2010/05/12 by Michael T. Thornhill · 5 citations
Social Sciences · #Ancient history #Art #Colonialism #Diplomacy #Economic history #Emperor #Empire #Global Maritime and Colonial Histories #History #Independence (probability theory) #Islamic Studies and History #Law #Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts #Monarchy #Political science #Politics #Reinterpretation
paper · doi:10.1080/03086531003743981
published in The Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History 38(2), 279-302 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2010/05/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Egypt's monarchical succession in the spring of 1936 has conventionally been seen as an internal Egyptian matter in which Britain, despite its continuing imperial presence in the country, played little or no role. King Fuad died, his 16-year-old son Farouk replaced him as monarch and a largely uncontested regency council was established for his ensuing 15-month minority. By first highlighting Britain's longer-standing structural imperial interests with the Mohammed Ali dynasty and then scrutinising the secret politics and diplomacy of Anglo-Egyptian relations during a crucial four-week period, this article provides a fundamental reinterpretation of what was a highly significant moment in Egypt's modern history. The upshot is a delineation of the limits of Egyptian ‘independence’ and a case study of the etiquette of Britain's informal imperialism in the Middle East during the second half of the 1930s.