The Egyptian Revolution from Protectorate to Partial Freedom (1919–1922)

This article re-examines the Egyptian Revolution of 1919–1922 as an early laboratory of decolonisation in the aftermath of the First World War. Rather than interpreting the upheaval solely as a 'Wilsonian moment', the study situates Egyptian nationalism within longer trajectories of contestation over sovereignty, from the 'Urabi revolt of the 1880s to the wartime establishment of the British protectorate. Drawing primarily on British archival records, it analyses how imperial officials such as Allenby and Curzon redefined colonial rule through the rhetoric of 'responsibility', 'concessions', and 'protection', while nationalist leaders articulated independence as both a historical right and a universal principle of justice.