In 1805, Muhammad 'All, an Ottoman officer of Balkan origin, became the governor of Egypt. He reorganized the administrative system in Egypt, introduced a wide variety of new economic measures, introduced elements of western technology, and built up a powerful army and navy that eventually permitted him to attack his nominal overlord, the Ottoman sultan. Victory was prevented by the refusal of the great European powers to see a new, powerful Muslim state arise in the Levant. However, Muhammad 'All managed to earn for himself and his family permanent claim to the position of Ottoman governor in Egypt, winning recognition as the de facto ruler of Egypt. He died in 1849, and in one form or another a member of his family would continue to rule Egypt until 1952. His immediate successors devoted themselves to major infrastructural projectssuch as the completion of the Suez and the building of new canals and railroadsand to more frivolous entertainments, all of which produced an enormous indebtedness to the leading banks of nineteenth century Europe. The debts drew the British government into an increasingly direct involvement in Egypt's internal affairs, and in 1881-82 the British responded to a revolt by the Egyptian army-a revolt engendered by local opposition to foreign control of Egypt's financeswith an armed invasion. The revolt failed and the British occupation began. The exact juridical status of this occupation of Egypt remained cloudy for many years, for Egypt was still a semi-independent province of the Ottoman Empire, while the British permitted Muhammad 'All's family to continue to rule locally, albeit with the "advice" of British officials. Britain's official representative in Egypt was its Consul, and during the "consulate" of Lord Cromer, Egypt's debt burden. The British were proud of their "progressive" achievements in Egypt, but is not at all clear that the infrastructural projects undertaken by the Britishsuch as the construction of the "Old Aswan Dam" would not have occurred in their absence. Moreover, British rule engendered the rise of a determined nationalist movement in the Nile Valley, a movement that gained widespread popular support after the British executed several peasants in 1906 following a violent dispute between British soldiers and farmers of the Delta village of Denshaway.
The nationalist movement culminated in the Riots of 1919, which broke out after the British jailed several nationalist leaders who wanted to present Egypt's case for independence at the Versailles Peace Conference. In 1922 the British unilaterally withdrew from Egypt, retaining their controlling interest in the Suez and leaving behind a nation whose independence was severely limited. In 1923, a constitution establishing a parliamentary monarchy was adopted. However, for the next thirty years, Egypt experienced a succession of political crises, as the kingstill a member of the family of Muhammad 'ali-struggledd with various political parties for power. But all of the leading political figures of the period were gradually discredited by the inability to form a stable government, by the failure to negotiate or force a complete British withdrawal from Egyptian territory (including the Suez Canal), by the apparent capitulation of the king and many politicians to British interests during World War II, and by the disastrous involvement of Egyptian troops in the Palestine War of 1948. In consequence, several opposition movements arose. One was a movement of young army officersthe "Free Officers"led by Gamal Abdun-Nasser. In 1952, the Free Officers overthrew the government in a bloodless coup and forced the abdication of King Farouk. A year later, Egypt was declared a Republic. Initially, a Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) governed the country, but a republican constitution was drafted, and it was implemented in 1956-1957. Nasser was elected Egypt's first presidenta post he held until his death by heart attack in September, 1970. He was succeeded as president first by Muhammad Anwar as-Sadat (1970-81) and, after Sadat's assassination, by Muhammad Husni Mubarak.
