Colonization of the Middle East

Colonization of the Middle East

The Middle East encompasses the countries of Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Yemen. European countries that colonized the Middle East include the British, Germany and French. The British colonized the Middle East in order to acquire political and economic consolidation. The British invaded the Middle East in order to gain control of the Ottoman Empire, Maintain political and economic stability in Iran and the Persian Gulf and to secure their trade routes in the east of the Mediterranean. The British were aiming to safeguard both land and sea routes to India because they were using such routes to import and export goods both to and from Britain. Additionally, the British invaded the Middle East in order to control the Ottoman Empire and prevent competition from other European superpowers such as France. The British exported cotton textiles, Indian and sugar to the Middle East and acquired cotton, barley and leather from Egypt. British gained full control of Cairo in 1882 (Rubin, 2017).

The French invaded the Middle East in order to gain control of the Suez Canal and to get full control of the oil in North Africa. Additionally, the French expansion to the Middle East was attracted by the strategic location of the Middle East. Both the French and the British claimed to maintain peace and order in the Middle East, but their intention was to politically and economically dominate the Middle East. French were defeated by the British in Egypt and shifted attention to West Africa. French managed to take control of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The colonial policy welcomed French into North Africa because it provided an opportunity for them to buy land easily at the expense of the local, and this made more French citizens settle in Algeria. Also, France offered Algerians French citizenship in order to entice them to accept French in their country. Milton-Edwards (2018), states that the French began their operation in Algeria in 1830 and lasted until 1962 when the country gained independence while the French gained control over Tunisia in 1881.

Germany invaded Iran in 1952 because it was interested in the culture, like language and poetry, of the Iranians, and even the German prime minister, Otto Von Bismarck had even signed a friendship and commercial treaty with Iran. However, the relationship was at risk because other European nations, such as Russia and Britain, had interests in the country. Iran was interested in Germany because Germany would provide the technical support needed to support infrastructure in Iran and also relevant personnel to run the infrastructure facilities (Robson, 2017). In return, Iran would provide military support in terms of firearms, nuclear weapons and guns to the Germans. Finally, the relationship did not result in colonization of Iran by Germany, and Iran was never colonized.

References

Rubin, J. (2017). Rulers, Religion, and Riches: Why the West got rich, and the Middle East did not. Cambridge University Press.

Milton-Edwards, B. (2018). Contemporary politics in the Middle East. John Wiley & Sons.

Robson, L. (2017). States of Separation: Transfer, Partition, and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Univ of California Press.