Revision notes according to the thematic and depth/chronological studies you would need for the OCR History course Y321: The Middle East ; from the Ottomans to the Arab Spring
Role of the Great Powers in the Middle East:
British imperial aims pre-1914:
● Route to British colonies for trade
● Was route for transportation of people to fight war
● Protect the Suez Canal and Persian Gulf
● Oil in Iran used for British ships
British policies:
● McMahon Hussein Letters, 1915- promised to recognise Arab independence if Hussein
launched a revolution against the Ottoman empire
● Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916- secret trade between France and Britain to divide up the
Middle East between themselves
● Balfour Declaration, 1917- public statement issued by Britain, supporting a national home for
Jewish people in Palestine
Aims of France in the 1900s:
● Wanted power in the Middle East to compete with Britain
● Wanted to trade
Aims of USA:
● Before 1945 the USA was not interested in the Middle East. They left it to Britain to
safeguard Western interests in that region
● After 1945 they were interested in Zionism and protecting the Jews because of the large
Jewish population in the USA. First country to recognise the state of Israel in 1948
● Supported Israel but was friendly with Arab countries because of their oil interests
● Protecting oil from the USSR was of most importance. ARAMCO was formed in 1933
USA’s policies:
● After 1956 USA was keen to keep Nasser on their side because Egypt was the most
populous state and Nasser was the leader of Arab nationalism, making it easier for them to
maintain peace and stability
● After the Suez Crisis USA blocked financial aid to Britain as punishment to keep Nasser on
their side and supported the UN demand for Britain and France to withdraw from the cities
they invaded
● Announced Eisenhower Doctrine in 1957 and forced Israel to return the Sinai and Golan
Heights to Egypt and Syria
● After the 1967 Six Day War, the USA adopted an Israel-first policy. They were surprised with
how well they fought and won the war; Jewish lobby in the US grew to a 4mil, well financed
organisation; undermined the USSR because despite all their military equipment the Arab
states still lost the Sinai again
● Gained Sadat’s favour in the 1973 October War by persuading Israelis to withdraw from the
Sinai
Aims of USSR: 158 187/8
,● Wanted to protect their southern borders
● Spread communism
USSR’s policies:
● Tried to win friends in the Middle East after realising Turkey and Iran had become pro-
Western in the 1950s
● Supported Israel in 1948 as they saw the Jewish struggle as anti-British and anti-Western,
but as USA became Israel’s main protector, USSR looked to its Arab neighbours
● Egypt was the most powerful so when the West denied them weapons the USSR helped
with the Czech Arms Deal 1955 and when the West denied financial aid for the Aswan Dam
the USSR offered financial aid and engineering expertise
● Prestige increased after the 1956 Suez Crisis, but they encouraged a peaceful solution
because they knew they were military inferior to the USA and Israel
● Egypt and Syria became clients of the Soviets
● In 1973 USSR told Nasser that Israeli troops concentrated on the Syria border so Nasser
sent his army there, being told the USSR would stand by them. USSR later said they meant
this only if the US intervened, suffering a blow to its prestige
● To maintain influence in the region the USSR immediately sent weapons and military
advisers to Egypt and Syria. They advised not to go to war and peacefully retrieve Sinai and
Golan Heights
● In January 1970 Nasser made a surprise visit to Moscow and after that the Soviets
increased military support to Egypt, and took responsibility for Egypt’s air defence system
● After Sadat came into power he removed the Soviet advisers
● Despite this, they gave him weapons and equipment in 1973 to avoid him turning to the US.
In this war their aim was to restore Soviet prestige in the Middle East and avoid an
escalation of the Arab-Israeli war to avoid confrontation with the USA
League of Nations:
● Britain and France were granted countries by the League of Nations to govern until the Arab
people were considered ready to govern themselves
● France was given Syria and Lebanon
● Britain was given Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq
UN:
● Recommended the partition of Palestine, leading to the creation of Israel in 1948
● Forced Britain and France to withdraw from the Suez Canal in 1956
● Stationed a peace-keeping force on the Egyptian-Israeli border but when asked to leave by
Egypt they did. Egypt stood in their place and blocked shipping to Israel leading to war in
1967
● Adopted the Resolution 242 calling for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East
● Called ceasefire in October 1973 War
● PLO chairman Yasser Arafat was flown to the UN where he accepted the state of Israel in
return for a Palestinian state
, Cold War:
● After WW2, 1945, the Cold War between US and USSR emerged
● In 1947 the Truman Doctrine established that the US would provide, political, military and
financial assistance to ensure that communism would be contained to Turkey and Greece
● US was keen to secure oil
Zionism, Israel and the Palestinian issue:
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