SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The years immediately following the First World War were extremely important for the formulation of Britain's policy towards Egypt, a British Protectorate since 1914. In this connection, the years 1922 to 1925, the last years of Lord Allenby's tenure as Britain's High Commissioner in Egypt, were critical. Allenby, who was appointed in 1919 in order to suppress nationalist- inspired rioting in Egypt, adopted a surprising policy of moderation. He soon forced the British government to unilaterally declare Egypt's independence in 1922. This apparent success was followed by the adoption of a modern constitution in Egypt and the British withdrawal from the entanglements of Egypt's administration. Still Allenby's career ended in seeming frustration in 1925: negotiations between Britain and Egypt failed in 1924, to be followed by the assassination of the British Governor General of the Sudan, Sir Lee Stack, and Allenby's harsh ultimatum to the Egyptian government in November 1924 effectively reinstituting British control of Egypt's administration. Allenby left Egypt in 1925 because of his sharp response to the disorders and his refusal, as in 1922, to accept the views of the British government in London. This rivalry between British policy-makers in Cairo and in London became the hallmark of British policy throughout this period. The thesis attempts to answer some of the questions raised by the formulation of Britain's policy towards Egypt during the years 1922-1925, when an effort was made to regularise Anglo-Egyptian relations. Towards this end, there is an examination of the factors affecting Britain's policy in three related areas: the environment - the approaches and perceptions of policy; the balance and tensions between the High Commissioner and his Residency staff in Cairo and the British government in London; and, finally, the interaction of these elements with events in Egypt, particularly the struggle between the nationalist forces, led by Zaghlul Pasha, and the Egyptian King, Ahmad Fuad.