Egypt, 1798-1952 (RLE Egypt) Her Advance Towards a Modern
Identity Published November 23rd 2012 by Routledge – 268 pages
Egypt was the first of the Arab-speaking Muslim countries to
come into close contact with modern European states. The
experience was not a particularly happy one. It resulted in
political and economic subjugation and in the breakdown of her
traditional culture and society: but it led also to her
emancipation from the Ottoman Empire and to the eventual
development of a modern and autonomous Egyptian identity. The
central aim of this book is to trace the history of Egypt during
this period of change, from Napoleon’s invasion at the end of
the eighteenth century to the Free Officer’s Revolution in the
middle of the twentieth. The author describes the effects of
European – particularly British and French – involvement on the
course of Egyptian history, shown variously for example in her
changing trade pattern, in her forced participation in two world
wars and in the planning and construction of