L2&3: Nationalism in the Middle East After World War One

AgendaObjective: 1. To understand and

evaluate issues of nationalism, autonomy, and control in the Middle East following World War One.

Schedule: 1. Lecture2. Discussion

Homework

1. Work on World War One Paper. Draft Due Tues 1/13

The Middle East In World War One

The Middle East 1914

What Do You Notice?

The Middle East in WWI

The Middle East in WWI: The Ottoman Empire

• Ottomans fought on the side of Germany and Austria Hungary

• Why?– Attempt to maintain control

over other minority groups still in the Empire• Armenians, Arabs, Kurds

– Out of fear of a Russian invasion (Continuous wars with Russia for the past 100 years)

– Attempt to regain traditional territory in the Balkans

The Middle East in World War One: The British Seek Help from the Arab People

to Defeat the Ottomans • As we know, the Ottoman Empire

was comprised of many different ethnic groups (Turks, Armenians, Arabs, Assyrians, etc.)

• Many of the groups were unhappy with the fact that they were ruled by the Ottomans and wished to create their own independent states

• One such people were the Arabs.• The British believed that they

could channel this Anti-Ottoman sentiment (and pro-Arab nationalism) to their advantage…

The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence: Britain Inspires Revolution

• In a series of letters written in 1915-1916, the British encouraged the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Empire

• The letters declared that if the Arabs revolted, the British would recognize their independence after the war.

The Arab Revolt • The Arab Revolt began

in June 1916, when an Arab army of around 70,000 men moved against Ottoman forces.

• Assisted by the British– “Lawrence of Arabia”

• The Revolt was successful at helping to defeat the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire 1915-1918

• Outgunned • Undermanned• Industry couldn’t keep

up• Citizen’s turned

against the empire– Arab Revolt, Armenians

taking arms against the Ottomans, etc.

• Eventually defeated

The Middle East After World War One

Questions on the Table

The Middle East’s Perspective on these Questions

• What do you think?• How do Wilson’s 14 Points support these

sentiments…– “What we demand in this war ... is that

the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world.”

– “Free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.”

Europe’s Perspective on these Questions

• What do you think?

The Middle East After World War One: Sykes-Picot Agreement

• May 1916• Secret agreement between Britain and France,

with the assent of Russia• Carved up the Middle East for British, French,

and Russian control should they win World War One

• Completely disregards the “promise” of Arab independence

• The secret agreement was revealed to the world by the Bolsheviks in October 1917 (oh snap!)

Territorial Distribution Proposed by Sykes-Picot

• France:– Syria, Lebanon and

Southern Turkey

• Britain:– South Iran, Jordan, West

coast of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Eastern Yemen

• International Administration:– Palestine, Central Iran

• Independent Armenia

Final Agreements Reached

The Mandate System• Following WWI, the newly created League of Nations

established something called the “mandate system”• Mandate system was a legal status for certain territories

transferred from the control of one country to another following the war.

• Said that these territories would be administered by France or Britain– French and British troops and colonial administrators would

take control of the government.

• Why did France and Britain want to retain control over the Middle East?– Oil!

Mandate System in Action!• Treaty of Sevres (1920) divided the Ottoman Empire into:

– British Mandate of Palestine– British Mandate of Iraq– French Mandate of Syria– Armenia– Saudi Arabia– Some Land given to Greece– Islands given to Italy– Allies would occupy the remainder of the Ottoman Empire

(until…revolution creates Turkey)

• World War One (the war to make the world safe for democracy) strengthened the influence of France and Britain in the Middle East

Mandate System• Rationale:– “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.”…

– “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,…”

• How does the mandate system reflect European ideas about race and imperialism?

The Balfour Declaration• Letter from the British Foreign

Secretary Lord Balfour to the leader of the Zionist movement indicating the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people.

• Territory for the homeland would come from “the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern borders of Palestine.”

• In Palestine, conflicting forces of Arab nationalism and Zionism created a situation the British could neither resolve nor extricate themselves from.

What Happens to Certain Nations/Regions

Occupied Ottoman Empire• Turkish nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal begins to form in opposition to allied occupation• Turks were the ethnic group who had led the Ottoman Empire• Turkish War of Independence 1922– Kemal and Turkish nationalist fight occupying

forces– Also use the war as an opportunity to expel ethnic

Greeks from the nation.• In 1922, Republic of Turkey is established

Republic of Turkey• The role of nationalism in creating the

Republic of Turkey was two-sided:– Turks will be the only Middle Eastern

ethnic group to successfully cast off European control in the years immediately following World War One

– Nation-building accompanied by mass death and the flight of millions of

refugees to escape rule by another people

Republic of Turkey• President = Mustafa

Kemal (Ataturk)• Sought to create a

new, modern, and secular republic

• Reformed many of the past practices of the Ottoman empire– Full rights of

women, new writing system based upon the Latin alphabet

Iran

•Independent nation of Persia becomes Iran•Iran becomes a Shi’ite nation. Shi’ite Islam becomes the state religion, with a formal hierarchy of clergy.•In 1906, the weak kings are overthrown and a parliament (majlis) established.•Reza Shah Pahlavi stages a coup in 1921, strengthens central authority, begins modernization, builds railroads.•Under his son Mohammed, Iran becomes an ally of the U.S. in the Cold War.

Saudi Arabia• Abdul-Aziz bin Saud

unites Bedouin tribes– Had hoped to create a

pan-Arab state, but British actions in the Middle East made that impossible

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is created in 1926.

• Oil discovered in 1930s. • US forms alliance during

World War II.

Iraq• British Mandate of Mesopotamia

was established by the League of Nations

• British imposed territorial boundaries that did not take into account the politics of the different ethnic and religious groups of the era.

• Lots of revolts and problems; British reportedly gas Kurdish villages

• Independence was not achieved until 1932

Palestine• Administered as a British mandate• Was supposed to be populated by both

Muslims and Jews (per Balfour Declaration)

• In the early years of the Mandate, Jewish immigration to Palestine was quite substantial.

• Palestine Riots of 1920s – Violent conflicts between Muslims and

Jews – Trust among the British, Jews, and Arabs

eroded

• Jewish community increased moves towards an autonomous infrastructure and security apparatus parallel to that of the British

• Tensions continued up until and throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

Syria

• Administered by French mandate• Nationalist agitation against the French

led to a revolt in 1925, but was suppressed by the French

• Syria and France negotiated a treaty of independence in 1936

Why Was the Middle East Unable to Establish a Pan-Arab State and Cast Off

European Control?• Complicated!! But in part…– Arab-speaking people were deeply divided

• By Leader: – Sheik Hussein (Leader of the Arab Revolt)– Ibn Saud (Leader of the revolt to establish Saudi Arabia)

• By Religion/Sect:– Muslims divided into five separate sects– Christians divided into 10 different sects

– These divisions prevented the emergence of a powerful nationalist movement and permitted Britain and France to divide and rule separate parts of the area

Putting It All Together• How would you summarize the treatment of the

Middle East following WWI?– How did Europe’s sense of nationalism influence their

treatment?

• What do you think the goal of Europe was in the Middle East post-war?

• How would you summarize the nationalist sentiment in the Middle East following WWI?

• What accounts for the development of this sentiment?

• Do you think nationalism was successful in the Middle East? Why or why not?