260 • 15 EGYPT'S STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCEArab-Muslim heritage. Later, when Taha Husayn wrote that Egypt's cultural
heritage was as much Greek and Roman as it was Arab, many conservatives
were scandalized. This was an era of intellectual ferment, one that also saw
the beginning of Egypt's film and recording industries and the formation of
Cairo University. Egypt clearly was emerging as the intellectual capital of the
Arabic-speaking world. Yet it was not politically independent.
The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty
A series of fortuitous events in 1935-1936 seemed to resolve the Egyptian
question. Mussolini's Italy, already ruling Libya, menaced both British and
Egyptian interests by invading Ethiopia. This move helped bring the two
sides together. Ever more frequent student riots in Cairo revealed the un¬
popularity of the existing royal dictatorship under the 1930 constitution.
The British, hoping for better relations with Egypt, called for a return to
the 1923 constitution and free elections. The death of King Fuad in 1936
and the succession of his teenaged son Faruq (under a regency) gave new
hope to believers in Egyptian democracy. In accordance with the 1923
constitution, new elections were held in 1936. The Wafd Party predictably
won. Mustafa al-Nahhas formed a Wafdist ministry, which successfully
negotiated a treaty with Britain's foreign secretary, Sir Anthony Eden. Be¬
cause it replaced the reserved points that had left Egypt's independence in
doubt for fourteen years, this new Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was initially
popular in both countries. For Britain it guaranteed for at least twenty
years a large military base from which to defend the Suez Canal, plus bases
in Cairo and Alexandria as well as in other Egyptian cities, in case a war
broke out. The question of the Sudan, ruled in fact by Britain, was put on
the back burner. For Egypt it meant a constitutional monarchy with min¬
isters responsible to Parliament, ambassadors in other countries' capitals,
membership in the League of Nations, and all the trappings of indepen¬
dence so long deferred. Young Faruq was hailed with wild ovations wher¬
ever he went, and Sir Anthony Eden became the first foreigner ever to have
his picture on an Egyptian postage stamp.
Disillusionment
Again the high hopes of Egypt's liberal nationalists were dashed. The
Wafdist government lasted only eighteen months. King Faruq proved as
adept as his father in locating anti-Wafd politicians willing to form cabinets
he liked better than those led by Mustafa al-Nahhas. Even some of the Wafd
Party leaders found Nahhas so objectionable that they bolted in 1937 to