Egypt Versus the United States Under the British Colony

EGYPT AND THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE BRITISH 1
Egypt Versus the United States Under the British
Djeinaba Diallo
United States History

EGYPT AND THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE BRITISH 2
Egypt Versus the United States Under the British Colony
The British empire comprised of dominions, colonies, protectorates, and other conquered
territories whose center of power was the United Kingdom. This empire made many territories
around the world under its control, making it one of the most extensive and long-lasting empires
in history. Egypt and the United States of America were some of the territories that submitted to
this rule. Egypt became under the control of the British in 1882 until the year 1956 when the last
British forces withdrew in respect to the Anglo-Egyptian agreement.
On the other hand, the British empire colonized America from the year 1607 to the year
1783 after the American Revolution (Balanya et al., 1994). Egypt and America, as heritages of
the British colony, shared some similarities and differences in various aspects such as in
revolution, the style used to colonize, the language used for official communication from the
royal families, etc. This paper explores the differences and similarities in British rule in Egypt
and America with respect to various aspects.
The Differences between Egypt and America under the British Colony
The British monarchs encouraged the development of colonies as the new source of
power as colonies were considered sources of wealth and wealth in itself. This saw the
government of Britain grant charters to business people and groups who would aid this process.
The main reason for colonizing the United States was political. However, the main reason for
occupying Egypt in 1882 was to put down a revolt of Egyptian armies for fear of the Suez Canal
falling into the hands of an unfriendly power. The British wanted to keep control of the trade
route that ran through Egypt to the Red Sea on its way to India. This makes the main reason for
colonizing Egypt to be economical even though to achieve this; they had to extend their political

EGYPT AND THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE BRITISH 3
powers first. As compared to the United States, where the British changed the social structure, in
Egypt, they just focused trade and manipulating the people to increase cotton production and to
control the economy; they never interfered with the social fabric. In the United States, the British
used the indirect rule to control the people and resources. However, in Egypt, they used the
direct rule to govern. The British rulers appointed officials to oversee various projects and the
fixation of the economy. Because France had an interest in Egypt, the British had to avoid this,
by all means, one of which was to select officials to monitor the people.
The American revolution was free and prosperous, unlike the Egyptian revolution that
broke out from the poor people who were also oppressed. Over the decades, the Mubarak regime
exposed Egyptians to cruel military dictatorship, which destroyed the Egyptian middle class.
Mubarak family accumulated a lot of wealth and stored in foreign banks and real estate. Also, by
1776 when America was undergoing a revolution, under three million Americans living in the
colony (Wells, 2015). On the side of Egypt, the stakes were higher. At the time of the American
Revolution, Great Britain was distracted by various political and military events on the European
continent that there was no clear strategy for taming the rebels, unlike Egyptians who faced the
full military force.
Egyptians faced multi-billion dollar police with cameras and their huge numbers as
protection, while American patriots were supported by many bodies like the French Navy
(Taylor, 2013). There was neither an outside force, be it a United Nations declaration nor a non-
governmental organization that came into the Egyptians' rescue during the revolution like
America, which got significant financial and military support from other European countries.
Finally, during the time of the British colonization of Egypt, French was the lingua franca that
was used between foreigners and Egyptians and amongst foreigners themselves. Government

EGYPT AND THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE BRITISH 4
notices from the royal family, timetables of trains, and all other official or all legal documents
were in French (Mak, 1882). However, British rule in the United States used English as the
official language. All the legal proceedings and communication from various authorities were in
English.
The Similarities between Egypt and America Under the British colony
The British had similar interests in both America and Egypt. The cause for revolution in
both of these colonies was the same. In both cases, the colonies wanted the freedom to control
their own government and resources. The British imposed taxes without consulting the
government in both instances, igniting a revolution in both countries. The colonies felt that they
should not pay these taxes and high-interest rates that the British government subjected them to.
Some Egyptians, for example, resented the European control of their economy, citing higher
interest rates of the loans that the colonizers expected them to pay. Also, both of these countries
were regarded as sources of wealth and power. The Virginia Company, for example, was
chattered by the British government because it aided colonists to enter into new worlds. Power
and wealth were measured by the number of territories that were conquered by the colonizer.
Based on the success of Spain, the British had their appetite for colonizing the United
States boosted as they believed that gold and silver existed in abundance in America (Haring,
1915). Thus colonizing America was for economic reasons just as it were in colonizing Egypt.
The British wanted to control the trade route that runs from Egypt through the Red Sea to India.
One of the impacts of colonization was that in both countries, the British developed robust
infrastructure and protected the territories from external enemies. The British rule caused cultural
erosion in both of these countries as, during the colonial period, the British encouraged their
culture and demeaned the colonies' customs and language. In Egypt, they encouraged the use of

EGYPT AND THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE BRITISH 5
French while in America, they used English for formal or official purposes. The aftermath of the
British rule saw stronger bilateral ties between these former colonies and their colonizer, the
British that has lasted to date. Both of these countries enjoy strong bilateral relations even after
gaining their independence.
The British rule may have differed from country to country, depending on the prevailing
conditions during the time of colonization and the core reasons for colonization. However
friendly the British might have been in some states, the call for revolution made it clear that the
colonies felt oppressed and their rights infringed by the British rule. The most profound
similarities and differences in British activity in America and Egypt appeared to be the need for
revolution, political, and economic affairs. However, even after these countries got their
independence, bilateral ties between them and the former British Empire is excellent. The
positive effects of colonization are still celebrated to date.