Transcript gamal abdel nasser

GAMAL ABDEL NASSER
- Gamal Abdel Nasser was the president of Egypt from 1955 until
his death in 1970.
- He was an avowed anti-imperialist
and a strong supporter of Egyptian
and Arab nationalism.
- He was the first Egyptian leader
since the time of the pharaohs.
- Anthony Nutting stated “After 2500
years of taking orders from Persians,
Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab,
Kurdish, Turkish, French and British
pro-consuls, the people of Egypt were
at long to regain their national
statehood”.
COLONY AND PROTECTORATE
What’s the difference?
A colony is a region owned by a country but does not form part
of the country. A protectorate is a nation in itself that is
governed by a government but relies entirely on another country
for protection against invasion from some other country.
EGYPT BEFORE AND AFTER WWI
- Nominally a part of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt was a British
protectorate.
- The British governor was very influential in Egyptian politics
alongside a ruling class whose origins were Turkish.
- In 1914, the outbreak of WWI led to a crisis in which Turkey
allied itself with Germany and declared war on Britain.
- To secure its position, Britain declared Egypt a British
protectorate, although in practice the same dynasty of Turkish
rulers continued to occupy the throne.
- By the end of the war, Egyptian nationalism was given a boost by
the ideology outlined by President Wilson’s Fourteen Points at the
PPC of 1919.
FOURTEEN POINTS
- In January 1919, President Wilson of the USA made a speech in
which he described 14 Points outlining the landscape of post-war
Europe.
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/wilson-points.htm
- Although this was not to be applied to the colonial states of the
European powers.
- Egyptian were nevertheless keen to try to gain independence
from Britain.
- A group of nationalist planned to go to Paris to plead the case for
Egyptian independence.
- This was the beginning of the WAFD PARTY, a named derived
from al-wafd al-misry meaning “Egyptian delegation”.
- At first, they were forbidden from leaving Egypt, but the decision
was revoked after a series of strikes and demonstrations by the
supporters.
- Predictably, Britain proved unsympathetic to calls for early
Egyptian independence.
EGYPTIAN INDEPENDENCE
- In February 1922, Egypt was given recognition as a sovereign state
with a constitutional monarchy.
- King Fuad was crowned and a new constitution was drawn in
1923, allowed the king to appoint the Prime Minister, dismiss his
ministers and, if he so wished, to dissolve the parliament.
- Full independence was limited:
- Britain retained control of Suez Canal
- Britain had the right to defend Egypt in the event of an
invasion, which meant it could continue to have its army
stationed there
- Britain had the right to defend the rights of foreigners and
minorities
- Britain had the right to determine the status of Sudan
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
- The King
- The British
- The Wafdists
- Misr el Fatat (Young Egypt) who conducted paramilitary parades in
support of the king
- The Muslim Brotherhood (1928), it was both nationalist and an
Islamic party – demanded for the restoration of the Caliphate, to
be based in Cairo and for a holy war against Britain.
THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN TREATY OF 1936
- It was a treaty signed between the UK and the Kingdom of Egypt;
it is officially known as The Treaty of Alliance Between His
Majesty, in Respect of the United Kingdom, and His Majesty, the
King of Egypt.
- Under the terms of the treaty, the United Kingdom was required
to withdraw all its troops from Egypt, except those necessary to
protect the Suez Canal and its surroundings, numbering 10,000
troops plus 400 Royal Air Force pilots in the Suez Canal Zone until
the Egyptians should be capable of protecting the area.
- The UK would supply and train Egypt's army and assist in its
defense in case of war. The treaty was to last for 20 years.
- It permitted Great Britain to retain its naval base at Alexandria for
a maximum of eight years. Further, a British ambassador to Egypt
replaced the former high commissioner.
- It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 6 January,
1937.
- It allowed Egypt to become member of the LON.
- Among the pretexts for the treaty was the Second Italo-Abyssinian
War, which had started in 1935.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297461/Italo-Ethiopian-War
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297357/Italian-Somaliland
- The 1936 treaty did not resolve the question of Sudan, which,
under the terms of the existing Anglo-Egyptian Condominium
Agreement of 1899, stated that Sudan should be jointly governed
by Egypt and Britain, real power remained in British hands, but it
permitted Egyptian troops to be stationed in Sudan.
- The treaty however, was not welcomed by Egyptian nationalists
like the Arab Socialist Party, who wanted full independence from
Britain.
- It ignited a wave of demonstrations against the British and the
Wafd Party, which had supported the treaty.
- After the treaty had been signed, the Egyptian government
assumed full administrative control over its armed forces and
began to admit into the military academy a wider group of
Egyptians, which allowed individuals such as future prime
minister and president of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser to join the
officer corps.
- King Farouk succeeded his uncle King Fuad after his death and
shortly after the treaty had been signed.