British Empire: The Map Room: Middle East

Up until the nineteenth century, European feelings towards the world of Islam was always a complex mix of respect, awe and fear. In the middle ages Islam had even come so far as to threaten the very existence of Christianity in Europe. However, the technological advances of the Industrial revolution meant that European powers had long ceased to see the Middle Eastern countries as being any kind of threat. Instead, the Ottoman empire was seen as a very weak organisation, falling apart at the seams. All the major European Imperialists saw opportunity in the demise of this ailing power. What is surprising is that the Ottomans lasted as long as they did in very unfavourable international waters. France, Russia and Britain were the principal beneficiaries of the gradual sheddings of territory forced upon the Ottomans over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Persian Gulf provided Britain with a different set of Imperial pressures. Lacking the strategic importance that oil bestows upon the region in current days, The Persian Gulf was one of the points of a rich Indian Ocean trade triangle. Trade had long prospered between West India, the Gulf and East Africa. Britains domination of the Indian sub-continent meant that it took on the responsibilities of continuing this trade triangle and ensuring its security.

The final pressure on Britain to expand its influence in the area again relates to India. The Middle East provided one of the principal lines of communication between the mother country and her principal colony. Even before the construction of the Suez canal Egypt provided the fastest means of communication for the principal axis of Empire.

Religious sensibilities in the area meant that the British generally preferred to exercise their power through discrete means. Diplomatic staff preferred to work through proxies and sympathetic leaders; providing the backing of the Royal Navy for any shows of force required. This meant that the Persian Gulf was effectively governed by a single flotilla of ships and a handful of diplomats. This area was actually one of the stablest of the Imperial realms.