Natural
Resources
 Beginning
in the 1800s,
imperialism was also practiced in the Middle
East. The prime attraction for most European nations was the
presence of vast oil fields. The machinery produced as a
result of the
Industrial Revolution required oil to keep
numerous moving parts lubricated. As the internal combustion
engine became more popular around 1900, oil was also needed as
a fuel.
Strategic
Location
Strategy also played a major role in the European
conquest of the Middle East through imperialism. Two areas
that Europe paid particular attention to were the
Suez Canal
and Palestine.
Suez Canal
The French originally set out to build the Suez Canal
in 1859. However, Britain soon became jealous because of the
potential impact the shortcut between the Mediterranean and
Red Seas could have on trade with its Indian colony. In 1875,
the British wrested financial control of the Suez Canal away
from the French, and eventually made all of Egypt a
protectorate
in 1882.
 Palestine
After
WWI, the newly formed
League of Nations gave
Great Britain a
mandate over Palestine. Palestine's location
on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea seemed like a
great prize to the British, but problems soon erupted. It
became clear that both Arabs and Jews claimed the region as a
homeland.
Ambiguous British foreign policy heightened tensions
between the two groups as each was given a conflicting promise
. For their support in WWI, Britain promised Arabs
independence. Later however, in the
Balfour Declaration,
Britain promised to establish a national homeland for the
Jews.
After
WWII, Palestine would be renamed Israel and given to
Jews as a homeland to provide shelter from atrocities such as
the Nazi
Holocaust in Europe. Inevitably, fighting broke out
between the two groups which still remains to be resolved
today.
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