Britain in the Middle East 1619-1971

by Harrison, Robert T.

• ISBN13: 9781472590718
• ISBN10: 1472590716
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-05-05
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Britain in the Middle East provides a comprehensive survey of British involvement in the Middle East, exploring their mutual construction and influence across the entire historical sweep of their relationship.

In the 17th century, Britain was establishing trade links in the Middle East, using its position in India to increasingly exclude other European powers. Over the coming centuries this commercial influence developed into political power and finally formal empire, as the British sought to control their regional hegemony through military force. Robert Harrison charts this relationship, exploring how the Middle East served as the launchpad for British offensive action in the World Wars, and how resentment against colonial rule in the region led ultimately to political and Islamic revolutions and Britain's demise as a global, imperial power.

Author Biography

Robert T Harrison is Professor of History at Southern Oregon University, USA. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and has over 30 years' experience of teaching and researching in the field of British imperialism in the Middle East.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Getting Started: The Search for Trade, 1555-1763
2. The Impact of the Seven Years War: Victory, Power and Dominance to 1797
3. The Napoleonic Wars and the Search for Regional Security, 198-1815
4. Expanded British Influence in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Egypt, 1815-1841
5. The 'Great Game' and Afghanistan, 1838-1842
6. The 'Eastern Question' and the Crimean War and its Causes, 1838-1856
7. The Question of Egypt, 1838-1879
8. The Invasion of Egypt, the Turning Point and Direct Control, 1882
9. Intervention's Aftermath and the Imperial Scramble, 1883-1914
10. The First World War, the Mesopotamian and Palestinian Campaigns and Treaty-Making, 1914-1918
11. War's Aftermath: The Watershed, 1918-1922
12. Tenacity Enshrined: Holding on, 1922-1940
13. Britain's 'Defense-Offense' in the Middle East in the Second World War, 1939-1945
14. The End of the Road: Exit from Empire, 1945-1971
15. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index