Britain Gains Control of Egypt
As the largest shareholder in the Suez Canal, the United Kingdom wanted to gain full control of the canal and of Egypt. In 1881 and 1882, Egyptian army officers led by Colonel Ahmad Urabi performed uprisings, striving to establish a more independent and nationalist regime in Egypt. In fear that these actions would endanger foreign activity, the British invaded Egypt. At the Battle of Tel Al-Kabir , British forces defeated the Egyptian army and marched in Cairo. The British then exiled Urabi and returned Ismail Pasha’s son, Tawfiq, to power. In the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, Tawfiq ruled Egypt in name only. Egypt’s affairs were actually being conducted by a series of powerful British administrators. Most citizens became unhappy with how they were being treated by the British, so nationalism in Egypt emerged and some people called for independence. Then, the involvement of Egypt in World War 1 led to an outburst of anti-British judgement. This was because Egypt became an important base of Allied operations against the Ottoman territory and they were a critical source of labor and supplies. The increasing nationalism and negative opinions about Britain eventually led to Egypt re-gaining their independence.