It is only a coincidence that the advertisement saying
“Talaat Harb is coming back” is broadcasted in the same time of writing those
lines about the same man… that man who became like many other examples in the
history of our country… those whose life circumstances and details turned them
from mere individuals into legends occupying the collective memory throughout
consecutive historical eras.
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that contained an
introduction including details about the book “Challenging colonization: Bank
Misr and Egyptian industrialization 1920 – 1941” authored by Eric Davis,
translated by Hesham Soliman Abdel-Ghaffar, revised and introduced by the
honorable scientist Dr. Ibrahim Fawzi; professor in Cairo University, ex-minister
of industry and one of the most distinguished Egyptian minds concerned in the
good scientific establishment of the coming generations.
First, I apologize to the reader for the insufficient
space of the article that may be not enough to present an analytical review for
what came in the book… this book is a doctorate thesis presented at Chicago
University… and in my opinion, this study – just like other serious studies in
the Egyptian socio-economic history – is a scientific reference that includes a
distinguished analysis for the Egyptian socio-economic development and its
connection to the political aspects in the first half of the twentieth century.
Here, I would like to hint quickly at the role of the department
of history at the faculty of arts in Ain Shams University and the scientific
seminar used to be headed by our great mentor; the late Dr. Ahmed Ezzat
Abdel-Karim along with our distinguished late professor Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Rahim
Mustafa in encouraging a group of researchers in the master’s and doctorate
stages to tackle the socio-economic history and break the monopoly of research over
political history which was regarded as the backbone of the historical studies…
it also makes one feel proud when we find citations in Eric Davis’ sources and
references to researches of professor Dr. Assem ad-Dessouqi; the Egyptian
historian who had his PhD thesis over prominent owners of agricultural land.
Now we are about to ask a recurring question: does
history repeat itself?... do its events repeat again so that one can easily say
that “Talaat Harb is coming back” or that a certain era of time is
recurring?... the answer to this is very simple… the past does not come back… living
nations do not reproduce what have already been done in their historical eras…
but what really happens or should happen is that those eras must be
scientifically detected and analyzed… we should also make morals of the lessons
learnt from those eras… we must make use of the accumulation of positive things
that took place in those eras and not repeat the same mistakes and negative
things that happened at those times too.
The most important thing one can pick from a study
like this one we are talking about is what I can call the manifestations of the
political-socio-economic phenomenon and what connects to it of political aspects
and struggles among then-existing powers… those powers – at the time period
researched by the study from 1920 to 1941 – are social classes like prominent
owners of agricultural land, big merchants and groups of what is called
national bourgeoisie; high, middle and low… and also like political parties;
atop of them at that time was al-Wafd party, al-Omma party… then al-Ahrar
ad-Dostorieen party, national or al-Watani party, ash-Sha’ab party… and standing
against all those was the British occupation.
The researcher detected a backbone that connected all
those developments; that is the controversial relationship between Egyptian
national capital and foreign capital… and how the reality imposed by the
latter; meaning foreign capital represented in banks, companies and
socio-economic influence and consequently political, was the thing that
contributed to creating the hope of an Egyptian national capital that started
to grow to go into a clear conflict against the foreign hegemony.
The main foundation for this was what was happening in
the field of agricultural land and agricultural reclamation… here, the researcher’s
ability in the field of socio-economic history becomes apparent in detecting
the backgrounds and introductions that reached a critical limit… the thing that
prompted national powers and figures represented in some big owners of agricultural
lands, some of certain families and districts like families of ash-Shirie’i,
Abdel-Razeq, Khalifa Marzouq, Ahmed Ismail, at-Taweel, al-Wakeel, al-Khatieb,
al-Gazzar, ash-Sha’rawi, Lamloum, Dos and al-Basel to contribute to this
national capital… and so one finds in the list of those who contributed to the
establishment of Bank Misr names like Swares, Rolo, Sarofeem, Mina Ebied, Salib
Bey Mankariyos!
Eric Davis shortens the signs of the start when the
conflict set off in lines saying: “Egypt’s incorporation in the international
market during the eighteenth century was the start of important transformations
in the Egyptian social structure… also the foreign capital working in Egypt
increased heavily during the nineteenth century along with the change in the
Egyptian economy towards trading due to the expansion in agriculture of
long-staple cotton… also the economic confusion resulted from Muhammed Ali’
policies in the economic field… adding to this the need to develop the infra-structure
of Egypt… all this resulted in a huge public debts…”
“This financial crisis
resulted in a change in the economic and political balance of powers for the
benefit of a new class formed from dignitaries of the countryside on the
expense of the ruling class of Turks and Circassians… cotton agriculture
represented the common ground as to the interests… the thing that paved the way
for the awareness development of those dignitaries that they belong to this
class… also, the common challenges that faced them like heavy taxes, their
migration to urban centres, their growing participation in the national
policies and the incorporation of increasing numbers of Egyptians in the
government bureaucratic administration and armed forces… all these factors
augmented that feeling”… we shall continue later.
Translated into English by:
Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper
on June 14, 2017.
To see the original article, go to:
#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal #Talaat_Harb
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