The French Mandate For Syria And Lebanon

Mandates had only applied in the Middle East and were the cause to several conflicts. The mandates allowed imposition of the French and British

Although, they all wanted to for different reasons. In France's case, they wanted to expand their territory for the sake of nationalism, by receiving more land and territory. This was because, when, the countries were all competing, all trying to be the most powerful nation. The land owned was a major part of that. Along with that, the French colonized Algeria partially because of the White Man's Burden, so that they could spread Christianity to the Algerians (Algeria: The Revolution Institutionalized 12). The White man's Burden was one of the many reasons that New Imperialism started, the Europeans believed their religion was superior and that it was their duty to spread it to the lesser beings. During the French control over Algeria, the French had proven to be very direct rulers. This meaning that the French were ruling Algeria themselves, instead of the French controlling having Algerian

With the end of World War One and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the allied powers in Europe were left in control of the Ottoman territory in the Middle East. The nation of France was left in control of the area now known as Syria and Lebanon. The French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, which was formalized in 1922, officially made France responsible for creating the two states and preparing them for self-governance (Kjeilen). By 1943 both nations had achieved their independence from France, and they agreed to a tentative mutual security agreement. However relations between the two nations remained strained. While the governments of both nations were unified in their opposition to

During the mid 1900’s Britain and France had to give up mandates which allowed Middle Eastern countries to gain their independance.

“a really, really tough case” that defies historical parallels. Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War refers to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, as well as active foreign involvement. Most parties involved in the war in Syria receive various types of support from foreign countries and entities based outside Syria. The ongoing conflict in Syria is widely described as a series of overlapping wars between the regional and world powers, primarily between the U.S. and Russia as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The countries involved mandate system were France and Britain. France and Britain asked the arabs to help them weaken the ottoman empire. In return France and Britain would help them set up their own country. After the war France and Britain did not keep their promise, instead they divided up the country between themselves which started the mandate system. The mandate system divided what was the ottoman empire into 3 parts. One was the former communities of the ottoman empires which was left alone. Central africa was controlled by Britain and South-West africa which was controlled by both Britain and France.

The French’s mandate over Syria after World Ware One had an irrevocable impact on the nations’s communal factions. The mandate lasted from 1920-1946 and they begun their rule with intentionally made sectarian divisions. They were made in order to prevent Arab nationalism and stifle national independence movements. The divisions were made my religious and national minority. Granting the minorities independent status locations where they make up the majority. For example, there was a large population of Alawites in the mountain range behind Latakia, the French declared them a separate state. The Druze were granted the right and ability to govern themselves in the city of Jabal, just south of Damascus. The one religious group that did

The Arabs took this opportunity to start an uprising. The fighting continued for twenty years until France, in 1936, agreed to let go of their political influence, but they would keep a military presence there and could benefit economically, which meant they controlled the oil. Four years later France fell to the Axis powers and consequently so did Syria. Since the, now Free French, troops needed support along with the British, they agreed to leave the region completely if they helped them win World War 2. After the Germans were defeated, the French, reluctantly, kept their word and left the region. This, however, did not subside the fighting; what was once a battle for freedom turned into an ideological battle between Shias and Sunnis. Eventually some stability was gained and a proper government was set up. In 1971 Hafez Al-Assad was elected president and the country went from being a democracy to a monarchy. He groomed his first son to take over the country once he died but his son passed away in a car accident before he did. Hafez’s second son, Bashar Al-Assad, took control of the country in 2000 and he has remained in power ever since. Prior to the Arab Spring, there were outbursts, but none significantly affected his regime. Once the Arab Spring began, however, the people of Syria, mainly Sunnis, revolted against Assad. At the same time, The United States pulled troops out of Iraq leaving them without any structure or

Even before Syria became France’s under the mandate system, France asserted a degree of influence over the region while it still sat under the Ottoman Empire. While the Ottomans ruled over Syria, France had established a protectorate for Catholics and even had ties to the Uniate churches in that area7. In addition to having religious ties to the region, the French government before the First World War also had invested in Syria financially, and one company formed by the Comte de Perthius built the railroad that ran from Beirut to Aleppo and Damascus8. France put a lot of money into assisting the development Syria and the surrounding areas, so it seems to be only natural that France would want to mandate over Syria after World War I.

Syria is currently all over the news regarding what many have to come to see as a civil war. A term like civil war needs to identify the players and the reasons for the war. In this case the players are being identified as pro government or antigovernment with a Sunni or Shia overtone. Sunni and Shia are the two major sects of Islam and both have a historical based conflict going back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad and how Muslims should be governed. This conflict has caused tensions and violence to flare up throughout Islamic history. This conflict has carried into modern times and has becoming a rallying point for Muslim people calling for change with their government and across the Middle Eastern region. The

The Syrian Congress was not fit, in the eyes of the French government, to act as a fully autonomous state. This despite the fact they constructed their constitution on a westernized democratic style, made up of a parliamentary republic with a "single Chamber to be elected, for four years, by universal suffrage exercised in two stages." Although it certainly appeared to be setting the nation on the right track toward what would have been a democratic, and possibly even prosperous society, the French government denied their path to democracy at that time, and instead implemented their own constitution over Syria a year later. This instance made it terrifyingly clear that the loaded, Eurocentric Mandate-language of permitting “circumstances”

In 1936 the French decided to decolonize the area. Syria and Lebanon would continue as independent states. Ironically, it is exactly where Suleiman al-Assad looked

Syria has been the epicenter of wars and prosperity for many decades. Whether it’s the Syrian-Franco war that gave their independence, or the flood of Universities that entered in the 1950’s; it’s always been a mixed bag with Syria. Many people will look at the destabilize modern Syria and wonder “How did it get to this point?”, well in reality it was not one event rather a concurrency of events that all led up to Syria’s likely demise.

The part of the Middle East being discussed involves the following: Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. All of which were directly impacted by the borders which were set up by European countries in the early 20th century. The borders had benefits of course, but they also brought with them quite a few problems. While the Middle Eastern borders are important to dividing that part of the world into different countries, the borders seem to have brought with them a lot of problems that the people living in this part of the world have had to deal with. There are multiple factors involved with this topic, including a few treaties, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the start of World War I. The different treaties were the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration, both of which involved European countries deciding the future of these countries. All of these factors had a direct impact on the Middle East and had a lasting effect on the people who live in this area of the world.

Lebanon is a Middle Eastern country that is delimitated to the west by the Mediterranean and to the east by the Syro-African Depression. Lebanon borders Syria to the north and to the east, and Israel in the south.