European colonialism

in the Middle East

Intervention,
Transformatio
n,
Independence
A romanticized painting of Napoleon inspecting
a mummy at the Pyramids.

Responses:
Transformations in Ottoman
rule

Ottoman reform: 1830s-1870s

New centralization
New technologies (railroad)
New education
New institutions
Erosion of Ottoman economic and political
independence
Capitulations
European protection of non-Muslim minorities
Nationalism
loss of Ottoman territories in Europe
Turkish and Arab nationalism

The Age of Empire, 18751914

Growing global division between the very

powerful and the less powerful
Rise of colonial empires
Between 1876 & 1914 about 25% of the
worlds land surface distributed as
colonies among European powers
Reasons: economics (new markets &
new resources), strategic reasons,
political symbolism, nationalism

European colonialism in the Middle

East, late 18th-late 19th c.
1798-1801 French
invasion of Egypt
British outposts on the
Arabian Peninsula,
1799
French annexation of
Algeria, 1834 (settler
colonialism)
British administrative
occupation of Egypt,
1882
Russian and British
imperialism in Iran

Geromes Napoleon in Egypt

(1863)

European colonialism in the

Middle East, 20th century

WWI and Competing promises:

Husayn-McMahon Correspondence, Sykes-Picot
agreement;
Balfour Declaration
Promised Palestinian Arabs independence if they
helped beat the Turks in World War I.
Promised Jews a homeland
Post WWI: League of Nations-sanctioned Mandate
System gives Britain and France administrative control
of Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, & Lebanon
Many other areas remain under direct or indirect
colonialism

Issues with Colonialism

Religions:

Judaism, Islam,
Christianity
Languages: Arabic, Turkish,
Persian, Hebrew, Kurdish,
Armenian
Borders: created by European
nations without thought to ethnic
makeup of the region

Sykes-Picot Agreement

Gaining Freedom

Nationalism: Independence was gained in the

following years:

1923 Trans-Jordan from Britain

1930 - Iraq gained freedom from British; borders
gave limited access to Persian Gulf and religious
and ethnic tensions prevailed
1936 - Egypt independence from Britain, but
military control of the Suez Canal for Britain for 20
years
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan gained independence after
World War II
Pan-Arab dream was to create a united Arab state

The Mandate System

certain

parts of the world put under

trusteeship of various victorious
European powers
British mandates in the MidEast:
Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan
French mandates in the MidEast:
Syria, Lebanon
Mandates both sanctify western
colonialism but also circumscribe it

ARTICLE 22 OF THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

June 28, 1919
1. To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war
have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly
governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand
by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there
should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of
such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the
performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant.
2. The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is that the
tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations who by
reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position
can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it,
and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on
behalf of the League.
3. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the
development of the people, the geographic situation of the territory, its
economic conditions and other similar circumstances.

Outside the Mandate

True

independence: Turkey
Mostly independent: Yemen, S. Arabia
Direct colonial rule: Libya (Italy);
Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia (French)
External control & influence: Iran
(Britain, Russia, U.S.), Egypt (Britain)
British treaties of protection: Kuwait,
Oman, U.A.E.

Map Correction: Iran and Egypt were not fully independent until
much later than indicated here. Both continued to have extensive
external involvement in their economic and political affairs.

Full Independence: How and

When
Military Coup: Egypt (1952), Iraq (1958)

Revolution: Iran (1979)

War: Turkey (1920-1923), Algeria (19541962), Israel (1948)
Uprising and Int. Agreement: Libya, Syria,
Lebanon (after WWII)
Treaty: Jordan (1946/8), Tunisia (1956),
Morocco (1956)
Communities promised states/autonomy
that did not receive them: Palestinians,
Kurds, Armenians

Colonialism: Overarching
effects

Creation of new, national states in place of the

Ottoman Empire (Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, etc.)
Implanting of western-supported regimes (especially
monarchies) that use violence to maintain authority. In
many cases, these would later be violently overthrown.
Centralization of political power. Loss of rural
autonomy.
Reorganization of social relationships among different
groups. Privileging of some religious and social groups
over others, leading to future conflict.
Massive economic disruption. New economic
relationships, with arrangements particularly benefiting
western powers
New models: nationalism, modernity vs traditional

Colonialism & Imperialism,

summed up (a perspective)