suez Canal, its link with India. Britain also continued to control the
training of the Egyptian Army. During the Second World War (1939–45), Egypt came under
attack from Italian Libya on account of the British presence there, although Egypt itself
remained neutral until late in the war. After the war Egypt sought to modify the treaty, but it
was abrogated in its entirety by an anti-British government in October 1951. After the 1952
coup d'état, the British agreed to withdraw their troops, and by June 1956 had done so.
Britain went to war against Egypt over the Suez Canal in late 1956, but with insufficient
international support was forced to back down.
With the information stated it was obvious that Britain occupied Egypt to secure its control over the
Suez canal which was the route to its colonies in the Indian subcontinent.
How it affected Egypt
Egypt was impacted through the improvement of the economy and infrastructure, the
westernization of Egypt, the continued failure of the education and health systems, and
moreover the loss of freedom for Egyptians, as well as the exploitation and death of natives
and revolutionary activity
How it ended
As it was stated before the British colonization of Egypt ended because of the Anglo-Egyptian
agreement in 1954.
The Anglo–Egyptian Treaty ("Heads of Agreement") was signed on 27 July 1954, ending
more than seventy years of British occupation of the Suez Canal Zone.
When Britain relinquished its military presence in other parts of Egypt after the end of
the Second World War, it continued to keep its forces in scores of camps, a number of
airfields, and other military installations along the Canal. Despite the British withdrawal
from India and other colonies "East of Suez" in the late 1940s, British and U.S. strategists
continued to consider the installations along the Canal vital in case of war with the Soviet
bloc.
The "Young Officers" who took power in Cairo in July 1952
persisted in the demand for total British withdrawal as one of
the main items on their political agenda, and they resorted
to guerrilla warfare using fidaʾiyyun (suicide attackers)
against British troops in the Canal Zone. Given the urgent
need to further curtail its financial burdens, and under some
pressure from U.S. president Eisenhower's
administration, Great Britain decided to quit the Canal. The
treaty provided, however, for British civilian contractors to
maintain some of the installations in peacetime, because
Egypt agreed that British forces would be allowed to return
and use the Canal base in the event of war.