Author Bio: Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt, and was in office from 1956 until his death in 1970. One of Nassar's main accomplishments was the nationalizing of the Suez Canal, which is elaborated upon in his speech.
Date/Context: Nasser gave this speech on July 26, 1956. The speech primarily revolved around the nationalization of the Suez Canal, and was given in order to fund the Aswan Dam project due to the fact that Britain and America withdrew their offers to finance it.
Summary: Although there has been much effort to imperialize Egypt, Egypt will remain independent, and is strongly prepared to fight. This effort has shown the world that a small country such as Egypt will not succumb to pressure from larger powers such as the U.S. and Great Britain. Egypt will maintain its sovereignty. As a step in maintaining this independence, Egypt will keep control of the Suez Canal, and this means that the Suez Canal company will be under complete and total Egyptian rule. Currently, all Egyptians are aware of the evil imperialism around them, and know how important it is to maintain freedom, and if a country should invade, a full-scale war will be fought and Egypt will emerge victorious. The entirety of the Arab nation, as well as other free countries will support us in our efforts to retain the freedom that Egypt is marked by.
Key Quote: "Today the Egyptian people are fully conscious of their sovereign rights and Arab nationalism is fully awakened to its new destiny..."
There are three key points that should be recognized from this summary. The first is that Egypt will fight for it's freedom even though other forces have attempted to take over it, meaning that it is willing to go to many lengths to remain free. Second is that the United States and Britain are two of the main forces again Egypt, which relates to what we learned about the United States and Britain fighting with each other and with other countries for land in Africa. Third is the fact that the Arab Nation is supporting Egypt, showing that there are other countries that do not agree with the United States and Britain in this manner.
ReplyDeleteWhile this PDP is well written, I believe that it could have more information about how Egypt is planning to keep fighting for it's freedom. I also believe that it should include information about Egypt's agreements with Britain and France i relation to the Suez Canal. Finally, I think that it could discuss how Egypt's economy, as well as other factors, affect this event.
Expand on Nasser's historical significance and the context of this speech. Specifically, consider this speech in terms of Pan-Arab nationalism, independence and anti-Western/anti-imperialism feelings.
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