The First World War and the Middle East - Essay Example

WW1 and the Middle East The First World War saw the many European powers come together in an attempt to collect as many regions as possible to gain wealth as they colonized. The war also saw the end of traditional social, economic, and cultural structures across the globe as the war raged, but the focus lies in the Middle East. As a result, it is crucial to evaluate the effects and influence of the First World War in the Middle East, concerning how it changed the region or acted as a catalyst for change to the region, as it is known today and even the years during and after the war. Political The First World War shaped the Middle East by having its unity disbanded in a brutal manner that paved the way for the modern Middle East known to man in the present day. As such, the First World War set the stage for a series of never before witnessed events that have been in play to the current times in that there have been revolutions and reforms that have seen the Middle East become a widely divided location especially in terms of modernity and development (Iran Review 2012). Traditionally and conventionally, the borders of the Middle East were not clearly defined and two parties, mainly the chieftains, controlled them and the British coupled with the French. This was prior to the First World War, in which case the nation was largely united under a common religion and a form of belief in a single ethnicity. This was in spite of the presence of factions that were divided on religious and ethnic grounds because of the death of the Islamic prophet. In this case, there were significant revolutions in Iran and neighbouring lands of modern times where there were riots against the Iranian monarchy led by merchants in an attempt to cut back on the powers of the absolute monarchy that arbitrarily shifted its powers back and forth over the people. Prior to the First World War, the leaders who served administrative duties ceased to function due to lack of political support by the people. It was after the First World War that the monarchy received a substantial blow, which saw the monarchy weaken to the extent of having a mark on Iranian history. The culminations of the First World War set the stage for future confrontations against the governments of the time by causing massive disunity between the monarchy and the people to the extent that after the constitutional revolution, the Islamic revolution took place. Without the presence of the First World War and significant weakening of the monarchy, the Islamic revolution of 1978-1979 would not have taken place and the urban middle would not have participated to bring about change. In addition, the First World War saw the Middle East thrown into a state of turmoil or chaos following the constitutional revolution. This allowed the people to have greater control over the happenings in Iran, which was significant for the overthrowing of the then government. This was done in the early years that followed the world war through a military coup that saw Zia thrown out of power in 1923 and saw the establishment of new government after deposing the then monarchy. This set the stage for modern day Middle East, as we know it due to the rapid shift in power and the impact that other coups occurring in Europe had. This also had plenty to do with the crowning of Qajar Shah in 1921 and invasion by the Ottoman Empire, British and Russians. It is these events, of the first war, that also saw significant disunity in Iran and the open view that the government had no power whatsoever. As a result, of the First World War, the stage was set for drastic change that lasts to date in that there have been significant uprisings against governments in an attempt to get improved governance and proper leadership, as well as reforms. Moreover, the First World War saw the development of numerous changes in modern times as seen in the case of the Hussein-McMahon correspondence that shows the great influence the First World War had in the Middle East. The above-mentioned correspondence saw Hussein seek assistance from the British to establish an independent Arab state that stretched from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. The uprising started by Hussein ran for almost the entire period that the First World War raged. Since the British needed to gain the strategic interests brought by the presence of the state proposed by Hussein, they intervened. The war saw changes in the political geography of the Middle East as the British assisted Hussein in his plan, where the British marched towards Damascus and the Ottoman Empire began to fall. Had the First World War not raged on, the ottoman would have stayed in power since the British would not have intervened. In addition, the world war contributed to the wave of change in the Middle East by having a number of treaties signed, which saw large waves of change. As such, despite the British assisting Hussein in eliminating the Ottoman Empire, they went on to sign the Sykes-Picot Agreement that saw the division of the Ottoman Empire. The agreement saw the Middle East experience change by dividing it between France and Britain, where the two powers sought to protect an Arab state or a confederation of Arab states under an Arab chief. The division of the Middle East was also determined by the Balfour Declaration that further issued borders and shaped the current Middle East as it is by having numerous states founded. This saw the formation of a nominally independent state, which was part of the division of the Middle East into states from one large empire (“World War 1” n.d., p.40). In addition to the earlier mentioned case of the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire, the First World War influenced heavily in bringing down the said empire as most of the actions that brought it down were direct effects of the world war coupled with local collaborations of Arabs who wanted to eliminate the empire. This downfall brought the presence of states, countries, and nations based on boundaries drawn by treaties between the major powers participating in the war. In addition, in order to bring down the Ottoman Empire, the First World War sparked the massive uprisings against the empire by uniting the tribes led by Prince Faisal together with Thomas Lawrence (“Deep Study World War I “ n.d., p.247). It is because of the efforts of these two, in the First World War, that saw the push for independence from the Ottoman Empire and the gradual, as well as the eventual weakening of the empire. Still on political changes, some areas that remained without jurisdiction or that fell to the wrong side were decided and assigned to their rightful owners; as was the case of Mosul, which was assigned to Iraq since it was predominantly Kurdish. Economics Economically, the First World War shaped the Middle East to match or suit the needs of the major players in the world war, who were Britain, France and Germany. As such, the French had a large share in the loans of the Ottoman loans at 60%, while the Britain and Germany held 14% and 21 % respectively, which allowed them to shape the economic future of the Middle East (Kamrava 2005, p.37). The Middle East experienced change in regard to economics following the construction of the Suez Canal by French private investors and Egyptian financiers, which allowed the region to have significant trade contact. In addition, the First World War that saw political changes also saw changes in the structure of the economy in the newly established states by having them establish a sense of independence. This is following the events of the war that opened the Middle East to interested parties to the extent of having oil concessions signed in the years that followed the war. This was especially with European and American petroleum companies that work together with Arab companies to use petroleum products and export them to where they were needed, as was the case with Standard Oil of California Company. The concessions of oil later came to strong bargaining chips against western interference in the political and economic situation in the Middle East with threats of embargoes later in the 1960s. Politics of the First World War changed the economy of the Middle East in that they laid the foundation for the economy, which is concerning making the Middle East to become rentier economies, where they sold services and oil in return for rent for the facilities that foreigners used in the petroleum industry (Kamrava 2005, p.63). The end of the war also saw massive attempts at modernization by having changes in infrastructure, where Turkey, as part of the Middle East embarked on industrialization by constructing a railway. It also saw the rise of corporatism, where development was supported by the government as an intervention for the lack of industrial capitalists. The same war saw the establishment of financial institutions in the region to cater for the capitalist needs of the corporate institutions setting up shop. Without the war, capitalism would be limited to the merchant trading that was practiced during the Ottoman Empire, and policies to promote industrialization were enacted. Furthermore, the First World War changed the Middle East in that it created an easy target in the Suez Canal for the British, who needed ready access to it (McKinney 2010). This however, brought change to the region through rebellion against the British by the Arabs especially in Egypt, which threatened their access to the canal (Woodward 2010). Ultimately, to appease the Egyptians, they were granted independence, but there was massive interference by the British in foreign affairs, where they controlled the Egyptian foreign affairs. The gain of independence by Egypt prepared it for further development to what it is in modern day and even the uprisings, riots and rebellions to oppose bad leadership are from precedents against the British. There was also wide adoption of British policies, especially the capitalist ones in the Middle East as the British colonized India. This is because the British attempted to influence the neighbouring lands to adopt their policies in an attempt to safeguard their interests. Social The Middle East faced significant changes in its social structure by having the Turkish system undergo changes under Kemal, who sought to reform and reshape the Turkish social structure. This happened in regard to abolishing certain norms of the era, especially in the mid-1920s, which was after the war and he became the Turkish leader. Through this, the Turkish society underwent change by having the religious fanaticism eliminated as Kemal viewed it as the source of his country’s backwardness. For this reason, he saw the abolition of Islamic grip on the Turkish society by introducing western customs and codes of dress, where he banned certain dressing such as the fez and the veil. He also eliminated the sharia law and replaced it with the Swiss Civil Code, which set the stage for the modern prestige in Turkish culture, which was reformed after the end of his era. In conclusion, the First World War had great impact on the world, as we know it today, especially economically and politically concerning boundaries and political influence. Moreover, this war saw the rise, and fall, of certain nations on the political map following their involvement and their successes in the same war based on their military conquests. However, since the focus lay in the Middle East, the war saw the Middle East undergo a drastic change through the time of the war and after the war meaning that the First World War was a catalyst for change. It saw the end of the Ottoman Empire, the colonization of the Middle East and a drastic shift in the economic power of the Middle East due to oil reserves and concessions. The largest change to be encountered was the demarcation of the land under new order and boundaries that saw the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of individual states, as well as granting of independence of other nations such as Egypt. Overall, the First World War was significant in changing then Middle East as it shaped most of the events in the region in modern times and even their policies, as well. 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The Middle East during World War One. BBC. [Online]. Available at. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/middle_east_01.shtml [Accessed on 21 Feb. 2013] Read More