British took advantage of Egyptian economic problems and bought half of the shares of the Canal, gaining a huge influence. Egypt was descending into "anarchy" because of internal revolts and the decline of the Ottoman Empire, threatening the Suez Canal; so the British government in 1882 invaded Egypt.

 

The products coming from Great Britain started to replace the national ones, as a result the productions of goods in the country decreased, while the unemployment increased.

The industrialization process was only introduced in those sectors where the British had investments, for example the cotton industry developed significantly during this time.

 

When the Ottoman Empire started to take part in the First World War, supporting Germany; Great Britain promised to the Egyptians to make some changes in the matter of self-government when the war was over, if they supported them. They finally didn’t accomplish their agreement, what led to many revolts.

The war years were very difficult for the Egyptian peasants, because the British forced thousands of them to take part in their army in the Middle East and seized their herds. The effects of the war were catastrophic for the population, which was impoverished and with very high unemployment rates. 

It stretches 192km (120 miles) between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

The increasing presence and power of the British in Egypt led to a spirit of nationalism among Egyptians social classes and so, to the creation of anti-British, nationalist independence parties. 

 

A group of Egyptian politicians, led by Sa'ad Zaghlul, a prominent member of the Egyptian elite and former education minister, petitioned British high commissioner for permission to go to the next Paris Peace Conference to make Egypt's case. Instead of giving permission, the British arrested and exiled Zaghlul and his compatriots. This event lit the flame of revolution. In the spring of 1919, students, peasants, the urban poor, civil servants and others protested across Egypt, claiming Egypt’s independence. In response to this disorder, the British gave Egypt conditional independence in 1922, which allowed for the formation of a constitutional monarchy. However under this new treaty, the British still controlled Egypt's defences and foreign policy. In 1924 Zaghlul became the Egyptian prime minister.

 

 

In 1952 there was a coup over the Egyptian monarchy, led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser. Finally, with Nasser as Egypt's Prime Minister in 1954, the British formally withdrew the last of their troops from the Suez Canal by signing the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement.

In July 1956, President Gamal Abdel Nasser announces nationalisation of Suez Canal. This is the start of Crisis of Suez Canal.

 

The country was impacted positively by Imperialism through the improvement of the economy and the development of greater infrastructures

 

The poor nature of Egypt’s economy made it ‘necessary’ for Britain to intervene, in order to protect their main trading route with its most important colony.

It was after British acquisition that the economy slowly began rising again. Only a few years later, the economy stabilized and started to see a budget surplus.

The British achieved this through the expansion of the Egyptian cotton and light industries and tourism as well as later on through during the First World War, through the supply of allied countries with resources.

 

It also impacted the country through the development of greater infrastructure.

British imperialism saw the development of better dams, railways and roads throughout the country, which would continue to be beneficial to the nation even after Britain’s departure. 

Egypt is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by Israel and the Red Sea, on the south by Sudan, and on the west byLibya.

Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is located in the northeastern part of the country and together with Alexandria and Giza they are the most important cities.

  

The population of this developing country in 2016 was estimated at 94,667,000 and the annual population growth rate is about 2.51%.

Most of the population (99%) is concentrated in the areas of the banks of the Nile and the Nile Delta, which fans out north of Cairo; and along the Suez Canal. These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an average of over 1,540 people per km², as compared to 69.58 people/km² for the country as a whole.

 

 

 

Despite Britain’s opportunity to improve the education system of Egypt, they focused on economic, political and military matters, resulting in the continued poor level of literacy across the nation. Similarly, Britain denied establishing a better healthcare system, which would have greatly benefitted Egypt. 

 

Egypt also suffered a great loss of freedom and control over its own country; because European powers controlled the nation politically, economically and militarily.

New laws were introduced by the British and most powers belonged to the British Consul-General.

Britain not only controlled most areas of Egypt, but Egyptian powers had nearly no say in matters regarding themselves. This lack of authority didn´t only have a negative effect in Egypt at the time, but also led to negative impacts after the reign of Britain. Once European powers had cleared out of Egypt, they were left without any firm political structure that could effectively govern the country.

 

Additionally, many Egyptians died due to exploitation and the incremented existence of revolutionary activities as a result of imperialism. 

This exploitation led to the 1919 revolution; that it, itself, caused also further impacts that also affected Egypt. The main one was the death toll, because it is estimated that 800 Egyptians died and 1600 were injured during revolutionary activities.

Egyptians were used as cheap labourers and were greatly exploited in cotton industries and infrastructure constructions.

 

 

The President is the Head of the State and is elected every four years. He holds the executive power together with the Council of Ministers (headed by the Prime Minister). The Parliament is unicameral organ, in charge of the legislative branch.

The country is divided into 26 governorates that within their districts establish and run all public utilities, provide services and designate industrial areas.

  

Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile Valley, where most economic goings-on take place. The Egyptian economy mainly depends on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, textiles and tourism.

  

There isn’t a great variety of religions, 90% of the population is Muslim, 8% are Christians, with the Coptic Orthodox Church being the largest denomination. There are also other minority groups, such as: Baha’is and Jews.

 

But why is this relatively poor country spending so much money on this project?

And what role has the canal played in forming Egypt's national identity?