Self-Determination in the Middle East — Includes specifics on and connects logically

36. Agreements made between Arabs and British in WWI (in exchange for Arab military support). Self-Determination: to gain air support against the Ottoman Turks during the war the Western allies promised to recognize the independence of Arab states in the Ottoman Empire once the war was over the Western nations change their minds France took control of Lebanon and Syria and Britain received Iraq and Palestine because Britain had supported the efforts of Arab nationalist in 1916 a nationalist hope the support we continue after the war ended instead Britain made in agreement with France to create a number of mandates a rack Palestine and Jordan were signed to Great Britain serious Lebanon to France the Europeans determine the nations borders and divided the people in general the people in the states had no strong identification with their designated country

37. Sykes-Picot agreement. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 1916, was a secret agreement that was concluded by two British and French diplomats, Sir Mark Sykes and Georges Picot. The Sykes-Picot Agreement involved itself with the partition of the Ottoman Empire once World War One had ended. The Sykes-Picot Agreement effectively handed over control of Syria, Lebanon and Turkish Cilicia to the French and Palestine, Jordan and areas around the Persian Gulf and Baghdad to the British. While neither France nor Britain actually ‘owned’ these territories, they were to effectively control them at a governmental and administrative level. Northern Syria and Mesopotamia were also considered to be an area of French influence while Arabia and the Jordan Valley were considered to be a sphere of influence of the British. Jerusalem was to be governed by an international administration.

This agreement did clash with the McMahon Agreement of 1915 and the statements made by T E Lawrence to the Arabs who had expected to be allowed to govern their own regions after helping the Allies fight the Turks during World War One.

The agreement was never completely fulfilled by the peace settlements but it did lead to the Arab people not fully trusting the British or French governments at times in the future.

 

How did the Arab people find out about the Sykes-Picot Agreement?

After the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917, the Communists, led by Vladimir Lenin, found a copy of the agreement in the Russian government’s archives. Russia, in the agreement, was to have influence in Turkish Armenia and northern Kurdistan — hence why the pre-communist government had a copy of the agreement. The Russian Communists released the contents of the agreement into the public domain — thus explaining why numerous Arab groups knew about it.

38. The Balfour Declaration. 590–91 the Balfour declaration was a letter written by author James Balfour Britain’s foreign secretary to Lord Rothschild a leader of the Jewish community in Britain it was published in the Times of London during World War I the British government hoping to win Jewish support for the allies issued Balfour declaration and expressed support for national home for the Jews in Palestine but it added that the goal should not undermine the rights of non-Jewish people living there Balfour declaration drew more Jews to Palestine in 1933 the not see regime in Germany led to the Holocaust of 6 million Jews during the 30s many Jews fled to Palestine violence between Jews and Muslims trying to end the violence British declared in 1939 that only a certain number of Jews would be allowed to emigrate to Palestine after that no more could do so intensify the attention and increase the blood shed

39. The mandate system in the Middle East instituted after WWI. 547 acquisitions were officially called mandates Woodrow Wilson opposed annexation of colonial territories by the allies according to the system a nation officially governed another nation as a mandate on behalf of the league of nations that did not own the territory

40. Lasting impact on Arab-Israel/Jewish and/or Arab-Western relations. The Ottoman Empire was broken up in some of the areas were administered by European countries European controlled the region would stir Arab nationalism the Arabs were not a nation though they were united by their language and their Islam the culture and religious heritage. #Muslim Arabs made up 80% of the region’s population both Arabs and Jews view the area as a potential national state