|
Origin of name
The exact origin of these nicknames for this region is not entirely clear, but there appear to be a number of factors that have contributed to their development and popularization over time. One reason that the area became popularly known as Egypt centers on Southern Illinois’ role in supplying grain to northern and central Illinois following the "Winter of the Deep Snow" in 1830–31. Upper Illinois suffered from a long winter and late spring, so crops were not planted until June, and much of that harvest was killed by an early September frost. Southern Illinois had milder weather, however, and produced grain, much of which was shipped north. Wagon trains came south and returned home with corn. Many people believe the similarities with the Bible story of Jacob’s sons going to Egypt to buy grain and survive a famine may have resulted in the nickname. One pioneer, Daniel Brush, founder of Carbondale, recalled in his memoirs how grain was shipped from points on the Big Muddy River and Mississippi River to central and northern Illinois that year. He, too, supports the notion that the role southern Illinois played in feeding those areas led to the rise of the "Egypt" moniker.
Another theory is related to a comparison of the land mass surrounded by the great Mississippi and Ohio Rivers with that of Egypt’s Nile delta region. According to Hubbs, the nickname may date back to 1818, when a large tract of land was purchased at the confluence of the rivers and its developers named it Cairo. Today, the town of Cairo still lies on a peninsula where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi. Other settlements in that portion of the state have names with Egyptian, Greek or Middle Eastern origins: Thebes, Dongola, Palestine, Lebanon, New Athens, Sparta, and Karnak.
During the American Civil War, anti-slavery citizens of northern Illinois would draw less than flattering parallels between the pro-slavery Confederate sympathizers in southern Illinois and the bondage and injustice inflicted on the Hebrews during their "Egyptian bondage"
These Egyptian influences are concentrated in Little Egypt, but also extend farther south. About one hundred miles south of Cairo, along the Mississippi, lies Memphis, Tennessee, which also was named after an Egyptian city on the Nile with the same name. Memphis also has a giant pyramid for a sporting venue.
Belly dancer Farida Mazar Spyropoulos' appearance at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago under the stage name "Little Egypt" brought fame to the name but she had no connection to the region other than commonality of name. The name of the region appears to have been begun changing after this time; before then "Egypt" was used but not "Little Egypt".
Other derivatives and similarities of the Egyptian theme for the region:
|
