Overview
In 1882 British forces occupied Egypt after the Urabi movement. Egypt remained nominally Ottoman under the khedive, but in practice it was governed under British influence — the era of the consul-general Lord Cromer is emblematic. A formal protectorate was declared in 1914.
Key developments
The nationwide revolution of 1919, led by Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd party, pushed Britain to declare Egyptian independence in 1922: a Kingdom of Egypt under Fuad I, with Britain keeping control of key matters such as defense and the canal. In World War II Egypt was a major Allied base, and the battle of El Alamein in 1942 turned the war in North Africa. After the war, the defeat in the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, corruption, anti-British anger, and the Cairo fire of January 1952 led to the Free Officers revolution of 23 July 1952, and the republic was declared in 1953.
End and transition
The Nasser era brought the Suez Crisis of 1956, pan-Arab leadership, union with Syria (1958–1961), the Aswan High Dam, and defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Under Sadat came the October War of 1973, peace with Israel through the Camp David Accords of 1978 and the 1979 treaty, and his assassination in 1981. Mubarak governed from 1981 to 2011 under emergency law; the 2011 revolution ended his rule and opened a turbulent transition — Morsi elected president in 2012, removed by the military in 2013 — hundreds of his supporters were killed when security forces dispersed their sit-ins — and Sisi president from 2014, in office into the 2020s. Contemporary Egypt has a rapidly growing population of over 100 million and is pursuing megaprojects that include an expanded canal and a New Administrative Capital.