ASPECTS OF ANGLO-EGYPTIAN NEGOTIATIONS 1920-1936: FROM THE FAILURE OF THE MILNER MEMORANDUM OF 1920 TO THE FINAL SETTLEMENT OF 1936 by Habibur Rahman Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Ottawa in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History ^.lABIBU^ A<*,M4r<2» % BIBLIOTHEQUES •aiOttawa &«ARt W»^ UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA OTTAWA, CANADA, 1977 Rahman, Ottawa,Canada, 1977 UMI Number: EC55399 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform EC55399 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges the help of his supervisor, Dr. Robert H. Keyserlingk of the Department of History, University of Ottawa, Canada, in completing this thesis. Without his interest, comments and advice this study would not have been completed. The writer is also grateful to Dr. Susan Trofimenkoff, and Dr. Cornellius J. Jaenen, Department of History, University of Ottawa, for their co-operation and suggestions throughout the preparation of this study. The author is thankful to the staffs of the Inter Library Loan Section of Morisset Library, Ottawa University, Department of External Affairs Library, and Mr. Mustafa Chowdhury, Librarian at the National Library of Canada, for their help in obtaining valuable materials. Mrs. C.O'Brien, who helped to edit this manuscript, also deserves the author's thanks. Finally, the author expresses his gratitude to Mr. M.S. Khaled, Assistant Professor, Depart­ ment of Economics, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, for his continuous advice and encouragement in preparing this work. RESUME Habibur Rahman was born in July 19^-9, in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He received B.A. (Hons.) in 1969 and M.A. in 1970 from the University of Dacca. He joined as lecturer in the Department of History, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh in 19?2, He is a member of the Bangladesh Historical Association. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page no. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (II) PREFACE — (III) INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I - THE SIX FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS 1920-1930 17 CHAPTER II - THE ITALO-ABYSSINIAN WAR AND THE RESUMPTION OF NEGOTIATIONS 70 CHAPTER III - THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE AND FRIENDSHIP 109 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION - 144 APPENDIX 151 BIBLIOGRAPHY 192 PREFACE Egypt was of great importance to the British Empire for many years owing to its strategic position as the gateway to British India and East Africa. British control of this vital link was established in 1882 when, taking advantage of internal disorders in the country, Britain occupied Egypt by force of arms without any justifi­ cation beyond the needs of Empire. Britain continued its military occupation a full thirty seven years before even seeking to establish any sort of internationally recognized legal regime to justify its presence and then only in response to pressure from Egyptian nationalists. In 1920 the British entered into non-official negotiations with the Egyptians but the initial formula offered by the Egyptians was turned down by the British Cabinet and further negotiations in 1921 likewise proved to be an utter failure as the British refused to meet Egyptian demands for complete independence. A truncated form of independence was unilaterally granted by the British in 1922 as a result of Lord Allenby's (British High Commissioner in Egypt) insistence. During the following thirteen years the Egyptians continued their struggle for true independence and entered into a series of negotiations to achieve this end. But serious differences arose each time over the issues of the security IV of communications of the British Empire, the defence of Egypt, the Capitulations or foreigners' extraterritorial rights and the problem of the Sudan. Although almost all these issues were settled by 1930, it was only in 1936 under the threat of Italian fascist expansion in Ethiopia that the Egyptians and the British signed a treaty of friendship and alliance, which finally legalized the British position in Egypt and claimed to give Egypt real independence. The purpose of this study is to investigate British reluctance to grant Egypt real independence from 1920 to 1936, and also to give a detailed account of the Anglo- Egyptian negotiations. It will be shown why it took 16 years before the issue was apparently resolved. It should be evident towards the end of the thesis that the more imperialist minded British continually opposed and impeded the real independence of Egypt and only accepted the 1936 treaty because of external threats from Italy. They also finally realized that the wide British military privileges in Egypt were still guaranteed by the 1936 treaty. Finally, the author has tried to examine critically the type of independence Egypt received under the Treaty of 1936, and will attempt to show that it was in fact not real independence at all. Primary sources are used including Memoirs of British Politicians, publications of the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom in papers By Command, Hansard's Parlia­ mentary Debates, and the London Times, which gives some new interpretations of this question. The Killearn Diaries V o published recently and Eden's Memlrs. until now unused for this A problem, are essential for understanding the negotiations of 1936. One of the most detailed thesis to date on the Anglo- Egyptian Treaty of 1936 Is the i960 Yale University Ph.D. thesis of Mahmud Yusuf Zayld. Zayld relied only upon secondary Egyptian Arable sources and gives only sketchy material on the topic. Zayld merely lists the negotiations and touches on Egyptian domestic reactions. But he does not Investigate why the different negotiations continually broke down .and what were' the reactions of the British to the Egyptian demands. Several other theses have also been written within the last sixteen years since Zayld, but most deal with internal Egyptian affairs. No one has investigated the divergent views of the British within the Labour, the Liberal and Conservative Parties, The imperialist wings were largely responsible for the lengthy and unfruitful negotiations between 19J0-1936. This thesis will try to arrive at some new views of the problems. It will show that the 1920 Milner-Zaghlul memorandum H.A. Ibrahim, The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. with special reference to the contemporary situation In Egypt and the Sudan (Ph.D. thesis, University of London, 1970). F. Lissauer, British Policy towards Egyptil91**~1922(Ph.D. thesis, University of London, 1975)* J.G. Darwin. The Lloyd George Coalition Government and Britain's Imperial Policy In Egypt and the fiddle Eastt1916-1922 (D.Phil. University of Oxford. 1976). A.Sandall. The Involvement of'the United Kingdom In the Domestic PeTltlos «f Egypttl922-1936(B.Lltt. thesis. University of Oxford, 1976)* Lalla A.Horsey, The effects of British Foreign Policy towards Egypt and of the British pre"senoe In Egypt on Egyptian Nationalism during the period 1936-19^5 (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales, 1976). James, P. Jankowskl The Young Egypt Party and Egyptian Nationalism! 1933-19*^(Ph.D thesis, Michigan University, 1967)« M.Deeb, The Wafd and Its rivals, the rise and development of PelitloaT~"Pari:les In Egypt 19-1939(D.Phil.thesis. University of Oxford, 1971). ""^ VI was almost the same as the 1936 Treaty In content. The Egyptians were willing to accept the 1920 terms In all probability but It proved unfruitful as It was not acceptable to the British imperialist wings In three leading British political parties. Both Milner and the Egyptian Zaghlul were prepared to amend this memorandum so as to abolish the protectorate, sign an alliance and leave some British troops in Egypt. But this was refused by the British Cabinet dominated by the imperialists at the time, although it was acceptable to the Egyptians. Most general authors 2 such as John Marlowe^ L.A. Fabunmi and Zayld see the change into British attitude to Egypt, taking place only In 1936,/vbeing a result of either growing Egyptian nationalism or the pressures from Italian intervention in Ethiopia. But this work argues that slgniflcanct ohanges in British policy had already occurred in 1930, when Labour came to power and Arthur Henderson became British! Foreign Secretary. The British accepted all the earlier Egyptian conditions for an Anglo-Egyptian treaty including limitation of their military position in Egypt, balking only at agreeing to 2. John Marlowe, A History of Modern Egypt and Anglo- Egyptian Relations! 1800-1956 (Archon Books, Connectcut. 196')). PP. 294-296. L»A. Fabunmi, The Sudan in Anglo-Egyptian Relations (Greenwood Press, Connecticut, 1973), PP. 103-105. See also Mahmud Yusuf Zayid, The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936t An Historical Study of politics and International Diplomacy - (a Ph.D. thesis, Yale University, i960). Vll raised Egyptian demands concerning the Sudan. The final 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty follows in all respects, except the Sudan, the 1930 British draft treaty, which was rejected by the Egyptians because their demands on the Sudan were excluded. Historians, including Zayld, have been slow to investigate why the British Conservatives opposed the draft treaty of 1929 but signed a similar treaty with Egypt In 1936. General authors have pointed out that Mussolini's Ethopian campaign of 1935-1936 compelled the British to change their Egyptian policy and to sign a treaty in 1936.