Britain in the Middle East

1619-1971

Robert T. Harrison

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781472590718
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781472590732
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

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.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Maps
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The search for trade: 1555–1763
• Chapter 2 British victory, power, and dominance to 1797
• Chapter 3 Napoleonic wars and regional security 1798–1815
• Chapter 4 Control in the Gulf, Red Sea, and Egypt 1815–41
• Chapter 5 The “Great Game,” Afghanistan 1838–42
• Chapter 6 The Crimean War and its impact 1838–58
• Chapter 7 The question of Egypt 1838–79
• Chapter 8 The turning point: Invasion of Egypt 1879–82
• Chapter 9 Aftermath and the imperial scramble 1883–1914
• Chapter 10 The Middle East in the Great War 1914–18
• Chapter 11 War’s aftershock: The watershed 1918–22
• Chapter 12 Tenacity enshrined: Holding on 1922–40
• Chapter 13 The Middle East in the Second World War 1939–45
• Chapter 14 End of the road: Exit from empire 1945–71
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index