Promised Lands: The British and the Ottoman Middle East by Jonathan Parry

Abstract

In Promised Lands, Parry presents a fascinating, insightful, and exhaustive account of British policy regarding the Ottoman Empire during the earlier part of the nineteenth century. He provides the information necessary to understand the formation of the modern Middle East, told primarily from the British perspective. Throughout the book, Parry places the policies of the British Empire within the context of protecting the routes toward its crown jewel, its colony in India. He does so convincingly, brushing aside the general assumption of “Turcophilism” (384). As he points out, in reality, British politicians of the era, such as Richard Cobden, denounced the Turks as “crapulous barbarians” and “destructive savages” (387). Parry’s main argument revolves around the geopolitical expediency that drove the Ottoman Empire to maintain its sovereignty, while attempting to keep Russian and French interests at bay. This situation effectively ensured British influence in the region, aided by the advent of steamship technology, which negated the reliance on wind, thereby cementing British naval command of the region.The book devotes its first half to chronicling the challenges of the British political and diplomatic relationship with the Ottoman Empire, as well as other European powers, particularly France and Russia. Parry makes a conscientious effort to spell out the many considerations involved. He chronicles them with exquisite attention to detail. A character to which Parry devotes particular attention is Cladius Rich, who worked assiduously to gain influence through costly spending for the Ottoman Porte and later Arabia and Kurdistan.Moreover, Parry draws a connection between British secular and religious aspirations and visions for the region. He claims that this program parallels the domestic agenda on which the Liberal Party was founded. Spearheaded by Henry John Temple (Lord Palmerston) and George Canning, Britain supported the removal of legal distinctions between Muslims and Christians—described as “a battle to root out illiberalism in the regime”—and the Tanzimat reforms (284). Although Parry claims that British officials were generally uninterested in the promotion of Christianity in the region, he does mention the domestic pressure on behalf of the Jews in Palestine to which Palmerston acquiesced. It is helpful to see the origins of that British interest in the region, as the issue would eventually set the stage for the Balfour declaration half a century later.In the final chapters, Parry draws attention to Egypt, specifically its strategic geopolitical location. Serving as an important gateway to India, especially after the construction of the Suez Canal, Parry asserts that Egypt served as a center for additional European competition. As George Villiers (Lord Clarendon) noted, the British “only want a thoroughfare; but a thoroughfare they must have, free and unmolested” (334). Britain would eventually invade the country in 1882.This book successfully fills the gap in scholarship about the crucial time period and events that eventually set the stage for the making of the modern, twentieth-century Middle East. Although the book tends to delve deeply into specifics, particularly regarding British policy and politics of the time, Parry sees it as a work of British history, not as a history of the Middle East. Nonetheless, the thoroughness of its storytelling serves as a strong reflection of Parry’s meticulous research. Its broad and deep history is an important contribution to the field. Enriched by an impressive narration of complex historical events, Promised Lands is highly recommended.