SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Abbas Hilmi II came to power after about nine years of British Occupation, during which Tawfiq was almost completely submissive to the British policy. At the beginning of that period the nascent nationalist movement seemed almost defunct. Towards the end, however, it began to show faint signs of life. The importance of 'Abbas's reign between 1892 and 1907 is that, contrary to his father, he followed mainly a policy of resistance towards the Occupation and Cromer, and sided with the nationalist movement, thus bringing to the battlefield a new force. This force was dependent on the Khedive at first, but it ultimately acquired strength and began to stand on its own feet. The Khedive and the Rationalists were, however, aware of the necessity of co-operation. The battlefield was not an isolated one, and the struggle was not confined to the three combating forces, Turkey, and some European powers, had their interests in Egypt. This, together' with the weakness of the Egyptian side, introduced an external factor which affected the situation. The external support was not of very much help to 'Abbas and the Nationalists, and the period shows steady increase of British domination, and constant diminution of the Khedive's authority. This trend was accelerated by the Sudan reconquest. The period witnessed also a change in the aims of 'Abbas. At first he resisted the Occupation in general, while at the end he was mainly struggling against Cromer's domination. The purpose of this thesis is a study, through the relations between 'Abbas and Cromer, of the Anglo-Egyptian relations during that period. Care is given to the different elements which affected these relations, especially the nationalist movement, The effect on the nationalist movement is also explained.