Middle East

The British and the Middle East The Middle East is the part of the world which spreads from Egypt to Iran and from Turkey to the Arabic peninsula. From the 19th century the British have played an important role in this area but, as time went by, its influence has decreased. Nowadays many conflicts take place in this area/there, for instance in Iraq, in Syria, in Palestine, and so on. Religion and nationalism are two elements which increased the difficulties. It is part of the crisis crescent. How can history explain today?s situation in these countries? First, we will try to answer this question through the example of Palestine. From the end of the Ottoman Empire... In 1914 the first war began, which had an impact through the world. It was in fact linked to the colonies that European countries had possessed from the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire rejoined the central powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary). The two main powers in the World were France and the UK. Even if most of the battles took place in Europe, conflicts were also important in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was a Central Powers? ally. The British Imperial troops (Irish, Canadian, Anzac = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and English ones) fought against it at Gallipoli (Dardanelles Strait) in 1915. There were many battles between the Turks and the British and particularly in the Arabic peninsula. The Arabs revolted against the Turks thanks to the British support (e. g. Lawrence of Arabia, a British spy who had to negotiate with the Arabs in order to destabilize Turk troops). In 1916, a secret agreement was signed by the French and the British about territories of the Ottoman Empire: the Sykes-Picot Agreement (see the doc. I gave you). They decided along with the Russians to divide this land after the war and that Palestine would be kept by the British. At the same time, the influence of Zionism increased. Its main aim was to create a National Jewish home in Palestine. Arthur James Balfour, Foreign Secretary, was in charge of keeping good relationships with the Zionists. On November, 2nd 1917, he sent a letter to Lord Rothschild, a Zionist; promising the Jews a "national home" in Palestine which was at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. This letter is better known as the Balfour Declaration. Why? In fact, since the end of the 19th century, anti-Semitism didn?t stop growing. In 1896, Theodore Herzl (an Austro-Hungarian citizen) thought that the best thing to do for the Jews was to create or recreate a state to avoid all the persecutions and pogroms. In December 1917, the British troops led by General Allenby entered Jerusalem on foot to respect this holy city. Then this area fell under British influence. (The British actually got a protectorate in Egypt in the 19th century). Armistice was signed with the Ottoman troops on October, 30th 1918 at Moudros (Greece). The British could spread their influence in many parts of the Middle East: Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the Emirates of the Arabia Peninsula. In Iran, they had a huge economic and political influence, for example with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and much later British Petroleum (BP). It was a British company founded in the early 20th century. It had exclusive rights to exploit Iranian oil under a very privileged agreement. It could keep most profits, and Iran got very little. Thereafter, in 1920 a treaty was concluded at Sèvres (France, near Paris) between Allies and the Turks in which it was suggested that the British should receive Palestine like mandatory from the League of Nations created in 1919 (treaty of Versail...