# The Subordination of the Middle East to the West
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the West gained military, political, and economic dominance over the Middle East.
- **Shift in Trade**: Previously, Arabs and Turks controlled trade routes between Europe and Asia, but by 1800, Europe sold manufactured goods to the Middle East,
- **European Privileges**: Europeans in Muslim lands were exempt from local taxes and legal jurisdiction due to treaties called the *Capitulations*.
- **Naval Power Shift**: While Muslim navies once dominated the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, European ships now controlled the seas.
- **Ottoman Decline**: The once-powerful Ottoman Empire, which could dictate peace terms to Europe, now feared the military might of Austria and Russia.
- **Napoleon's Invasion**: The occupation of Egypt by Napoleon in 1798 marked a significant blow, especially as France had previously been an Ottoman ally.
### Westernizing Reforms
As early as the 17th century, some Ottoman sultans and their ministers saw the need for internal change.
In response to defeat by Western armies, Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) focused on military reforms. However, resistance from janissaries (elite fighting force) and conservative groups hindered change.
Resistance to change made Middle Eastern reformers move towards autocracy, but all were thwarted by European imperialism.
**Muhammad Ali** (r. 1805-1849) of Egypt centralized power and launched agricultural, industrial, and military reforms based off European innovations, creating Egypt’s strongest army and economy in the region. His descendants ruled Egypt until the British occupation in 1882, and Egypt remained a monarchy until 1952.
**Sultan Mahmud II** (r. 1808- 1839) aimed to modernize the Ottoman state but was hindered by both internal and external pressures. Internally: Elite and military resistance, local revolts, the diverse nature of his vast empire, and the absence of a loyal bureaucracy. Externally via European imperialism: Greek independence, an economy dependent on Europe, Russian expansion in the Balkans, and legal treaties favoring European power.
Persia was the only major Middle Eastern state that never came under Ottoman rule. However, the Qajar dynasty (1794-1925) struggled to resist internal instability and external pressure from Russian and British encroachments. **Nasir al-Din Shah (r. 1848-1896)** sold concessions to British investors and hired Russian officers to train the army, leading to greater foreign control over Persia’s affairs. He was eventually assassinated for his unpopular domestic policies. Successive Qajar rulers allowed even greater foreign influence, weakening Persian sovereignty.
### European Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century
European policies and actions kept Middle Eastern reforms from succeeding.
From 1815 to 1914, European powers kept peace by maintaining a balance of power. This manifested in Britain and Russia meddling in Ottoman affairs, with Britain helping to maintain the Ottoman empire's territorial integrity against Russian expansion and Russia thwarting Ottoman reform efforts.
Britain and France vied for power in the eastern Mediterranean, becoming involved in military interventions and political treaties, assisting in building infrastructure, and controlling strategic locations such as the Suez Canal.
### The Middle Eastern Reaction to the West
Some Middle Easterners thought Westernization had gone too far and desired to unite under pan-Islamism. Europeans feared this.
Westernizing reforms, especially in education and military training, inspired liberal and nationalists movements that called for constitutionalism and independence.
### The Beginnings of Egyptian Nationalism
Muhammad Ali's grandson, Isma'il (r. 1863-1879), adopted Westernizing reforms, modernizing cities and expanding Egypt's economy, and secured Egypt's autonomy from the Ottoman Empire.
However, Isma'il borrowed heavily form foreign banks to cover his modernization expenditures, leading to the sale of Egypt's Suez Canal shares to Britain and British and French control over Egypt's finances.
Egyptians, resenting European interference, called for constitutional government and greater control over finances. In response, European powers ordered Ismai'ls son, Tawfiq, to take over.
In 1881, Colonel Ahmad Urabi led Egypt's first nationalist movement, succeeding in gaining a constitution and a representative government. However, this was quickly crushed by British forces.
Britain returned Tawfiq to the throne and claimed to be preparing the Egyptians for self rule. Instead, Egypt became a training ground for British colonial administrators, with Lord Cromer becoming Egypts financial and administrative ruler in all but name.
After WWI began, and in the face of nationalist sentiments, Britain deposed of Abbas, the successive ruler; declared Egypt a protector; and severed ties with the Ottoman Empire.
### Liberalism and Nationalism Within the Ottoman Empire
### Persian Constitutionalism
### World War I, the Ottoman Jihad, and the Arab Revolt
### The Post-World War I Peace Settlement
### The Middle East Since World War I
### Western Imperialism in the Arab Lands
### Independence in Turkey, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula
### The Retreat of Western Imperialism
### The Struggle Between Arab Nationalism and Zionism