World War I and Palestine:
Britain’s Conflicting Promises
IAFS/JWST 3650
Announcements
• Ronit Avni, “My
Neighborhood”
discussion and
screening, Mon, 18
Feb, 3-3:50pm
• RSVP: Meghan.Zibby
@colorado.edu (space
is limited)
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
British interests in West Asia
Ottoman decline
Orientalism and Lawrence of Arabia
World War I
Conflicting British promises
British Interests in the Middle East
• Access to India
–initially, overland passage to India
–post-1869, a quicker route via the Suez
Canal
British Interests in the Middle East
• Protecting Suez Canal
–1882 occupation of Egypt
• Oil
–1908: oil discovered in Persia
Ottoman (Turkish) Empire
• Rising influence of Young Turks
• 1915: Ottoman genocide of Armenians
• Turkish alliance with Germany during
World War I
Edward Said’s
Theory of Orientalism
• An academic field
• A style of thought based on a distinction
between the Oriental and “us”
• A Western style of rule over the Orient
Where is the “Orient”?
• In Orientalists’ heads
• Originally, India and the Middle East
• All of “Far East”—India, Japan, China, etc,
and the “Muslim world”
What are “Orientals” like (according
to Orientalists)?
• Orientals:
– Childlike
– Irrational
– Dishonest
– Gullible yet
cunning
– Lazy
– Incapable of
order
– Depraved
• vs. Orientalists:
– Mature
– Rational
– Full of clarity
– Direct
– Noble
Said on Orientalism
• Based on accepted scholarly
understanding
• Has less to do with the Orient than
with the West
Critiques of Said
• Overly focused on Western views,
rather than “Oriental” agency
• Overgeneralizations
Quickthink
• In what ways is Said’s work on
orientalism relevant today?
Significance
• We must understand our own biases
• We must think about the language we
use
TE Lawrence: “Lawrence of Arabia”
(1885-1935)
• British intelligence agent during WWI
• Active in Arab Revolt (1916-1918)
• Pushed for
Arab
independence
King Faisal
and advisors
(Lawrence 3rd from right)
TE Lawrence: “Lawrence of Arabia”
(1885-1935)
• Seen as a hero in Britain
• Fictionalized
autobiographical
accounts, e.g. Seven
Pillars of Wisdom
• Arabists’ influence
World War I
• 1916: Sykes-Picot
Agreement
• 1916: Arab Revolt
• 1920: Treaty of
Sevres and end of
Ottoman Empire
Sykes-Picot Plan
World War I
• Britain’s other conflicting World War I
promises:
–1915: McMahon-Hussein
correspondence
–1917: Balfour Declaration
McMahon-Hussein Correspondence
(1915-1916)
• Henry McMahon, British High
Commissioner to Egypt
• Sharif Hussein, protector of Mecca and
Medina
• McMahon’s intentional vagueness
McMahon-Hussein Correspondence
(1915-1916)
“The districts of Mersina and Alexandretta, and
portions of Syria lying to the west of the districts of
Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo, cannot be said
to be purely Arab, and must on that account be
excepted from the proposed limits and boundaries .
. . . Subject to the above modifications, Great
Britain is prepared to recognize and support the
independence of the Arabs within the territories in
the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of
Mecca.”
--McMahon to Hussein, 24 Oct. 1915
Ottoman
Administrative
Districts
“portions of Syria lying to
the west of the districts of
Damascus, Homs, Hama
and Aleppo [must] be
excepted “
Based on maps in Cmd. 5957 (1939)
Balfour Declaration (1917)
• Nov 1917
• Arthur Balfour, British Foreign Secretary
• Lord Rothschild, British Jewish leader
Balfour
Declaration
(1917)
Balfour Declaration (1917)
Balfour Declaration (1917)
• British motivations
–Short-term: Russian and US support
during WWI
–Long-term: stable hold on Palestine
Conclusions
• British decisions made with focus on European
impact, not repercussions for West Asia
• Despite intentional vagueness of Balfour
Declaration and McMahon-Hussein
correspondence, British promises not
compatible