Italo-Egyptian Relations in the Interwar Period, 1922-1942
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ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 18 BEDFORD ROW, LONDON WC1R 4EJ. ENGLAND 7908130 CRIDER; ELIZABETH FORTUNATO ITAIO-EGYPTIAN RELATIONS IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD, 1922-1942, THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, PH.D., 1978 University Microfilms International 300 n. zeeb road, ann arbor, mi 48io6 © Copyright by Elizabeth Fortunato Crider 1978 ITALO-EGYPTIAN RELATIONS IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD, 1922-1942 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Elizabeth Fortunato Crider, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1978 Reading Committee: Dr. Sydney N. Fisher Dr. Harold J. Grimm Dr. Marilyn R. Waldman I dedicate this work to my Mother and Father who left Fascist Italy in 1938 in search of a better life. PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study is essentially an overview of Italo-Egyptian relations in the interwar period. There are presently no specific published works on Italo-Egyptian relations and this topic is usually given a cursory treatment in the many volumes dedicated to Anglo-Egyptian relations. Britain's role in Egypt in the interwar period— indeed between 1882 and 1954— is easily definable as the most important European influence in that country. There were, however, other European influences in Egypt, and in the interwar period Italian influence readily competed with the presence of Great Britain. Egypt's relationship with Italy during the interwar period may well be considered a case study of her foreign policy. It illustrates the manner in which the government of Egypt after 1922 was to be influenced and limited by the British definition of independence. It reveals the conflict of the Great Powers over Egyptian waterways, and it indi cates individual problems in relations with a Capitulatory state. Furthermore, border settlements, Blue Nile control as an aspect of the Ethiopian conflict, and neutrality and security of the Suez Canal reflect areas in which the Egyptian government was relatively powerless to exercise control because of its military and material weakness and, accordingly, a lack of diplomatic independence. The author has chosen to tailor the dates of this study to those which suit Italo-Egyptian relations rather than the traditional dates of the interwar period. Therefore, this study begins with 1922 because both Fascist rule under Mussolini in Italy and Egypt's technical independence from Britain began then. This work closes with 1942 because it is the last year of real Italian Fascist sovereignty and British intervention in Egypt had caused that country to lose whatever independence in foreign policy she had acquired with the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty. The author relied heavily upon newspapers, published documents, and contemporary journals of the period. There were also some memoirs, autobiographies, and diaries used. Only a selected number of the vast amount of secondary literature consulted is included in the bibliography. The one archival source used was the Italian captured files available on microfilm at the United States National Archives. This collection of over 300 rolls of film is a virtual repository for Italian documents in the interwar period. Unfortunately, the fact that these documents remain unindexed limits their practical usage. Of the published documents consulted the Italian and German collections were most useful for this study. The Italian journal, the Oriente Moderno, was extremely useful iv in finding appropriate articles on Italo-Egyptian relations from the Egyptian press. The Times (London), The Egyptian Gazette, and the Corriere della Sera proved to be excellent sources of information. Unfortunately, since both The Egyptian Gazette and the Corriere della Sera remain unindexed it is tedious to read them on microfilm. The Egyptian Gazette was read in its entirety for the period except when issues were missing or lost by the Library of Congress. The recent acquisition of al-Ahram by the Library of Congress made its use impractical for this study. Because of the twenty-year time span of this topic, limited financial means, and stringent time limitations, the author was unable to use the Public Record Office in Great Britain or similar collections in Egypt. Hopefully, a more definitive look at Italo-Egyptian relations in this period will be forthcoming. Because of the enormous amount of historical literature (both published and unpublished, primary and secondary) that is available, however, the author feels justified that her research was substantial enough for the first work of its kind. I wish to thank all those who have helped me during the research and writing of this dissertation. Most particularly I wish to thank Dr. Sydney N. Fisher, my adviser, who kindly has read this paper and made suggestions for its improvement. Furthermore, I wish to thank all the librarians who have assisted me both at The Ohio State University and the Library of Congress. Lastly, to my husband and children I wish to offer thanks for their patience and understanding during the entire process of research and writing this study. vi VITA April 7, 1945 ............. Born, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1967 ..................... B.S. in Education, West Chester State College, West Chester, Pennsylvania 1969.. ..................... M.A. in History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969-1971; 1972-1975 . Research Assistant, The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Teaching Associate, Department of History and Department of International Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Modern Middle East Dr. Sydney N. Fisher Medieval Islam Dr. Sydney N. Fisher Renaissance and Reformation Europe Dr. Harold J. Grimm Medieval Europe Dr. Franklin J. Pegues vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................ iii VITA .................................................. vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......................... x Chapter I. INTRODUCTION................... * ......... 1 Italy and the Egyptian Question, 1879-1882 7 Italo-Egyptian Relations Under the British Occupation and Protectorate ........................ 11 II. NEGOTIATING THE EGYPTIAN-LIBYAN FRONTIER, 1922-1925 22 Historical Background ................. 23 The Climate for N e g o t i a t i o n s .... 29 The Course of Diplomatic Activity .. 31 The Treaty and Its P rovisions.... 49 Political Implications for Italy and E g y p t .......................... 53 III. EGYPTIAN REACTION TO THE ITALIAN PRESENCE IN ETHIOPIA, 1926-1936 ......... 7 0 Historical Background ................. 71 Egypt and the Nile Before World War I . 73 European Agreements ................... 75 Egypt and the Nile After World War I 79 Italy and Egypt, 1926-1934 83 Egyptian Reaction to the Italo- EthiopianDispute, 1935-1936 . 93 viii IV. ITALO-EGYPTIAN RELATIONS APPROACHING WORLD WAR II, 1937-1942 ........... 122 The Pre-World War II Years, 1937-1939 . 124 Italy, War, and Egyptian Non- Belligerence, 1940-1942 .............. 146 Italy's Plans to Attack Egypt ......... 154 V. CONCLUSION .................................... 193 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... 200 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Italy's Colonial Empire in 1920 ........... 28 2. Conventions and Treaties Relating to the Libyan Border .......................... 51 3. The Italian Conquest of Cyrenaica ......... 55 4. Irrigation Projects on the N i l e ........... 76 5. Italian Transport Bound for East Africa, November, 1935 .......................... 97 6. The Western Desert Campaign, 1939-1943 . 172 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: EGYPT