Britain in the Middle East
Subtitle: 1619-1971
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9781472590718
Subjects: Great britain, foreign relations, middle east; Middle east, foreign relations, great britain
Description: "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."--