|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st
December 1959
|
|
Egypt
Resumes Diplomatic Relations with Britain after
Tripartite Aggression
|
| Angered
by the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, Britain
and France, the main stockholders in the canal, joined
with Israel in attacking Egypt in 1956. Pressure from
the United States and the Soviet Union forced the
three countries to evacuate Egyptian territory. A
ceasefire was negotiated by the United Nations on
6 November after a week of fighting and United Nations
Emergency Forces (UNEF) were set up and sent to Egypt
to act as a buffer zone with Israel. |
|
Back
to Top
|
| |
|
5th
December 1977
|
| Relations
cut between Egypt and Arab Countries |
|
In
November 1977, Anwar Sadat surprised the world with
his visit to Jerusalem and plans for peace with
Israel. On 26 March 1979, Egypt signed a formal
peace treaty with Israel in Washington, after a
series of talks at Camp David between Sadat and
Israel's prime minister Menachem Begin, aided by
US president Jimmy Carter. Israel withdrew from
most of Sinai by 1982.
In
the Arab world, however, Sadat was almost universally
condemned. Only Sudan issued an ambivalent statement
of support. The Arab states suspended all official
aid to Egypt and severed diplomatic relations. Egypt
was suspended from the Arab League, which it was
instrumental in founding, and from other Arab institutions.
Saudi Arabia withdrew the funds it had promised
for Egypt's purchase of American fighter aircraft.
The
reason for this Arab boycott was opposition to Egypt's
separate peace with Israel. Although Sadat insisted
that the treaty provided for a comprehensive settlement
of the Arab-Israeli conflict, other Arab states
and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)
saw it as a separate peace, which Sadat had vowed
he would not sign. The Arabs believed that only
a unified Arab stance and the threat of force would
persuade Israel to negotiate a settlement for the
Palestinian issue that would satisfy Palestinian
demands for a homeland. Without Egypt's military
power, the threat of force evaporated because no
single Arab state was strong enough militarily to
confront Israel alone. The Arabs thus felt betrayed,
and dismayed that the Palestinian issue, the core
of the Arab-Israeli conflict, would remain an unresolved
and destabilising factor in the region.
|
|
Back
to Top
|
| |
|
18th
December 1914
|
|
Declaration
of British Protectionism over Egypt
|
After
the death of Mohammed Ali in 1849, Egypt moved increasingly
under European influence, ending up under British
occupation in 1882. A nationalist movement led by
Mustafa Kamel was backed by Ab bas II during the late
1800s and early 1900s. However, the outbreak of the
first world war in 1914 brought nationalist activities
in Egypt to an end. When Turkey entered the war on
the side of Germany, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate
and deposed Abbas II in favour of his uncle, Hussein
Kamil, who was given the title of sultan. Legal ties
between Egypt and Turkey were finally severed and
Britain promised Egypt some changes in government
once the war was over.
The
war years resulted in great hardship for Egyptian
peasants, who were conscripted to dig ditches and
whose livestock was confiscated by the army. Inflation
was rampant. These factors were responsible for increasing
resentment against the British and set the stage for
the violent upheaval that was to come after the war
ended in 1918.
Violence continued until 1922, when Britain unilaterally
declared Egypt an independent monarchy, though reserving
the right to intervene in Egyptian affairs if British
interests were threatened. This, however, robbed Egypt
of any real independence and allowed British control
to continue unabated. National struggle continued
till Gamal Abdel-Nasser took over, ousting the king
and declaring Egypt a republic. Nasser successfully
negotiated the evacuation of British forces from Egypt
in 1954. |
|
Back
to Top
|
| |
|
23rd
December 1947
|
|
Death
of Hoda Sha'arawi
|
Hoda
Sha'rawi, daughter of Mohammed Sultan, was the first
modern Egyptian feminist. Born in Upper Egypt, Sha'rawi
received a traditional religious education and studied
the Qur'an. When her father moved to Cairo, Sha'rawi,
like most of her peers, was taught Turkish, French
and music.
Sha'rawi
led women's demonstrations without the veil and was
the first Egyptian Muslim female to renounce the traditional
female dress code in public.
In
1922, she inherited a large fortune from her husband,
which she used to further promote her cause. In 1923,
she established the Association of Feminist Unions
and represented the Egyptian feminist movement at
several international conferences. She published a
magazine, Al-Misriya, and devoted the rest of her
life to defending the feminist cause in Egypt and
the region.
|
|
Back
to Top
|
|
|
|
|
