An illustration of the transitional period in Egypt during 1919-1924: Political Cartoons in Egypt\u27s Revolutionary History

This thesis presents the 1919 revolution in Egypt and its effects on the Egyptian political arena as portrayed by the political cartoons during that period. The political cartoons portrayed a visual and tangible approach to a review of nationalism during this era. The cartoons also focused on Egyptian efforts to end British colonialism and imperialism. A review of the cartoons within a six-year period (1918- 1924) yielded one hundred and eighty-two political cartoons. The criteria for the selection of the cartoons was their political nature -pertaining to political actors and politics. The cartoons followed closely the rise and fall of the various political parties that assumed power. The cartoons were collected from al-Kashkul and al-Lata\u27if al-Musawwara. However, both magazines ceased their publication sixty years ago, which allows these publications to perform as a rare and valuable source for the historian. This thesis concludes that political cartoons are vital to the study of history due their symbolic power and accessibility. Political cartoons stress weaknesses in all political figures for the essence of the political cartoon is its humanization of political actors and issues. The humanization in political cartoons represents and interprets events and actors rather than merely recording them, and in doing so allows for the weaknesses, strengths and peculiarities of the cartoons subjects to be revealed. The study of political cartoons allows for a richer understanding of the subjects studied. This can be attributed to the cartoonist inventing new ways to depict strengths and weaknesses of their subjects. Historical literature often approach history with a linear perspective, while cartoons approach those who make history through a symbolic and visual approach. What this thesis has done is to approach Egyptian history from 1918-1924 through both avenues