British policy in the Middle East (1908-48)

From written booklet up to p10

What were Britain’s two overriding aims

Protect and keep control of Suez Canal and Persian Gulf

Why was the Middle East geographically important to the British empire in 1910s

It was the route to the Empire in India and colonies in East Asia like Hong Kong

What is the Suez Canal and when was it built

Built in 1869, it is a man made waterway linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea

Why was the security of the Canal so important

Transport of Indian troops to Europe which became vital during WW1 and trade

Why was the security of the Persian Gulf so important

It was the source of oil which British Navy ships were becoming dependent on

When was the Hussein McMahon Correspondence

1915

When was the Sykes Picot Agreement

1916

When was the beginning of the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans

1916

When was the Balfour Declaration

1917

When did the Treaty of Versailles grant mandates over Arab lands to Britain and France

1919

When was the uprising against British rule in Iraq

1920

When did the French invade Syria and expel Faisal

1921

When was Faisal made king of Iraq

1921

When did Hitler come to power in Germany

1933

When was the Arab Rebellion in Palestine

1936-9

When was the Peel Commission and what did it recommend

1937, it recommended partition of Palestine

When was the British Government White Paper and what did it recommend

1939, recommended limits placed on Jewish immigration into Palestine

When was the Anglo Persian Oil Company formed

1908

When did Britain buy a 51% controlling share in the Anglo Persian Oil company

1914, two months before World War I began.

Why did Britain want to gain influence in Palestine after the war

• Control of Palestine would enhance ability to protect Suez

• Wanted to stop the French getting control of more of the Mediterranean and thus have more control over Suez

Who was Hussein

Sharif of Mecca, a Hashemite

What did Britain promise in the Hussein McMahon correspondence

That the British would support Arab independence and advise them how to establish their government if they fought against the Ottomans

Why was Britain worried about the Ottoman empire in WW1

They fought with the Germans and Britain was concerned that they might cut off their supplies of oil from Persia just as the navy was becoming dependent

Who was McMahon

Sir Herbert McMahon was the British High Commissioner in Egypt

Why was it in Britain’s influence to encourage the Arabs to rebel

They wanted to create a third front against the central powers to weaken them

Who raised the Arab army in 1916

Faisal (Hussein’s son)

What did Faisal’s Arab Army do during the revolt

Blew up Turkish trains and disrupted the flow of military supplies to Turkish soldiers

Who fought with the Arabs and documented the events of the Revolt

Lawrence of Arabia

When did Faisal and his rebels take Damascus

1918

What did the Arabs believe Britain had promised them in the correspondence

They would help them establish an independent Arab nation

What was the Sykes Picot agreement

A secret 1916 agreement between Britain and France to divide Ottoman Arab lands after WWI.

Why was the Sykes-Picot Agreement controversial?

It contradicted British promises to the Arabs about post-war independence.

What region was France given control over in Sykes Picot?

Syria, Lebanon, and parts of southern Anatolia.

What region was Britain given control over in Sykes Picot?

Southern Iraq (Basra, Baghdad) and influence over Transjordan and Palestine.

What was decided about Palestine in the Sykes Picot Agreement

Under international administration

Why did Britain agree to Sykes picot (3 points)

• War with Germany not going well and the alliance with France was vital

• Maintain extensive trading links in Middle East

• Wanted to protect control of Suez by getting some influence in Palestine

What were the three conflicting promises Britain made in the 1910s

• Hussein McMahon correspondence 1915

• Sykes Picot Agreement 1916

• Balfour Declaration 1917

Why was the Sykes Picot agreement infamous

Its utterly uninformed division of Arab lands with no consideration of ethic and religious tensions in the region

When were Britain and France given mandates and who by

April 1920 at the San Remo conference when the members of the League of nations decided who would get what

What mandates did Britain get

Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine

What mandates did France get

Syria and Lebanon

When did France invade Syria and remove Faisal

1921 and the British agreed as it was officially a French mandate and they cared more about their alliance with france than their promise to Hussein

What did the French invasion of Syria look like to the Arabs

A betrayal of Britain’s wartime promises and the triumph of British and French colonial interests over millions of Arabs

What was the Balfour declaration

A letter from foreign secretary Lord Balfour to Baron Rothschild expressing British support for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, not a state

What caveats did Balfour mention in his letter

civil and religious rights of non Jewish people already living in Palestine should be respected

Who was Baron Rothschild

A British banker and prominent zionist

What was the intention behind the Balfour Declaration

It was believed that the Jewish people in America could influence their government’s actions and Britain wanted to bring the USA into the war so was appealing to a prominent zionist with American links

What were the strategic war aims behind the Balfour Declaration

War was at a stalemate and Britain thought that by making such a promise to Rothschild, he and his influential associates could persuade the US to join the war in favour of the allies

What was the diplomatic aim behind the Balfour Declaration

Britain hoped that by making alliances and promises to both Arabs and Zionists they would maintain support from both sides

Who was Chaim Weizmann and how did he contribute to the Balfour Dec

He was a chemistry lecturer at Manchester university and prominent zionist who had lobbied the british governmenr hard for supporting jewish homeland in palestine

Reasons for Balfour Declaration summarised

• Zionism

• Actions of Chaim Weizmann

• British desire for American involvement in the war

How is the pledge from Balfour written into an agreement

It was incorporated into the British mandate for Palestine, making it an obligation for Britain to carry out

Who was it who first put forth the idea of a Jewish state

Theodor Herzl in his 1896 book Der Judenstat

Who are Zionists

Those who advocated for the creation of a Jewish homeland and later those who supported an independent state in Palestine

Why did zionists want their homeland to be in Palestine

Because they had lived there until being expelled by the Romans and believed it to be their ancestral homeland promised to them by God

How many Zionists settled in Palestine between 1880 and 1914

60,000

Where did Faisal become King after being deposed from Syria

Iraq in 1921

Who was made Emir of Transjordan

Faisal’s brother Abdullah

Which countries became the main pillars of Britian’s empire in the ME after WW1

The semi independent Iraq and Transjordan who were their mandates

What did the post war order imposed by Britain and France lead to

A peace to end all peace as put by a British Army officer, it was the root of a lot of the problems that occurred over the next century or so