In the second year of the Great War, the British began to consider the future of the Middle East once the Ottoman Empire had been defeated. The Ottomans were proving to be far more effective fighters than the British had anticipated, but the discovery of oil at Mosul had made the control of the Middle East a priority. Prime Minister David Lloyd George summoned Sir Mark SykesSir Mark Sykes Full Description:A British aristocrat, adventurer, and Member of Parliament who co-negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Sykes had traveled extensively in the Ottoman Empire and cultivated a romanticized, paternalistic fascination with the Middle East. He was seen as a “expert” on the region, though his knowledge was superficial and his sympathies entirely imperial. Critical Perspective:Sykes embodies the cheerful arrogance of British imperialism. He was personally charming, genuinely interested in Arab culture, and utterly convinced that he knew what was best for millions of people he had never governed. His legacy is a warning: well-intentioned ignorance, when backed by military power, can be as destructive as malice. He died of the Spanish flu in 1919, never witnessing the full catastrophe his line in the sand would unleash.
Read more, a British diplomat and explorer to demonstrate how British and French ambitions in the region could both be accomodated.