European colonialism in
the Middle East
Intervention,
Transformation,
Independence
A romanticized painting of Napoleon inspecting
a mummy at the Pyramids.
Responses:
Transformations in Ottoman rule
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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, 1875-1914
Growing global division between the very
powerful and the less powerful
 Rise of colonial empires
– Between 1876 & 1914 about 25% of the
world’s land surface distributed as colonies
among European powers
– Reasons: economics (new markets & new
resources), strategic reasons, political
symbolism, nationalism
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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
Gerome’s Napoleon in Egypt
(1863)
European colonialism in the Middle
East, 20th century
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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Military Coup: Egypt (1952), Iraq (1958)
Revolution: Iran (1979)
War: Turkey (1920-1923), Algeria (1954-1962),
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
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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)