Which Middle Eastern countries were in the British Empire?

Breaking free were nine Middle Eastern British colonies: three in the 1940s (Jordan, Pakistan, and Israel), three in the 1950s and 1960s (Sudan, Kuwait, and Aden or South Yemen), and three in 1971 (Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates).

Was the Middle East part of the British Empire?

The Middle East: [4] Keystone in Britain’s World. If, strictly speaking, the Middle East was never formally part of the British Empire, [5] Brown and William…already by the late nineteenth century British statesmen regarded it as a region of vital interest for the Empire, and increasingly so as Turkey slid into decay.

What city was the center of British power in the Middle East?

Britain’s foothold By the time Egypt was made a British protectorate in 1914, Cairo had become the centre of British power in the Middle East. World War One would finally sound the death knell for the Ottoman Empire, changing the map of the Middle East forever.

Did Britain colonize the Middle East?

With the onset of WWI, the French and the British sent armies and agents into the Middle East, to foment revolts in the Arabian Peninsula and to seize Iraq, Syria and Palestine. The British took over Palestine and three Ottoman provinces of Mesopotamia and created modern-day Iraq.

Why did Britain leave Middle East?

The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a major disaster for British (and French) foreign policy and left Britain a minor player in the Middle East because of very strong opposition from the United States. The key move was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 first by Israel, then by Britain and France.

Why did Britain invade the Middle East?

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CONSOLIDATION, 1798–1882. In the period from 1798 to 1882, Britain pursued three major objectives in the Middle East: protecting access to trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean, maintaining stability in Iran and the Persian Gulf, and guaranteeing the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

Why did British leave Middle East?

What was the Middle East called before ww1?

Before World War I, the British had mentally divided what most of the world now considers the Middle East into the Near East (the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean) and the Middle East (the region around Iran and the Persian Gulf).

What is the oldest country in the Middle East?

The earliest civilizations in history were established in the region now known as the Middle East around 3500 BC by the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia (Iraq), widely regarded as the cradle of civilization.

Did the British colonize Saudi Arabia?

Modern-day Saudi Arabia came under partial domination; in the early 1900s, most of the Arabian peninsula transitioned from the Ottoman Empire to the British Empire, though the British left much of the peninsula’s vast interior relatively untouched.

What made the Middle East wealthy?

As oil prices rose to new highs, most states in the Middle East benefited from heightened revenues. Oil-producing states (especially large producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar) benefited directly in the form of high export earnings.

What nations did Britain grant independence to in 1957?

In 1957 the British colony of the Gold Coast became the independent nation of Ghana. Did Britain grant Ghanaian independence or was this the result of the actions of Ghanaian nationalists, led by Kwame Nkrumah? Many historians see the post-World War Two period as one of British retreat from its empire.

Why was the Middle East important to the British Empire?

The Middle East As Defensive Bulwark. In the Nineteenth Century, there were two primary imperial imperatives as far as the Middle East was concerned. One was the protection of imperial trade and particularly with regards to maritime trade. The other was the defence of Britain’s most important colony, that of India.

When did the British Empire begin to take shape?

The British Empire began to take shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of North America and the smaller islands of the Caribbean, and the establishment of joint-stock companies, most notably the East India Company, to administer colonies and overseas trade.

Where was the Ottoman Empire located in Europe?

The Ottoman Empire had firmly established itself in the South East of Europe and presented a considerable military and political power in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa.

What did the English think of the Ottoman Empire?

The English of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries largely associated the Ottoman Empire with the Middle East in its entirety and had little conception of the further Empires and Khanates beyond the considerable Ottoman lands.