After the First World War, British occupation and Egypt’s economic concerns correlated with one another. Starvation, rampant inflation, foreign exploitation of domestic enterprises largely contributed to the participation of peasants, landowners, and urban working class in the Egyptian 1919 Revolution. To address the economic concerns that threatened its livelihood, Egypt took crucial actions to voice its nationalist and self-preservative feelings, and it responded to the occupation with attempts to take control of Egyptian resources and economy.
Overall, hunger threatened the livelihood of Egyptian peasants and motivated their participation in the 1919 Revolution in Egypt. Starvation by both the peasants and their livestock urged the peasants…show more content… Along with imperialist ideologies, British laissez-faire and free-market policies brought foreigners into the Egyptian economy. Because foreigners owned nearly all major industrial and transport companies, Egyptian employees faced economic exploitation: low wages, long hours, unsafe working conditions, denial of benefits such as sick pay and accident compensation, and random use of fines. Additionally, the Egyptian government’s involvement with laissez-faire economics contributed to its refusal to impose protective tariffs on imported goods. Consequently, war-time inflation affected Egyptian livelihood at detrimental levels. To respond to their economic concerns, the Egyptian working class participated in strikes. Both violent and non-violent strikes provided a platform for the laborers to raise their economic demands. They also joined forces with the Nationalist Wafd party, who offered the urban laborers imperative economic resources. The Nationalist party sponsored guilds and labor organizations such as the Manual Trades Workers Union (MTWU). Advantageous for the workers, the MTWU allowed non-workers to make negotiations with the employers on behalf of the employees without repercussions. Again, direct economic exploitation by foreigners motivated the Egyptian urban working class to participate in the 1919