Egypt and its borders

Egypt stood a strong independent nation, with Pharoahs,pyramids, and gods that could intiminate an army. Although for so long Egypt stood on its own it eventually had a weak period that left it open to foreign influence. The geography of Egypt has left its borders open to foreign predators but also desired by many governments in Asia as well as Europe. In 1517 Egypt at one of its weakest points was taken over by the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman-Mamluk War was a serious conflict between the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, this conflic started nearly 50 years early when both Egypt and the Ottomans wanted control over the spice trade and the Ottomans also seeked to control the Holy Cities of Islam. The borders of Egypt however did not change it just enlarged the spread of the Empire. Through the control of the Ottoman the French did step in and attempt control in 1798 but did not hold strong and in 1805 the Ottomans took possession again by 1805.

Egypt become an vassal state when the Ottomans took control in 1805, which gave it the ability to rule itself but then with trade booming the Europeans entered the race to have a part of Egypt again. The Suez Canal was a prime location for trade and transportation, the building of the canal led to extremed debt for Egypt and led for them to sell a portion to the British government in 1875, with Britian and France so closely linked at the Suez Canal, Egypts politics began to be adjusted and by 1882 it became a British protectorate. This rule did not last very long in 1953 Egypt gained its independence after a revolution that was meant to just overthrow King Farug but quickly moved to a movement meant to abolish the constitutional monarchy in Egypt.

Although Egypt had its independence it has not had a smooth road since then, it has gone through numerous leaderships and even faced a second revolution in 2011. The area is one of danger, the people live under tyranny with stric Muslim laws which are imposed on all Egyptians and faces many power struggles on a daily basis. Although the Egyptian kingdom held a strong hold on the land for so long since foreigners have stepped in their involvement has caused much termoil and is still working towards becoming a strong independent nation.

sources:
Din, Khaled Mohi El. Memories of a revolution: Egypt, 1952. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 1995.

Reader, John. Africa: a biography of the continent. New York: Vintage, 1999.