Lesson 24: Egypt from the 1936 Treaty to the Cairo Fire (1936–1952)

01The road to the 1936 treaty

• After Tawfiq Nessim Pasha took the premiership, the international situation grew tense because of Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (1935), which warned of a world war.
• The Wafd Party asked for negotiations with Britain over the four reservations, but the British government evaded.
• Its foreign secretary Samuel Hoor stated (November 1935) that Britain preferred to deal with Egypt freely, without restrictions — the country flared into revolution, demonstrations surged and transport was paralysed.
• A national front was formed to work for the restoration of the 1923 constitution and the conclusion of a treaty.
• Britain was forced to give way: it ordered the King to restore the constitution and agreed to negotiate — on the condition that the agreement be made with the representatives of the whole Egyptian people, that is all the parties, so that the treaty would be accepted and not exposed to political bargaining.
• Tawfiq Nessim resigned, and in January 1936 the King entrusted Ali Maher Pasha with the ministry for the purpose of holding free elections.
• A royal decree in February 1936 formed the negotiation delegation (the National Party did not take part), and two decrees in March 1936 held elections for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which the Wafd won by a majority.
• Mustafa al-Nahas formed the ministry; in March the first session of negotiations was held, and it ended in August 1936 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between Egypt and Britain.

02The terms of the 1936 treaty

• The military occupation of Egypt by British forces ended, though occupying forces remained in certain areas.
• Egypt joined the League of Nations as an independent sovereign state.
• The foreign Capitulations were abolished.
• The Egyptian army was strengthened to a level enabling it to defend the Suez Canal alone; once it reached that strength, the British allied forces would evacuate Egypt.
• All British employees were withdrawn from the Egyptian army, the European security administration was abolished, the European element left the police, and Egypt was held responsible for protecting foreigners.
• Egypt was free to make political treaties with foreign states, provided they did not conflict with this treaty.
• The Egyptian army was returned to the Sudan, and Britain recognised the joint (condominium) administration of the Sudan with Egypt.

03The results of the treaty

• Relations between Britain and Egypt turned from occupation to alliance.
• New political forces appeared — the Muslim Brotherhood and Young Egypt — which allied with King Farouk against the Wafd and both tended towards the Axis powers (Germany and Italy).
• The Palace's influence grew when the young King Farouk mounted the throne and appointed Ali Maher Pasha chief of the royal court; so he was able to dismiss Mustafa al-Nahas's ministry in December 1937 and restore the minority ministries, violating the constitution — so the country was governed from December 1937 to February 1942 under them.
• Inter-party conflict was inflamed, and the people were diverted from the struggle against England to the struggle against dictatorial rule.

04The Second World War and Egypt's relations with Britain

• The Second World War broke out in September 1939 while Ali Maher's government held the premiership.
• Disputes arose between him and Britain because he refused her request that Egypt declare war on the Axis powers; so Britain intervened in June 1940 to remove Ali Maher from the premiership, accusing him of Axis-leaning tendencies.

05The affair of 4 February 1942

Causes

• Under Hussein Sirri Pasha's government a clash occurred between Britain and King Farouk because of his Axis sympathies.
• When Axis forces reached the Egyptian frontier through the fall of Benghazi to the forces of General Rommel, the Palace stirred demonstrations chanting "Forward, Rommel!" on 2 February 1942.

Events

• Britain met this by intervening to overthrow the Palace's rule and appoint a ministry headed by Mustafa al-Nahas, delivering an ultimatum the same day.
• When the leaders and the King rejected the ultimatum, Britain moved tanks that surrounded the Abdeen Palace on 4 February 1942 and intended to depose the King from the throne.
• The King accepted the ultimatum at the last moment and entrusted Mustafa al-Nahas, head of the majority party, with forming a ministry; whereupon the British ambassador withdrew the plan to depose him.

Results

• The Wafd government cooperated with Britain to ward off the danger of the fascist Axis, providing significant military aid that helped England defeat the Axis.
• As the war neared its end, Britain feared the Wafd government would demand the evacuation of British forces from Egypt, so it allowed Farouk to dismiss the Wafd ministry and appoint one of the minority ministries, so that the people would be busy struggling for the constitution rather than against England — this happened in October 1944.
• The affair of 4 February had a great effect on the army officers' sense that their dignity had been insulted, so they held several meetings at the officers' club in Zamalek to consider the situation.

06Minority ministries and instability

• King Farouk ruled tyrannically, using the minority parties as his father had done, so ministries were formed that enjoyed no popular support.
• In the periods of these ministries two prime ministers were killed: Ahmed Maher Pasha and Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi Pasha.
• The Brotherhood movement grew strong, forming flying squads (jawwala) and a secret apparatus that carried out several bombings and political assassinations, and it killed al-Nuqrashi when he dissolved it.
• These ministries sought to amend the 1936 treaty so as to secure the evacuation of British forces and the unity of the Nile valley, and failed; so al-Nuqrashi was compelled to refer Egypt's case to the Security Council, which took no decision and left it pending.

07The war of Palestine (1948)

• In May 1948 Egypt entered, with the Arab states, the war of Palestine without sufficient military preparation, to drive the Jews out of Palestine.
• Cooperation between the Arab armies was not adequate, so they failed to remove the state of Israel, and the war ended with a truce in February 1949.
• The young Egyptian officers learned on the battlefields the scale of the crime committed by the ruling regime, headed by King Farouk, in sending the army without training or preparation and without sufficient weapons, ammunition or equipment.

08The return of the Wafd and the abrogation of the 1936 treaty

• Faced with the deterioration of the political situation, King Farouk was forced to agree to free general elections in January 1950, which the Wafd won by a majority, and Mustafa al-Nahas became prime minister. He released the freedoms that had been suppressed under the minority ministries.
• He entered negotiations with the British government to amend the 1936 treaty, from March 1950 to August 1951.
• When they achieved no success, al-Nahas announced in October 1951 the abrogation of the 1936 treaty and gave the people freedom to make armed struggle against the British forces in the Canal.
• The fedayeen began attacking British camps, and the government worked to increase the number of police (block) soldiers in order to help the fedayeen.

09The battle of Ismailia and the Cairo Fire (January 1952)

• When the English discovered this, they surrounded the Ismailia governorate building to disarm the police (block) soldiers (25 January 1952).
• The interior minister Fouad Serageddin Pasha ordered them to resist, and dozens of them were martyred.
• The next day, as the news reached Cairo, demonstrations and protests spread and chaos and unrest broke out, and what is known as the Cairo Fire happened on 26 January 1952.
• King Farouk dismissed the Wafd government and, under martial law, entrusted Ali Maher Pasha with the ministry; but it resigned on 1 March, and several different ministries followed until the revolution of 23 July 1952.

10Exam traps and key takeaways

• The trigger for the 1936 negotiations was international, not domestic: Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (1935); the trigger for the popular explosion was Hoor's November 1935 statement.
• Britain's condition was a treaty with all the parties — hence the national front and the Wafd landslide; the National Party stayed out of the negotiation delegation.
• Sequence: Ali Maher's ministry Jan 1936 · delegation decree Feb · elections March · first session March · treaty August 1936.
• Terms to hold exactly: evacuation was conditional on the army's ability to defend the Canal alone; Egypt kept forces in certain areas; Capitulations abolished; League membership; police/European security administration ended with Egypt responsible for protecting foreigners; army back to the Sudan with condominium recognised.
• Results' ironies: the treaty created an alliance yet strengthened the Palace, which then violated the constitution from December 1937 to February 1942; and the new forces (Brotherhood, Young Egypt) leaned to the Axis.
• 1942 affair's cause chain: Benghazi fell → Palace chants "Forward, Rommel" (2 Feb) → ultimatum → tanks at Abdeen (4 Feb) → King yields at the last moment.
• Two results often confused: Britain let Farouk dismiss the Wafd in October 1944 (fear of an evacuation demand), while the officers' club meetings at Zamalek are the effect on the army — the direct seed of 23 July 1952.
• Two assassinated prime ministers: Ahmed Maher and al-Nuqrashi — the latter killed by the Brotherhood's secret apparatus after he dissolved it.
• The Security Council took no decision — saying it "rejected" the case is a wrong option.
• Palestine war: entered May 1948, truce February 1949; the officers' lesson was the arms/corruption crime of the regime, not enemy strength.
• Abrogation came in October 1951 after negotiations failed (March 1950 – August 1951); armed struggle was officially opened to the people, and the government inflated the police blocks to help the fedayeen.
• Dates of the endgame: Ismailia 25 January 1952, Cairo Fire 26 January 1952, Ali Maher's ministry resigns 1 March, revolution 23 July 1952.