British Colonization of Egypt - Research Paper Example

?The Colonization of Egypt Before the commencement of the British rule in Egypt, Egypt’s culture and economy was thriving. Egypt continued to excel in infrastructure as well as architecture for several centuries during the reign of the pharaohs. The Egyptian pyramids are the symbol of the Egyptians unique taste in architecture throughout the history. “Egypt was known as the “Mother of Civilization” for its great landmarks and great hold of culture and tradition. Unfortunately, on 332-323 B.C., the misfortunes of Egypt under the influence of colonization started with Alexander the Great leading the colonization” (Magbanua, 2010, p. 1). Throughout its history, the Egyptians have experienced colonization with different leading nations that included but were not limited to the Greek-Roman colonizers, the Turks, and the French. These numerous periods of colonization has had immense impact on the psychology and lifestyle of the Egyptians. Britain controlled Egypt for a period of almost four decades. “Considering the history of colonization efforts in Egypt, it is of no surprise that the land of the pharaohs soon bore the brunt of European and American intentions” (Eden, 2011). In the year 1882, the British forced the French Army’s leader Napoleon Bonaparte out of Africa. “The British considered their task to be to relieve Egypt of the evil of overgovernment, so that the productive capacity of the Egyptian peasant could be realized to the full” (Mitchell, 1998, p. 109). Rather than giving the land of Egypt to the Egyptians, that were supposedly its rightful owners, the British resolved to colonize Egypt and govern the land by means of a protectorate. This provided the British government with a way to control the politics and economy of Egypt without having any intervention made by the Egyptians. As a result of this, the Egyptians completely lost their country’s control. Before its colonization, Egypt had a very good economic condition. The industrial aspects were maintained by the working class whereas the upper class looked after the political aspects and made part of the government. Through Egypt’s colonization, Britain gained hold over the Suez Canal that was a fundamental component of the routes used to conduct trade. Britain used this control to impose heavy taxes upon the ships that navigated through the Suez Canal. The British gathered a lot of money with this and the Egyptians did not get any share from them. The British government kept that money as profit rather than using it for maintaining the Suez Canal or Egypt. Gradually, the Egyptians realized that Britain had colonized their country and was using its resources to make profit for itself and so the Egyptians started leaving Egypt. This imparted the need to have immense action by the British, since the profit would be minimized if the Egyptians were allowed to leave the country because the land as well as the Suez Canal was primarily maintained by the Egyptians. As a result, the British government resolved to heavily tax the Egyptians so that the Egyptians would need to stay and work in Egypt to be able to pay off the taxes. The Egyptians were left with no choice but to make money to pay off the taxes by maintaining the land of Egypt and the Suez Canal. After the taxes were paid, the Egyptians were left with very little money that was just enough to afford the basic necessities of life. The British were holding the Egyptians on their own land against their consent that was not only illegal morally and ethically but was also punishable in the eyes of law. The political condition of Egypt had been immensely damaged because of colonization apart from the economic scam of Britain. “The most important use of orientalism to the Europeans was that they defined themselves by defining the orientals. For example, qualities such as lazy, irrational, uncivilized, crudeness were related to the orientals, and automatically the Europeans became active, rational, civilized, sophisticated. Thus, in order to achieve this goal, it was very necessary for the orientalists to generalize the culture of the orients” (Said cited in Khalid, n.d.). In the start, the Egyptians hoped that with the expansion of their government with the British also included in it, they would be able to make important changes quickly. But as the time passed, the Egyptians found that their government was more of a British government than the Egypt-British government, and that their government did not address their needs and requests. This realization made the Egyptians establish a little and secret government of their own. As a result of this, the once powerful government of Egypt was transformed into a little general assembly that had no more than 20 people in it. The main purpose of the establishment of the general assembly was to have a platform through which the needs and desires of the Egyptians could be forwarded to the British government and their grant could be ensured. However, since the British government did not consider the general assembly’s suggestions, the generally assembly gradually transformed into a rebellion group that made plans to revolt against the British government. On the other hand, the British government showed no concern for the general assembly of Egypt and instead continued using Egypt and the Suez Canal to make the profits for its own sake. Although the Egyptian military improved a lot during the British rule in its structure as well as mass, yet it was entirely used by the British as a commodity without the consent of the Egyptians. The new army primarily constituted the citizens from the high to upper class. The selection of citizens in the army was made either because they were rebellious or because they were rich enough to leave Egypt. After being shipped to a Cairo-based British camp, the citizens were derived of their belongings and money and were provided with a rifle, a uniform with a pair of shoes. The Egyptian citizens participated in the battle training sessions with the hope that they would be rendering their services for the defense of their own country. They did not have any idea that the British government would use them in non-Egypt related battles. The Egyptians were totally helpless and the solution to their problems was none other than decolonization. Paradoxically, some things that the British government did improve in Egypt included the techniques of farming, education, and healthcare. However, the British government did not improve these areas for the sake of the Egyptians. The improvements were rather made for the merchants and the traders that used to stay in Egypt as they crossed the Suez Canal. Instead of benefiting from the improved education, healthcare and farming, the Egyptians just paid for them through their taxes. “Totally, colonialism is very destructive enemy that a person caught up in the middle will never be free even to the most strict definition and sense of the word “freedom”” (Magbanua, 2010). The British government did not make any physical changes in Cairo throughout the period for which Britain ruled over Egypt. Tawfik remained khedive whereas Citadel was occupied by Britain. The British government needed the help of foreigners to establish the rule in Cairo so that the commerce in Cairo would not be handled by the Egyptians. On the other hand, it was equally important for Britain to have dependable people to organize Cairo that had to be from any nationality but the Egyptians. Lord Cromer was assigned the responsibility of absolute rule’s consolidation in Cairo. Lord Cromer became the Agent of Britain for Egypt in the year 1883 and had almost two and a half years of rule over Egypt. Before being given this control, Lord Cromer was given control of the Cairo Public Debt and was serving as the British Commissioner. In the war, many people from New Zealand, Australia, and Britain were brought to Cairo. In a fight of national liberation, the Turks were revolted against by the Arabs. Very soon, this policy gained consent of all the Egyptians. As a result of the self-indulgence of the British, the European Cairo was made a madhouse. On the other hand, the Egyptian Cairo was the place of preparation and politics. Prices in Cairo steadily rose as the British soldiers enjoyed the rule. The countryside people were suffering from such evils as malnutrition and poverty. The conditions were so bad that in the year 1918, there happened more deaths and lesser births. The Fourteen Points of the US President Wilson after the Second World War gave the Egyptians a hope that they would get freedom from the British rule. When Saad Zaghul demanded the right of Egypt to self-determination in the British Residency, he was allowed to address but was imprisoned a month later. This news caused the Egyptians to revolt. In no time, Cairo was transformed into a revolutionary city as the Egyptians seized all towns and cities. Everything from the trains to the trams were stopped by the Egyptians. A lot of Egyptians lost their lives either in fighting during the revolt or for killing the British officers. Although the empires were very powerful wherever they existed, yet they only benefited the nation that was colonizing and not the natives. “The collapse of empires throughout history has shown us empires do not last, faced with the natural decay of time. Imperialism, the concept of the domination of one nation over another, herself declined after World War II, on the basis of self-determination for every nation” (Studygroup, n.d.). After the Second World War, the British Empire dismantled as a result of which, Egypt gained completed independence in the year 1926. Lieutenant-Colonel Nasser rose to power in the year 1952. In the year 1953, General Neguib was made Egypt’s president (Boddy-Evans, 2012). According to the 1971 constitution, the economy of Egypt is based on the control of all production by the people. In spite of the measures of land reform, socialism’s progress was unstable after 1952. After early 1970’s, all important economic sectors were either controlled by the government or were public. These economic sectors included but were not limited to the large-scale industry, cotton trade, communications, foreign trade, and banking. The government imposed strict restrictions on the ownership of land and the personal income. However, over the past few decades, some of these restrictions have been eradicated, that has resulted into increased participation of the private sector in different areas of economy in Egypt. Currently, there are 26 muhafazat in Africa and five cities have the status of muhafazah that include Ismailia, Suez, Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria. The president of the republic can both appoint and dismiss the governor. The republic’s president has the maximum executive authority in the muhafazah, and also has administrative power upon all people in the government excluding the judges in his muhafazah. The president of the republic implements the policies. There is a majority of the elected members in the muhafazah council. Concluding, before the colonization of the Egyptians by the British government, Egypt had already undergone colonization from numerous nations. During the British rule over Egypt, the Egyptians have been derived from the opportunities of their own land and property by the British for four decades. The British government took hold of the land as well as the Suez Canal and used them for its personal benefits without giving the Egyptians any share from the earnings. The Egyptians were made to pay tax by maintaining the Suez Canal and the rest of the land because of which, they could not leave Egypt. The British government consumed all the profits. The Egyptians made a general assembly to convey their needs to the British government but the British government did not still address the needs of the Egyptians. After the Second World War, the Egyptians got relief from the British government and got complete independence. For 40 years, the Egyptians suffered from a life of slavery and subjugation in their own country whereas the British government kept using its resources for personal gains. After attaining full independence, the economy as well as the politics of Egypt thrived. References: Boddy-Evans, A. (2012). Egypt. Retrieved from http://africanhistory.about.com/od/eraindependence/ig/North-African- Independence/Atlas-Egypt.htm. Eden, L. (2011). Colonizing Egypt: A Further Analysis on the Impact of Western Imperialism. Retrieved from http://lilitheden.hubpages.com/hub/Colonizing-Egypt-A-Further-Analysis-on-the-Impact-of-Western-Imperialism. Khalid, H. (n.d.). An Introduction to Edward Said’s Orientalism. Retrieved from http://www.renaissance.com.pk/FebBoRe2y6.htm. Magbanua, C. (2010). An Analysis of "The Beginning and The End" by Naguib Mafouz. GRIN Verlag. Mitchell, T. (1998). Colonising Egypt: With a New Preface. England: Cambridge University Press. Studygroup. (n.d.). British colonisation of Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.studygroup- bd.org/colonialism-british-colonisation-of-egypt.html. Read More