The Mandate System
A promise of independence and stability broken by imperialist nations.
What was it?
After World War I ended in 1918, the world’s leaders had to decide what to do with the former territories of the defeated Ottoman and German Empires. Instead of granting these regions immediate independence, the League of Nations created the Mandate System. This system placed certain regions under the temporary control of powerful nations, which were supposed to help them prepare for self-rule. However, the Mandate System often led to conflicts and lasting struggles for independence.
“If we leave [Iraq] we may find a year or two after we have departed that we have handed over to the French and Americans some of the richest oil fields in the world.”
— David Lloyd George
The End of an Empire
The map on the left shows the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful empires in history, lasting from around 1299 to 1922. It was founded by Osman I, a leader of a Turkish tribe in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Over the centuries, the empire expanded rapidly, conquering vast territories across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Who was impacted?
The Mandate System impacted Ottoman territory in the Middle East, German colonies in Africa, and German colonies in the Pacific. Each mandated territory was categorized into one of three categories: Class A, Class B, and Class C.
Class A mandates were territories in the Middle East formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire. These included Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. The League of Nations believed that Class A mandatory nations were capable of becoming independent nations, but only after receiving help from their mandatory power. However, the stated goal was to eventually lead these nations to independence. Class B mandates were former German colonies in Africa, where the mandatory power was essentially in charge of policing and enforcing laws that would protect the citizens. These included Togoland, Cameroon, Ruanda-Urundi, Tanganyika, and Southwest Africa. Class C mandates were mostly island territories formerly belonging to Germany in the Southern Pacific, including New Guinea, Nauru, and Western Samoa. The mandatory power was given full control over their territories.
A map of all mandated nations
Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations
In January 1919, nations involved in World War I, including the “Big Four” (Britain, France, Italy, and the U.S.), gathered in Paris to discuss how to establish peace after the devastation of World War I. Eventually, they would sign the Treaty of Versailles, which would also include the Covenant of the League of Nations, establishing the multi-nation group. The Covenant featured 26 articles of rules and agreements, including Article 22, which established the Mandate System.
‘…in Palestine, we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country
— Arthur James Balfour
British forces led by General Edmund Allenby, occupying Jerusalem in 1917
Rebels from the Arab revolt of 1936-1939 in Palestine
Reactions to the Mandate System
The Mandate System was met with mixed reactions and strong opposition in many regions. While European powers saw it as a way to guide former territories toward independence, many local populations viewed it as a form of imperialism that denied them self-rule. In the Middle East, Arab nationalists in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq resisted European control, demanding full independence instead of temporary governance. Protests, revolts, and political movements grew in response, such as the Arab Revolt in Palestine (1936–1939) and uprisings in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, Jewish communities in Palestine, supported by the Balfour Declaration, saw the British Mandate as an opportunity to establish a homeland, leading to tensions with Arab populations. The failure of the Mandate System to fairly address these conflicts contributed to long-term instability and struggles for independence across the mandated territories.
“We are paying eight millions a year for the privilege of living on an ungrateful volcano [Iraq] out of which we are in no circumstances to get anything worth having.”
— Winston Churchill