British Ottoman Empire

The British Ottoman Empire tells a story - a story of broken promises and bloodshed. The Ottoman Empire began to be dominated by European wars and expansion policies in the nineteenth century. The Europeans made a mad rush for Ottoman territory which was rich and lucrative and among them were the British.

How It All Began

It basically all began in the year 1838 when the British signed free trade treaties with the Ottomans. But their motive was not only to undertake trade, they were basically interested in curbing Ottoman control over their markets and wanted to open up the interior of the Ottoman Empire to themselves. They wanted free access in other words.

Another thing which worked in their favor was the frequent wars. There was the Crimean War, the Balkan Rebellion, followed by the Balkan Wars. As a result of these wars, there were many cheap imports into the Ottoman Empire from industrialized Europe. The finances of the Empire became really precarious and the Sultan was unable to return the large sums of money he had borrowed from the British.

This opportunity was ceased by the British who wanted to close in for the kill. The only reason why, at the end of the nineteenth century, the Empire wasn't totally overrun by Western influence was because of what is called the Balance of Power doctrine. Austria and Russia wanted to tap into the goldmine, but were mostly kept under tabs by the British powers.

German Influence

However, Germany managed to win over the Ottoman Empire during the World War and this is where the British lost out. They however, managed to win back the trust of the Ottoman Empire Arabs by promising them freedom in exchange for a revolt against the Turks who owed their allegiance to the Germans.

After World War I however, the British Ottoman Empire was formed since the British didn't live up to their promise. Instead, they partitioned the Empire. The Treaty of Sevres was signed, but was over ruled by the Treaty of Lausanne which was later modified by League of Nations.

This partitioning of the Empire led to the formation of what is known as the Modern republic of Turkey and the Arab World. The British were granted mandates over Palestine and Mesopotamia which gave rise to the British Ottoman Empire. This British Ottoman Empire however, was a short lived one.