The Arab World and Middle East since Entente

Maciej Klimiuk

During the decades prior to Entente Cordiale, leading European powers consolidated their positions by expanding the spheres of influence – i.e., their colonial/imperial possessions. Great Britain was interested mainly in securing the route to India, meaning with respect to the Middle East annexing Aden (1839), controlling Bahrain (1880), Muscat (1891) and Kuwait (1899). The French began the foundation of their Empire by the conquest of Algeria (1830), followed later by the occupation of Tunisia (1881) and the incorporation of Morocco (1912). Russia was building a vast Asian Empire, also at the cost of the Ottoman Empire. All of the Middle East—including Egypt, Persia (Iran) and the Sudan—was drawn into great powers’ politics. With the beginning of the XX century, both the Ottoman Empire and Persia had every cause to feel insecure (hence, reform movements and revolts of 1908 and 1911 in Turkey, and the constitutional movement in Iran of 1906-1911). Turkey established close relations with Germany.