DEPTH STUDY 1: British Policy and the Middle East 1908-48

2 major failures of the british in the middle east

March 1917: british advance on baghdad to show arabs british power to persuade them to join britains side

Februry 1915: the gallipoli campaign in order to control constantinople

3 mains concerns for allies when ottomans joined the war on germanys side

Threat to Russian war effort - blocked sea route through Dardanelles straits

Brought Germany too close to britains sphere of influence (persia and india)

Extended battlefront - wider area to cover with troops

After independence in transjordan recognised, what did British still control

Troop and foreign policy

aim of the wafd party and why was it frustrated

independence from britain

constrained by king fuad and british authorities

aims of arab revolt

encourage arab nationalist revolt against ottomans (maily failed as most arabs remained loyal)

help british forces to capture palestine and syria - some success

arab response to UN partition plan

rejected especially because jews were given 55% of territory

arab populated cities like haifa and jaffa were part of jewish state

british actions in egypt during WWI

deposed the pro-turkish ruler of egypt

flooded cairo with troops

seized crops

forced egyptians to work for them

british imperial aims in the middle east in late 19th to early 20th century

protecting the suez canal and their oil fields in the persian gulf

suez canal was vital link to empire in india - if war breaks out in europe, needed transport link for indian troops

maintain control of egypt

British mandates

Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine

by later 19th century, what did the arabs aim to do about the ottoman occupation

tried several times to remove turkish rulers and re-establish arab rule in middle east

by may 1948, how many arabs fled from the borders of what was to be israel

over 300,000

by october 1920 how many british troops were in iraq to crush the rebellion

100,000

By the end of WWI, what did Britain control

3 former Turkish provinces of Basra, Baghdad and mosul

changes in egypt after 1936

britain kept military bases but egypt was recognised as an independent state and was admitted to the league of nations

Define Arab nationalism

the desire for multiple independent states

define colony

a territory controlled by another country

define diaspora

the dispersion of any people from their original homeland

define empire

states or territories controlled by another more powerful country

define fiefdom

territory/ sphere of operation controlled by a person/ group

Define mandate

Territory administered but not owned by a member of the League of Nations

define national self-determination

people of a particular nationality should be able to choose who rules them and how

define pan-arabism

the desire for one big arab nation

define pogrom

the organized massacre of a minority group, especially Jews

define ursury

lending money and charging interest

define zionist

People who favor a Jewish homeland in Palestine

difference between arab terrorism in arab revolts and jewish terrorism in palestine

jews were better trained and better equipped because they had fought in the british army in the war

difference of the kurds

they were a distinct ethnic group - not arab like the others

diplomats involved in the sykes-picot agreement

sir mark sykes and francois georges-picot

disadvantage to the iraqi borders

no access to the persian gulf

small coastline of 58km

unsuited to deep water ports

evidence for failure of WWI for ottomans

turks lost 750,000 men (same amount wounded)

non-combatant losses: 2,150,000

example for why the iraqi revolt was successful

ledf to faisal being crowned as king because britain realised they needed help in controlling iraq

rebels had more success in british mandates than french because the french acted much more like a colonial power

examples of jewish persecution in europe

not allowed to vote or own land, had to live in separate areas

examples of violence breaking out in the countryside of palestine during the arab rebellion

arab farmers fought to prevent being evicted from land bought by jews

villagers attacked jews cultivating traditional village land that had been sold to jews by an absentee arab landlord

armed arab forces attacked jewish settlements

failure of the key aim of the revolt

the expected mass support from the arab-speaking ottoman soldiers was not forthcoming

French achievements in Syria and lebanon

Built roads and schools

Promoted french language and culture

french imperial aims in the middle east in late 19th to early 20th century

protect maronite community in lebanon - linked to catholic church

ottoman empire was key region for tobacco trade and investment

beirut was key trading post - linked by rail and roads they built to damascus

French mandates

Syria and Lebanon

greater organisation of the zionist movement

didnt give land or work to arabs so they had to go elsewhere

published hebrew newspapers, set up kibbutz

first jewish self-defence militia (hashomer) in 1909

david ben-gurion - israel's first prime minister

hejaz railway

• Main transport of Ottoman empire during WWI

• Arab revolt; dynamite it

fromm damascus to medina

How did Arabs react to British agreeing to french invasion of Syria

Betrayed - britains wartime promises broken

how did britain continue to exert control over egypt after declaring its independence in 1922

maintaining control of the defence of egypt, its foreign relations, its military bases and the suez canal

how did britain respond to the violence caused between the jews and arabs during the arab rebellion

hanging several arab leaders, exiled others and destroyed houses suspected of containing arab terrorists or arms

helped to train and organise the jewish defence force

how did british react to growing immigration of jews to palestine

increased millitary presence

commissions to investigate causes of violence and possible solutions

How did Jews interpret the Balfour declaration

Saw as a promise from the British government to help set up a Jewish state

how did the ottomans try to dissuade arabs from joining british side (failed)

execute arab nationalists in beirut and damascus

published text of sykes-picot to show arabs britains broken promises

how did the zionists take action against british rule in palestine after august 1945

ordered haganah to cooperate with underground jewish organisations like the irgun and stern gang - conviced they had major public support

how long did britains oil concession last in iraq

75 years

how many jews immigrate due to the rise of the nazis in the 1930s

450,000

how many jews were in america

4.5 million - 2 million in new york alone

how many jews were in palestine by 1929

160,000

How many letters were sent between hussein and McMahon from July 1915-March 1916

Ten

How many Syrians were killed in the Syrian revolt

6000

how many total jewish inhabitants arrived in palestine soon after 1881

about 4,500 in 21 settlements

how many zionists had settled in palestine by 1914

60,000

how were iraqs borders drawn to benefit britain

oil wells of kirkuk and mosul (negotiated with france that mosul would be excluded from greater syria and be a part of iraq)

borders extended south to include basra because it meant that britain could keep an eye on the persian gulf

ideological justification for the zionist movement

had to give the jewish community a common claim to a national identity:

ancient jewish biblical history was revived to show they had past lived in a region of palestine

acholars et out to modernise jewish language (hebrew)

impact of revolution of 1919

many british and egyptian casualties

nationalist political party called the wafd

impact of the the arab revolt on the turkish ottoman soldiers

diverted them and tied them down

jewish response to the UN partition plan

accepted despite exclusion of jerusalem

majority of zionists happy because they finally got a state

main issue of the mandates

new states had boundaries that suited britain and france not the inhabitants

military motives for british support of zionism

feared russia would leave war - russian revolution 1917, british officials believed jews were influential in revolutionary circles

somme 1916 - generals look at campaign prospect in middle east. if britain linked attack on palestine with zionist support, wilson would look more favourably on british occupation

moral justification of zionist movement

necessary to claim tje land belonged to no one

a land without a people for a people without a land

Nature of french rule in Lebanon

Colonial power

Constitution imposed in 1929 - Christian president, Muslim pm

French proposed treaty similar to in Syria

Nature of french rule in syria

Colonial power

Didn't envisage the creation of independent state

Allowed elections but insisted on control of foreign policy and security

Treaty granting independence but french assembly refused

ottoman imperial aims in the middle east in late 19th to early 20th century

prevent further western encroachment

destroy nationalist uprisings across empire

percentage of groups in iraq

shia arab -- 60%

sunni arab -- 20%

sunni kurd -- 17%

other (eg jews) -- 3%

political motives for british support of zionism

DLG had had sympathy for zionist cause for 20 years and was personally aquainted with weizmann who campaigned actively

1917 - rumours about germany declaring zionist support which would gain the support of the american jews with german origin

problem with partition of land in the UN partition plan

jews only made up 1/3 of the population and owned less than 10% of the land but they were given 55% of the overall palestine territory

Quote from ben gurion

We and they (the Arabs) what the same thing. We both want Palestine. And that is the fundamental conflict

reasons for the sykes-picot agreement

allow british to build haifa-basra railway and link future oil fields to mediterranean ports

reassurance of britains major ally as the allies were struggling (somme jul-nov 1916n)

maintain control of suez canal and extend power and influence

french and british showed they recognised the future existence of arab states in the region

religious motives for british support of zionism

many british politicians were interested in zionism due to seeing the jewish return to palestine as a fulfilment of the prophecies of the Last Days in the Book of Revelation - Messiah's return

revisionist view of the civil war in palestine

palestine were expelled

haganah and agency condoned some terrorist ops

deir yassin massacre

determind to persuade as many arabs to leave

no record of arab leaders telling them to leave

russian imperial aims in the middle east in late 19th to early 20th century

strengthen trade links with iran and the caucascus region

protect slavics in balkans from ottoman oppression

control bosporus strait

oi reserves in azerbaijan

standard zionist view of the civil war in palestine

palestinians left voluntarily

jewish military actions after nov 1947 were largely defensive

both sides to blame

thousands of arabs followed the example of their leaders

strategic motives for british support of zionism

DLG saw british controlled palestine as a vital asset to guard the suez canal

believed zionist support would lead to american jews to persuade wilson to join war on britains side

succes of guerilla approach of arab revolt

disrupted the hejaz railway thus cutting supply lines to turkish forces and immobilizing 30,000 from amman to medina

prevented turco-german forces in syria from linking up with turkish garrison in yemen

attacked telegraph so they could intercept messages

successes of arab revolt by september 1916

principle towns of the hejaz, with the exception of medina, were in arab hands

was arab nationalism influential with the ottoman empire up to and into WWI

nationalism was beginning to form in major Arab cities like cairo, damascus and beirut as they were very influenced by the west bu t most arabs were content to be a part of multi-ethnic empire

what caused animosity between christians and jews in the middle ages

christians believed that jews were responsible for jesus' death

christians were banned from money lending but jews were banned from many professions at the time so turned to lending money (ursury)

What did Ben gurion believe the only solution to the Arab Jewish conflict

War - not negotiation

what did britain continue to control after they granted iraq independence

foreign policy

two air bases near basra and baghdad

oil through Iraqi petroleum commpany

what did britain do in april 1915

conclude a treaty with the idrisids, offering autonomy and protection if they would take up arms against the ottomans

What did Britain promise the arabs

If they rebelled against the ottomans, britain would help establish arab independence with "no intervention in internal affairs"

what did britain promise the french

discussed future partition of ottoman empire, direct and indirect control, french to directly control lebanon and coastal syria and indirectly control rest of syria up to iranian border

what did britain promise the italians

treaty of london, gave them parts of ottoman territory for their entente support

libya, dodecanese islands, portions of antolia, smyrna and south west antolia

What did britain promise the jews

Agreed and recognised Palestine as a Jewish National home - supported placing Palestine under direct British control

What did Britain promise the Jews

Balfour declaration - viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people

Britain moved away from there position concluded in the Sykes-picot agreement

what did britain promise the russians

the treaty of constantinople offered russia control of dardanelle straits and access to the warm water port.

in return russia agreed to british control of central persia

What did chaim Weizmann work for

To win support of the British government for a Jewish homeland

what did egyptians expect at the end of WWI

independence from britain

inspired by woodrow wilson's national self determination

british initially refused to let egypt send a delegation to peace conference in versailles

What did Glubb pasha set up

Founded desert patrol, special branch of Arab legion (Transjordan army)

Recruited and gained confidence of Bedouin tribesmen who would become backbone of army

what did hussein agree to let britain have

control over the provinces of baghdad and basra - key to control of oil in the persian gulf

What did McMahon declare on 30 august 1915

declare britains desire for the independence of the Arab countries and their inhabitants and British readiness to approve an Arab caliphate

what did the arab higher committee call for

a general strike by all arab workers and government employees in hops that it would force a change in policy of what they saw as pro-zionist british administration in palestine

attacks on jewish settlements and british forces

what did the arab national manifesto call for

independence from turks, arab unity and a free arab state

What did the Balfour declaration NOT state

They expressed their support for a Jewish homeland NOT a state

What did the British white paper propose

Over next 5 years, max of 10,000 Jews each year allowed to settle in Palestine

quota of 25,000 Jewish refugees allowed

thereafter no further jewish immigration without Arab agreement

Independence for Palestine within 10 years as a single state with a joint Arab/jewish government

what did the merger of the provinces to make iraq cause

led to unease because kurdish minority of mosul denied minority rights by arab majority therefore opposed authority of baghdad

what did theodor herzl argue in his book der judenstaat (the jewish state)

since european jews could not expect to escape anti-semitism, they should seek a state of their own

what did william cleveland describe iraq as an example of

an empire by treaty