Imperialism and Nationalism in the Middle East

1. Imperialism and Nationalism in the Middle East

2. Ottoman Empire & Turkish Nationalism • Multi-cultural make-up of the Ottoman empire. All subjected to massacres ordered by the “Red Sultan” in response to protests against his tyranny • Young Turks led the protests, promised reform and peace for all. Joined Germany in World War I • Turkish Nationalism

3. Allied Triumph over the Ottoman • British declared an official protectorate over Egypt • 1916 local governor of Mexxa, encouraged by British, declared Arabia independent from Ottoman rule • British troops seized Palestine • 0ct 1918 with 300,000 casualties from the war, negotiated an armistice with the allied powers

4. Persia – Qajar Dynasty (1794-1925) • Growing western influence – Russia & Great Britain • Discovery of oil reserves in 1908 • Division of spheres of influence • Internal divisions • Led to growth of indigenous Persian Nationalist Movement • By 1906 Shah forced to grant a constitution based on a western model

5. Pahlavi Dynasty, 1925Iran, 1935 • Established by Reza Khan • Attempted to establish a Republic • Reforms: • Strengthened central government • Modernized the civilian & military bureaucracy • Modern economic infrastructure • Western educational model • Forbade veiling in public • Name of nation changed to Iran, 1935 • Occupied by Soviet & British troops during WWII

6. Mandate System • Iraq was assigned to the British • Syria and Lebanon were given to the French.

7. Iraq • Established after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire • Kurdish, Sunni and Shi’ite population • Occupied by British in WWI to protect oil • Placed under British mandate in 1920 • Repressed anti-western resistance by 1921 • Oil discovered in Kirkuk in 1927 • Britain supported Syrian rule of King Faisal & maintained heavy influence

8. Saudi Arabia • 1920s, Ibn Saud of the Wahhabi Movement united Arab tribes to drive out Ottoman Rule • Established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1932 • Traditionally poor, Standard Oil struck oil in 1938 at Dhahran on the Gulf. • Arabian-American oil or ARAMCO established

9. Palestine • British Mandate following WWI • Zionist Movement, Theodor Herzl est. 1897 • Jewish immigration accepted in Palestine prior to and during WWI • 85,000 or 10% of the population were Jewish by the War • Balfour Declaration of 1917 declared Palestine a national home for Jews

10. Division of Palestine & Creation of Jordan • Post WWI Britian created a separate state or Emirate of Trans-Jordan out of the eastern portion of Palestine • WWII, became the independent kingdom of Jordan • Arab-Palestine conflict today & the Apartheid state that exists is a product of these British interventions

11. Post War Era & Rise of Radicalism • British & French Refusals to grant autonomy fueled nationalist upheavals in Africa & middle east • Imperial governments determined to control middle eastern oil fields, strategic Suez Canal & the Persian Gulf

12. Pan-Africanism • African leaders, alienated by European economic, political and cultural domination called for unity of all Africans • Henry Sylvester-Williams called the first Pan-African Conference in London 1900 • Later held in Latin America & United States