Bank Miṣr and Foreign Capitalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8965117 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert L Tignor (Princeton University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1977 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 161-181 |
| Publication date | 1977-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0020743800026921 |
| OpenAlex | W2091868802 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 32 |
| References cited | 2 |
In the early months of 1920 a group of leading Egyptians founded Bank Misr. Destined to be the major financial arm of an emerging Egyptian bourgeoisie and the hub of a far-flung industrial and commercial empire, Bank Misr was established amidst the revolutionary turmoil of Egypt in 1919 and 1920. It reflected the nationalist and antiforeign sentiments of these troubled years. Its architect, Tal'at Harb, epitomized many of these characteristics. An ardent Muslim and a defender of Arab-Islamic civilization against its Western and Eastern detractors, he was a dedicated nationalist and a critic of rapacious and exploitative European capitalism. Bank Misr was founded as a supremely Egyptian institution and an expression of nationalist aspirations. Its founders hoped that the Bank might facilitate the emergence of an independent Egyptian bourgeoisie. They also wanted to use its resources to establish new commercial, industrial, and financial companies separate from European capital and working exclusively for the economic well-being of Egypt. But many questions immediately emerged. Could an institution founded in the furor of the revolution and headed by an inexperienced staff even survive, let alone spearhead, far-reaching industrial and commercial changes in the Egyptian economy? What would be its relations with foreigners and especially foreign capital? What role would foreign experts play in the life of the Bank? The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the Bank dealt with these problems by looking at the evolving relationship of the Bank with foreign capital. Put simply it can be said that as the Bank evolved and matured, it began to modify many of its original nationalist, populist, and antiforeign sentiments. It was forced to form alliances with the same groups it had so vigorously denounced at its birt. A close observation of the relationship between Bank Misr and foreign capital should cast light on the effort to create an autonomous Egyptian bourgeoisie. It will show the problems inherent in this vision and the compromises that had to be made as difficulties arose. It will also demonstrate the power of European capitalism in Egypt and its capacity to come to terms with even the most vigorous nationalist organizations
Ancient history · Bourgeoisie · Capital (architecture · Capitalism · Civilization · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Empire · Foreign capital · Foreign direct investment · Institution · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · History · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law
Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema
Aspects of economic history
British West Africa and Liberia
Portuguese Africa
Islam
Belgian Africa
Aspects of economic history
The Maghrib
East Africa
British Central Africa
African cross-currents
Anticolonial Afterlives in Egypt
French black Africa
Egypt under the successors of Muhammad ’Ali
The liberal age, 1923–1952
The British occupation, 1882–1922
Social and economic change in the “long nineteenth century”
The ‘Urabi revolution and the British conquest, 1879–1882
Modern Egyptian culture in the Arab world
Egypt
The French occupation of Egypt, 1798–1801
The era of Muhammad ’Ali Pasha, 1805–1848
Egypt in the eighteenth century
Egypt in the seventeenth century
The Cambridge History of Egypt
The Egyptian empire, 1805–1885
The Cambridge History of Africa
Reading Egypt’s Postcolonial State Through Frantz Fanon
The Underdevelopment of Development Literature
Stretching’ Marxism in the Postcolonial World
On the Theory and Practice of Compradors
The pitfalls of multinational banking
| Citations per year | 0.68 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1979 - 2023 (45) |
| Highly cited | No |