The British Community in Occupied Cairo, 1882-1922 By: Lanver Mak The School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Submitted for the Degree ofDoctor of Philosophy September 2001 ProQuest Number: 10731322 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731322 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 For Sarah and our parents 3 Abstract Though officially ruled by the Ottoman Empire, Egypt was under British occupation between 1882 and 1922. Most studies about the British in Egypt during this time focus on the political and administrative activities of British officials based on government documents or their memoirs and biographies. This thesis focuses on various aspects of the British community in Cairo based on sources that have been previously overlooked such as census records, certain private papers, and business, newspaper, military and missionary archives. At the outset, this discussion introduces demographic data on the British community to establish its size, residential location and context among other foreign communities and the wider Egyptian society. Then it deliberates on the occasional ambiguous boundaries that identified members of the community from non-members as well as the symbols and institutions that united the community. Ensuing chapters on the community’s socio- occupational diversity and criminal activities suggest that the British community in Cairo was not homogeneous. The community consisted of not only law-abiding upper middle class officials but of an assortment of businessmen, missionaries, and working- class maids and labourers; some of whom were involved in crimes and misdemeanours. The analysis concludes by investigating the diversity of reactions of Cairo’s Britons to the challenge of World War I and the subsequent revolutionary period of 1919-1922. Due to time and space constraints, the discussion concentrates on the British community in Cairo, since for the most part, more Britons resided in Cairo than Alexandria. However, where appropriate to the thesis’ key themes, data on the British in Alexandria will be included. 4 Acknowledgements Many mentors, friends, family members, and staff of libraries and archives on three continents have assisted, advised and encouraged me in this project. I will attempt to acknowledge them here with the regretful realisation that there are others who have helped me on this journey that I will inevitably fail or forget to mention. First, I want to acknowledge the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, for the opportunity to engage in this time of research and thesis writing. Foremost, I want to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. Ulrike Freitag for her insightful comments and direction and her graciousness in putting up with my weaknesses and pitfalls along the way. She not only scrutinised every chapter but also showed concern for me at every stage of the process. As well, I’m grateful to Dr. Ben Fortna, the late Professor R, Smith, and the late Dr. R.M. Burrell, all of whom were in my thesis committee, for their input and encouragement particularly in the earlier stages of the work, I also acknowledge the invaluable service of the staff at the SOAS Library. Special mention must also be given to Dr. Theo Balderston, of the University of Manchester’s History Department. Due to his kindness and friendship with my wife’s family, he offered to read my final draft during his family holiday and afterwards gave very helpful and perceptive comments. In London, I wish to acknowledge the help of archivists and librarians at the London School of Economics, the British Library, the Newspaper Library, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum, the Church Missionary Society Library and the Public Record Office. In other parts of Britain, I want to thank the staff at Barclays Group Archives in Wythenshawe, Manchester, the librarians at Manchester Central Library, Hove Central Library, Churchchill College and King’s College in Cambridge University and the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester. I also appreciated the caring and thoughtful assistance of Mrs. Clare Brown, former archivist at the Middle East Centre at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. In Cairo, I want to acknowledge Father Matthew Rhodes, who allowed me access to the All Saints’ Cathedral Archives that he had catalogued, and Mr. Raouf Zekiy Makary, Diocese Accountant, for facilitating my research at All Saints. I also appreciated Rev. 5 David Grafton, who gave me entry to read the archives from St. Andrew’s Church; and Mrs. Cathy Costain, former librarian of the British Council in Cairo, who pointed me to some helpful monographs written by Britons in occupied Egypt. I want to thank Dr. Michael Reimer, of the American University in Cairo, for his precious friendship and advice; and Dr. Amira Sonbol and Dr. Afaf Lufti al-Sayyid Marsot for their inspiration and encouragement during my M.A. years at AUC. The AUC library has also been useful with regards to census material, Arabic and other secondary sources. Further, I am grateful for Dr. Ghislaine Alleaume of the Centre d’etude et de documentation economique, juridique et sociale (CEDEJ) and one of her assistants, Mr. Nadi Abd al- Ghaffar, for their tips pertaining to demographic data. I am indebted to prolific writers, Max Rodenbeck and Samir Raafat for their interesting tips and perspectives; and to Egyptian historians, Professors Raouf Abbas, Yunan Labib Rizk, and Mur si Saad el Din for their helpful insights. In Alexandria, I was fortunate to receive the assistance of Mr. Colin Clement of the Centre d’etude Alexandrie, Professor Mohammed Awad and Dr. Sahar Hammouda. In Toronto, I am thankful for the staff of the University of Toronto’s government publication department and the inspiration of Professor James A. Reilly, my first tutor in Middle Eastern history at the University of Toronto many years ago. Not least, I want to thank my wife Sarah who lovingly urged me to persevere when I was disheartened, sacrificially established our ‘home’ in different continents and took care of our children while I was writing. I also deeply appreciate my parents in Canada for their indispensable encouragement throughout my life and Sarah’s parents in Britain for their unending support and practical help throughout this arduous process. Many friends in Egypt, Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham, London and Manchester have also provided accommodation at crucial moments. Above all, I acknowledge God’s goodness in providing me with the physical and emotional resources for this task. 6 Note on Arabic Transliteration The system of transliteration used follows that of the International Journal of Middle East Studies. For most place and personal names, and familiar terms such as Cairo, Alexandria, Zamalek, Khedive, the most common spellings have been adopted. 7 Table of Contents Title page.............. page 1 Dedication............................................................................................................. 2 Abstract................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements................................................................................................4 Note on Arabic Transliteration .................................................................. 6 Table of Contents. ............................................................... ............................7 List of Tables................................................ 8 List of Rulers of Egypt......................................................................................... 10 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 11 Map of Greater Cairo........................................................................................... 19 Chapter 1: Demographic Overview of Cairo’s British Community......................20 Chapter 2: Identifying Boundaries: Defining the Community..............................47 Map of Central Cairo.................................................................... 84 Chapter 3: Symbols and Institutions of the Community....................................... 85 Chapter 4: Social and Occupational Diversity within the Community................ 121 Chapter 5: The ‘Unsung Villains’: Crime and Misconduct.................................145 Chapter 6: The Community and World War I...................................................179 Chapter 7: The Community and the Revolutionary Period, 1919-1922..............225 Conclusion........................ 256 Bibliography.......................................................................................................260 8 List of Tables 1.1 Population of the British (from the British Isles) alongside that of British subjects, non-Egyptians and Egyptians, 1882-1917 and its percentage as compared with the non-Egyptian and Egyptian populations. 1.2 Rates and percentage