According to most scholars the history of modern Egypt dates from the start of the rule of Muhammad Ali in 1805 and his launching of Egypt's modernization project that involved building a new army and suggesting a new map for the country, though the definition of Egypt's modern history has varied in accordance with different definitions of modernity. Some scholars date it as far back as 1516 with the Ottomans' defeat of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1516–17.
Muhammad Ali's dynasty made Egypt practically independent from Ottoman rule, following his military campaigns against the Empire and his ability to enlist large-scale armies, allowing him to extend Egypt's control over parts of North Africa and the Middle East. In 1882, the Khedivate of Egypt became part of the British sphere of influence in the region, a situation that conflicted with its position as an autonomous vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The country became a British protectorate in 1915 and achieved full independence in 1922, becoming a kingdom under the rule of Muhammad Ali's dynasty, which lasted until 1952.
Gamal Abdel Nasser ended monarchical rule and established a republic in Egypt, known as the Republic of Egypt, following the 1952 Egyptian revolution. Egypt was ruled autocratically by four presidents over the following six decades: by Mohamed Naguib from 1953 to 1954, Nasser from 1954 until his death in 1970, by Anwar Sadat from 1971 until his assassination in 1981, and by Hosni Mubarak from 1981 until his resignation in the face of the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
In 2012, after more than a year under the interim government of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, with Field Marshal Tantawi as its chairman, elections were held and the Islamist Mohamed Morsi became the first democratically elected head of state in the entire history of Egypt. In 2013, after millions of Egyptians in huge rallies and demonstrations demanding Morsi's resignation, the army announced the ousting of Morsi and preparations for a new election. Resulting in the election of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
Khedivate of Egypt
British administration
In 1882 opposition to European control led to growing tension amongst notable Egyptians, the most dangerous opposition coming from the army. A large military demonstration in September 1881 forced the Khedive Tewfiq to dismiss his prime minister. In April 1882, France and the United Kingdom sent warships to Alexandria to bolster the Khedive amidst a turbulent climate, spreading fear of invasion throughout the country.
Tawfiq moved to Alexandria for fear of his own safety as army officers led by Ahmed Urabi began to take control of the government. By June Egypt was in the hands of nationalists opposed to European domination of the country. The naval bombardment of Alexandria by the Royal Navy had little effect on the opposition which led to the landing of a British expeditionary force at both ends of the Suez Canal in August 1882.
The British succeeded in defeating the Egyptian Army at Tel El Kebir in September and took control of the country putting Tawfiq back in control. The purpose of the invasion had been to restore political stability to Egypt under a government of the Khedive and international controls which were in place to streamline Egyptian financing since 1876. It is unlikely that the British expected a long-term occupation from the outset. However, Lord Cromer, Britain's Chief Representative in Egypt at the time, viewed Egypt's financial reforms as part of a long-term objective. Cromer took the view that political stability needed financial stability, and embarked on a programme of long-term investment in Egypt's productive resources, above all in the cotton economy, the mainstay of the country's export earnings.
In 1906 the Denshawai incident provoked a questioning of British rule in Egypt. British administration ended nominally with the establishment of a protectorate and the installation of sultan Hussein Kamel in 1914, but a British military presence in Egypt lasted until June 1956.
Sultanate of Egypt
In 1914 as a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, of which Egypt was nominally a part, Britain declared a Protectorate over Egypt and deposed the anti-British Khedive, Abbas Hilmi II, replacing him with his uncle Husayn Kamel, who was made Sultan of Egypt by the British. Egypt subsequently declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
A group known as the Wafd Delegation attended the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 to demand Egypt's independence. Included in the group was political leader, Saad Zaghlul, who would later become prime minister. When the group was arrested and deported to the island of Malta, a huge uprising occurred in Egypt.
From March to April 1919, there were mass demonstrations that became uprisings. This is known in Egypt as the 1919 Revolution. Almost daily demonstrations and unrest continued throughout Egypt for the remainder of the Spring. To the surprise of the British authorities, Egyptian women also demonstrated, led by Huda Sha‘rawi (1879–1947), who would become the leading feminist voice in Egypt in the first half of the twentieth century. The first women's demonstration was held on Sunday, 16 March 1919, and was followed by yet another one on Thursday, 20 March 1919. Egyptian women would continue to play an important and increasingly public nationalist role throughout the spring and summer of 1919 and beyond.Ziad Fahmy, Ordinary Egyptians: Creating the Modern Nation through Popular Culture (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011), pp. 138-39.
Initially, the British authorities deployed the police force in Cairo in response to the demonstrations, though control was soon handed over to Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) troops under the command of Major-General H. D. Watson. By the summer of 1919, the disturbances had largely been suppressed; more than 800 Egyptians had been killed, as well as 31 European civilians and 29 British soldiers. In November 1919, the Milner Commission was sent to Egypt by the British to attempt to resolve the situation. In 1920, Lord Milner submitted his report to Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary, recommending that the protectorate should be replaced by a treaty of alliance. As a result, Curzon agreed to receive an Egyptian mission headed by Zaghlul and Adli Pasha to discuss the proposals. The mission arrived in London in June 1920 and the agreement was concluded in August 1920.
In February 1921, the British Parliament approved the agreement and Egypt was asked to send another mission to London with full powers to conclude a definitive treaty. Adli Pasha led this mission, which arrived in June 1921. However, the Dominion delegates at the 1921 Imperial Conference had stressed the importance of maintaining control over the Suez Canal Zone and Curzon could not persuade his Cabinet colleagues to agree to any terms that Adli Pasha was prepared to accept. The mission returned to Egypt in disgust.
Kingdom of Egypt
In December 1921, the British authorities in Cairo imposed martial law and once again deported Zaghlul. Demonstrations again led to violence. In deference to the growing nationalism and at the suggestion of the High Commissioner, Lord Allenby, the UK unilaterally declared Egyptian independence on 28 February 1922. Sultan Fuad I was subsequently proclaimed King of Egypt.
Britain, however, continued to retain a strong influence in the newborn Kingdom of Egypt. British guided the king and retained control of the Canal Zone, Sudan and Egypt's external and military affairs. King Fuad died in 1936 and King Farouk inherited the throne at the age of sixteen. Alarmed by the Second Italo-Abyssinian War when Italy invaded Ethiopia, he signed the Anglo-Egyptian treaty, requiring Britain to withdraw all troops from Egypt by 1949, except at the Suez Canal.
During World War II, British troops used Egypt as its primary base for all Allied operations throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the Suez Canal area in 1947, but nationalist, anti-British feelings continued to grow after the war.P.J. Vatikiotis, The History of Modern Egypt (4th ed., 1992).
Republic of Egypt
Coup of 1952
On 22–26 July 1952, a group of disaffected army officers (the "free officers") led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948 war with Israel. Popular expectations for immediate reforms led to the workers' riots in Kafr Dawar on 12 August 1952, which resulted in two death sentences. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, the Free Officers abrogated the 1953 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on 18 June 1953.
Nasser's rule
Emergence of Arab socialism
Nasser evolved into a charismatic leader, not only of Egypt but of the Arab world, promoting and implementing "Arab socialism."
When the United States held up military sales in reaction to Egyptian neutrality regarding the Soviet Union, Nasser concluded an arms deal with Czechoslovakia in September 1955.
When the US and the World Bank withdrew their offer to help finance the Aswan High Dam in mid-1956, Nasser nationalized the privately owned Suez Canal Company. The crisis that followed, exacerbated by growing tensions with Israel over guerrilla attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals, support for the FLN's war of liberation against the French in Algeria and against Britain's presence in the Arab world, resulted in the invasion of Egypt in October by France, Britain, and Israel. This was also known as the Suez War. According to the historian Abd aI-Azim Ramadan, Nasser's decision to nationalize the Suez Canal was his alone, made without political or military consultation. The events leading up to the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, as other events during Nasser's rule, showed Nasser's inclination to solitary decision making. He considers Nasser to be far from a rational, responsible leader.
United Arab Republic
In 1958 Egypt joined with the Republic of Syria and annexed the Gaza Strip, ruled by the All-Palestine Government, to form a state called the United Arab Republic. It existed until Syria's secession in 1961, although Egypt continued to be known as the UAR until 1971.
Nasser helped establish with India and Yugoslavia the Non-Aligned Movement of developing countries in September 1961, and continued to be a leading force in the movement until his death.
Regional intervention Nasser had looked to a regime change in Yemen since 1957 and finally put his desires into practice in January 1962 by giving the Free Yemen Movement office space, financial support, and radio air time. Anthony Nutting's biography of Gamal Abdel-Nasser identifies several factors that led the Egyptian President to send expeditionary forces to Yemen. These included the unraveling of the union with Syria in 1961, which dissolved his United Arab Republic (UAR), damaging his prestige. A quick decisive victory in Yemen could help him recover leadership of the Arab world. Nasser also had his reputation as an anti-colonial force, setting his sights on ridding South Yemen, and its strategic port city of Aden, of British forces.
Nasser ruled as an autocrat but remained extremely popular within Egypt and throughout the Arab world. His willingness to stand up to the Western powers and to Israel won him support throughout the region. However, Nasser's independent foreign policy led to Israel launching the Six-Day War in 1967. This conflict saw the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian armed forces routed by the Israelis.