In the 19th. Century, the British presence in Egypt did not stall the country's development and with the founding of the Institute of Archaeology by Auguste Mariette in 1880, the Egyptians slowly became aware of their heritage. With the outbreak of WWI, British became conscious of the threat posed to the Suez Canal by the alliance between Germany and Turkey and so turned Egypt into a full-fledged protects rate by law.
In 1919, the king of Egypt attempted to win independence from Britain. This was granted in 1922 under a treaty that left the responsibility for the defence of the country and the Suez Canal with the British. Egypt was given a constitution and the Wafd Party, which had negotiated independence, obtained the reins of government though the king retained his position.
In 1936, Egypt and Britain signed a treaty which allowed the British forces to carry out their North African campaigns and to halt the advance of the Germans and Italian on Suez at d-Alamein in 1942. In March 1945, the Arab States of the Middle East meet in Cairo and signed a pact creating the Arab League, which aimed at forming a united front to pursue the safety of the Arab World.
Like many of the colonies, Egypt realised that it could not simply rely on Britain for protection. Therefore, it decided to function independently by reducing reliance on the British.