The Dinshawi ('Danishway') Incident, 1906

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In Egypt, the British committed an atrocity that came to be known as the "Danishway Incident." A party of British officers was shooting pigeons in fields near the western delta town of Danishway (Dinshawi) in spite of official warnings not to. Villagers implored them to go away, but the officers ignored them. A fight broke out and several villagers were injured. One of the officers was sent to fetch help, but collapsed and died of heat stroke on the way. A farmer who had gone to assist the stricken officer was beaten to death by soldiers. At the trial (the judges were mostly British) four villagers were sentenced to death and others were sentenced to life in prison or flogging. The floggings and hangings were carried out within sight of the village. Although the imprisoned men were released within two years, the incident helped turn the tide against the British and became a rallying cry for Egyptian nationalism.

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