The 1919 Revolution...the spark of Egypt's liberation from British colonialism

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The 1919 Revolution had its first spark after the exile of Saad Zaghloul and his companions to Malta, but behind it were many reasons that prompted the Egyptians to go out to demonstrate, most notably the demand for Egyptian independence and the abolition of British protection. The revolutionaries were able to achieve their demands and gain the independence of their country in 1922, and issue the first Egyptian constitution in 1923.

the reasons

The main apparent reason for the outbreak of the 1919 revolution - which prompted the masses of the common people of all sects to come out to demonstrate against the British occupation of Egypt - appears to be the exile by the protection authorities of the leader of the National Movement, Saad Zaghloul, and three of his companions to the island of Malta.

But looking back, we find that there were many and accumulated reasons that prompted the Egyptians to go out to demonstrate on March 9, 1919.

Egypt has suffered since the beginning of its subjection to the British occupation in September 1882, but the occupation situation remained unstable due to its continued official and legal dependence on the Ottoman Empire.

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Turkey entered the war alongside Germany and Austria against England and France. Egypt was heavily involved in the war, and it was imposed on it not to deal with Germany and its nationals, and Egyptian ships were prohibited from communicating with German ports. In return, England granted itself the right to exploit the lands. Egyptian waters were to its advantage during the war.

On December 18, 1914, England announced the imposition of a protectorate on Egypt, ending its dependence on the Ottoman Empire, and since then Egypt has faced adversity.

The British occupation declared martial law on Egypt, imposed censorship on newspapers, suspended the Legislative Assembly, issued laws criminalizing strikes and demonstrations, and imposed the “Sultanate” system after the removal of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II and the appointment of Sultan Hussein Kamel to rule Egypt under the control of the occupation.

The Egyptians were forced to pay the bill for the war, by confiscating agricultural crops and livestock, forcing them to grow crops that served the needs of the war, and forcibly conscripting hundreds of thousands of Egyptian farmers to participate in support work behind the front lines of combat under the name “Egyptian Task Forces.”

The economic conditions in the country were greatly affected, and the war led to a severe shortage of basic goods and a significant rise in their prices.

Due to its scarcity and the increase in the rate of inflation, the Egyptians faced a severe wave of high prices during the war period (1914-1918), and the price of wheat rose by 131%, sugar by 149%, and beans by 114%.

Part of the British Navy and Army soldiers in Egypt (Getty)

The beginning of the revolution

With the end of World War I, the situation worsened and the state of tension reached its peak among the Egyptian people. Many were convinced that the end of the British occupation was near after the victory of its allies during the war, and that the time had come for the Egyptians to gain their freedom after the war had inflicted on them heavy human and material losses.

Hope was instilled in the hearts of the Egyptians after US President Woodrow Wilson announced his 14 principles, which guarantee “the right to self-determination for peoples.” They believed that their independence was imminent, and although Wilson meant the peoples of Europe, the Egyptians adhered to them and believed that they were the key to their independence.

On November 11, 1918, Saad Zaghloul, Abdel Aziz Fahmy, and Ali Shaarawi went to the Protection House through the mediation of Prime Minister Hussein Rushdie, requesting that an appointment be set for them to meet with the British High Commissioner, Reginald Wingate, and they were approved for the interview.

The three leaders met with the British High Commissioner on November 13, 1918, and presented to him the nation’s demands: the abolition of martial law, an end to censorship of publications, and Egypt’s independence from the British occupation.

Politicians and nationalists, led by the three leaders, agreed to establish the Egyptian Wafd Authority (later to become the Wafd Party) to gather agencies from the people, granting them legitimacy and full authority to represent the Egyptians.

The powers of attorney collected from the general public reached two million out of 14 million citizens, and as the scope of power of attorney collection expanded, the occupation authorities ordered the Egyptian government to prevent the collection of signatures and confiscate what had been collected.

On November 20, 1918, the three leaders submitted a request to the British army to allow them to travel to London to present Egypt’s case, announce their demands, and include them as a delegation representing Egypt in the peace conference that was scheduled to be held in Paris. No Egyptian was allowed to travel without the authority’s permission. Military because Egypt is subject to martial law.

On December 1, 1918, the occupation authorities informed Saad and his colleagues that their request to travel to London had been rejected, and that they should send their requests in writing. This response angered Saad Zaghloul and his companions, which prompted them to launch a campaign against the protection authorities, and to send telegrams to British Prime Minister Lloyd George to present the case. Egypt and demanding its independence.

Hussein Rushdi submitted his resignation from his position in protest against the delegation being prevented from traveling to the Paris conference, and not allowing him and Education Minister Adly Yakan to travel to London to discuss the situation with the British authorities, and Sultan Fuad accepted the resignation.

On March 8, 1919, Saad Zaghloul, Muhammad Mahmoud, Hamad Al-Basil, and Ismail Sidqi were arrested and exiled to the island of Malta, which sparked the revolution among Egyptians.

On December 18, 1914, England announced the imposition of a protectorate on Egypt and ending its dependence on the Ottoman Empire (Getty)

The most important stations

As soon as the news of the exile of Saad Zaghloul and the rest of the leaders spread, the anger of Egyptians flared up in Cairo, the governorates, and the villages, and on March 9, 1919, the students abstained from receiving their lessons.

They went out with peaceful demonstrations in the streets, demanding the fall of the protectorate, chanting slogans demanding the return of Saad and his companions from exile. About 300 students were arrested that day.

The next day, the demonstrations extended to include Al-Azhar and the rest of the high and high school students, and the rest of the people joined the ranks of the demonstrators.

The demonstrations expanded and included railway workers, who declared a strike and cut off transportation lines. They were joined by tram and taxi drivers, postal, electricity and customs workers, government workshops, printing presses, judges and lawyers, and the banks were closed.

Egyptians, Muslims and Christians from all classes of society, united, and peasants in nearby villages joined them, and on March 15, 1919, Cairo witnessed a massive demonstration of thousands heading to Abdeen Palace to support the revolution and its demands.

March 16, 1919 witnessed a historic event. Women went out to protest and led demonstrations, in which about 300 women participated, led by Safia Zaghloul, Saad Zaghloul’s wife, Hoda Shaarawi, and Mana Fahmy.

The priests took to the pulpits of the mosques and the Al-Azhar Mosque, and the imams delivered sermons in the churches, which spread fear in the souls of the occupation that Al-Azhar would turn into a stronghold for the revolution and revolutionaries, and prompted the Protection House to summon the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Abu Al-Fadl Al-Jizawi, to close Al-Azhar, but he refused.

On April 5, 1919, the revolutionaries agreed to organize a mass meeting in Al-Azhar Square, but when the British authorities learned, they closed the roads leading to it and placed obstacles. The revolutionaries turned the destination to the Ibn Tulun Mosque due to its distinguished location on a high hill and the difficulty of reaching it. They dug trenches and placed barricades in the area. The roads leading to the mosque, and indeed the protection authorities found it very difficult to reach it.

The British occupation felt a loss of control over Egypt, which prompted General Bulfin to use aviation against the revolutionaries in the countryside, and regained some cities back to British control.

General Edmund Allenby took over the position of British High Commissioner instead of Reginald Wingate, adopted diplomacy in dealing with the revolutionaries, and sought to conduct negotiations to find a solution instead of the usual military means.

human losses

Since the outbreak of the revolution, deaths began to fall at the hands of the British. On the second day, two were killed, on the third, one person was killed, and on the fourth, 12 worshipers were killed during Friday prayers.

The revolutionary Hamida Khalil fell in the first women's demonstration during the revolution, becoming the first girl to be killed by British bullets since the beginning of the demonstrations. Her death was a spark that ignited the souls of women to join the demonstrations in large numbers, and after that the day of her death (March 16) became celebrated as Egyptian Women's Day.

Women participated extensively in the 1919 revolution in Egypt (social networking sites)

Over the course of the days of the revolution, the protection authorities claimed thousands of lives, many revolutionaries were arrested, and entire villages were burned. About 3,000 Egyptians were killed between 15 and 31 March 1919.

Not only did the protection authorities kill the demonstrators, but they also organized military courts in the streets to hold the demonstrators accountable and issue sentences of flogging, imprisonment, and fines.

Political results

Nearly a month after the outbreak of the revolution, the protection authorities yielded to some of the revolution's demands, and on April 7, 1919, Saad Zaghloul and his companions were released and returned from exile. Travel restrictions for Egyptians were abolished, and they were allowed to travel to the Paris Conference on April 11 to represent the Egyptians there.

Demonstrations took place in all governorates to celebrate the leaders' exit, with an emphasis on continuing until the basic demand of achieving complete independence is achieved.

But the reconciliation conference did not result in any positive steps towards the Egyptian issue, and he refused to respond to the demands of the Egyptians presented by the leaders during the conference.

The Egyptians were angry that their demands were not met during the conference, and they returned to demonstrate again, which resulted in Saad Zaghloul being exiled again, but to the island of Seychelles, and the revolutionaries continued to demonstrate.

Saad Zaghloul returned from exile in 1921, and the situation began to calm down, and Britain issued a statement on February 28, 1922 that Egypt was an independent state, and ended British protection, while the protection authorities adhered to 4 reservations: securing their transportation in Egypt, and their right to defend Egypt against any attack. Protecting foreign interests and protecting minorities.

The first Egyptian constitution was issued in 1923, and resulted in parliamentary life based on party pluralism and the principle of citizenship through the revolution’s slogan, “Religion is for God... and the homeland is for all.” Elections were held and the Wafd Party, headed by Saad Zaghloul, won.

The first parliamentary ministry was formed in 1924, and Zaghloul was appointed its head. In the same year, British General Sir Lee Stack, the ruler of Sudan and the military commander of Egypt, was killed, which prompted the resignation of Saad Zaghloul’s ministry. Egyptians took over government positions instead of foreigners, and the positions of English advisors were abolished.

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