The Mandates created by the European Powers were, in their own language, made to protect the “peoples’ not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world.” The purpose was not the installation governing bodies akin to the ones established during the 17th and 18th centuries of European Colonialism, but instead, European nations were intended to look after these countries “well-being and development” in order to create nations capable of one day governing themselves. On paper, this is a noble and righteous action taken by the European powers. However, in reality this decision to create states by indiscriminately drawing lines on a map proved to be extremely detrimental to the development of the region, and
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The agreement known now as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, was a under the table compromise between the British, Mark Sykes, and the French, François Georges-Picot, which effectively divided the Ottoman territories they expected to inherit as a result of a victory in WWI. The proposed sphere of influence in the Middle East began on the Anatolian Peninsula north of Crete, ran north to the Black Sea, from there moved south to the Persian Gulf, then west to the Gulf of Aqaba, extending onto the Sinai Peninsula where it then reconnected with the Mediterranean Sea to create a territory covering the entirety of the western portion of the Middle East. An area that today is made up of nearly ten sovereign states, was to be under the direct, or semi-direct control of France, Russia or Britain. The Mandate system that was to control these areas of land was broken down further into sub-categories of Class A, Class B, and Class C. The class assigned to a region was used to delineate that territories ability to governor themselves and was most heavily dependent on geographic location, and existing industrial infrastructure. The Class A Mandates were exclusive to the former Turkish Provinces of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, and were considered sufficiently able to rule over themselves, but were still subject to Allied administrative control over various segments of
The agreement known now as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, was a under the table compromise between the British, Mark Sykes, and the French, François Georges-Picot, which effectively divided the Ottoman territories they expected to inherit as a result of a victory in WWI. The proposed sphere of influence in the Middle East began on the Anatolian Peninsula north of Crete, ran north to the Black Sea, from there moved south to the Persian Gulf, then west to the Gulf of Aqaba, extending onto the Sinai Peninsula where it then reconnected with the Mediterranean Sea to create a territory covering the entirety of the western portion of the Middle East. An area that today is made up of nearly ten sovereign states, was to be under the direct, or semi-direct control of France, Russia or Britain. The Mandate system that was to control these areas of land was broken down further into sub-categories of Class A, Class B, and Class C. The class assigned to a region was used to delineate that territories ability to governor themselves and was most heavily dependent on geographic location, and existing industrial infrastructure. The Class A Mandates were exclusive to the former Turkish Provinces of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, and were considered sufficiently able to rule over themselves, but were still subject to Allied administrative control over various segments of