Britain, France and the Middle East 1900-1920

A multimedia examination of the events leading to and following from the Sykes-Picot Agreement 1916
MUSIC - Theme from Lawrence of Arabia

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Events Surrounding the Sykes-Picot Agreement

The Anglo-French discourse concerning the fate of the various people and lands of the Middle East began with the 1904 Anglo-French Entante Cordiale, continued in the 1909-1910 railway agreements concerning Syria and with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, and appeared to conclude with the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916.  In reality, however, this agreement was only the beginning, and diplomatic negotiations continued until 1920.  During the course of these negotiations the boundary lines between Syria-Lebanon and Palestine were redrawn numerous times as Britain attempted to gain as many territorial concessions as possible and France vainly held to the original terms of the Sykes-Picot agreement.  Access to water for irrigation and power, as well as control of oil-rich areas were the key strategic goals of Great Britain and these geologic factors drove the prolonged negotiations.  Aside from minor concessions to Syrian nationalism, no regard was given to the desires of the Arab populations of the Middle East and they were never consulted about what should become of their lives and land.  Therefore the existing Arab divisions of culture and identity played no part in the drawing up of new national boundaries.

1904 - Anglo-French Entante Cordiale resolved the tension between Britain and France over Egypt 1905  1906 - Aqaba Incident  1907 1908 1909 - Anglo-French railway agreements over Syria 1910  1911 1912 - Grey assures Pioncare that Entante still stands 1913  1914 - Ottoman Empire joined WWI as an ally of Germany; French influence in Syria declining 1915-18 - Four Allied campaigns against the Turks take place, with the British spearheading the effort 1916 - Sykes-Picot Agreement  LANDMARK EVENT 1917  1918 -  British seek to alter the terms set in place by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and so enter into negotiations with the French concerning British rights in Syria, Mosul and Palestine 1919 - WWI ends; Anglo-French relations are strained by disagreements over Syria 1920 - Anglo-French negotiations take place concerning the borders of Palestine & the San Remo Conference establishes the mandate system for dividing the territory of the Ottoman Empire

   Actors  Archives/References   British Justification   Deauville Line   Francois Picot    Key Locations 

King-Crane Commission   Line through Syria   Mosul   San Remo   Sir Sykes