How Britain and France Secretly Divided the Middle East in World War I: The Sykes‑Picot Agreement
In the middle of World War I, on May 16, 1916, a secret agreement was signed by Great Britain and France that would shape the fate of millions of people to this day: the Sykes-Picot agreement. It divided the Middle East into two major influence spheres under British and French control. British diplomat Mark Sykes had drawn the borders of this so-called Sykes-Picot agreement arbitrarily and hastily, without taking into account geographical, ethnic, religious or demographic borders. Even if the Sykes-Picot agreement didn’t exactly determine the post-war borders, it paved the way for the time after the First World War, where France and Britain ruled large parts of the region. The agreement, which was made public in 1917, marked a turning point in Western and Arab relations and triggered the conflicts in the Middle East that last to this day. Over a hundred years later, the Sykes-Picot agreement has largely been forgotten in the West. However, it is still well remembered in the Arab world, where it is considered a pivotal document of colonial partition. CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 1:49 World War I, 1915–1916 3:43 The Men Behind the Agreement 11:43 Double Dealings 14:59 The Revelation 18:32 To This Day
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